27 Survival Uses For Floss You Never Thought Of
Make sure to like Living Green and Frugally on Facebook, Shop at Amazon to help support my site and explore our PINTEREST BOARDS for innovative ways you can become self-sufficient.
Dental floss is one of those tiny items most people completely overlook. It sits in a bathroom drawer, weighs almost nothing, costs very little, and yet it can become surprisingly useful in an emergency.
If you are putting together a bug-out bag, hiking kit, camping box, car emergency kit, or even a simple junk drawer survival kit, a small roll of dental floss is worth adding. It is compact, strong for its size, easy to carry, and useful for repairs, camp tasks, gardening fixes, fishing, and everyday emergencies.
The best part? You do not need special training to use it for most simple tasks. You just need a bit of creativity.
Before we get into the ideas, one important note: dental floss is not a replacement for proper medical care, strong rope, climbing cord, or professional survival equipment. Think of it as a handy backup tool for light-duty emergency jobs.
Why Dental Floss Belongs In A Survival Kit
When space is limited, every item in your kit needs to earn its place. Dental floss does exactly that.
It is:
- Lightweight
- Cheap
- Compact
- Easy to store
- Strong enough for many small repairs
- Useful indoors and outdoors
- Handy for camping, hiking, fishing, gardening, and travel
Waxed floss can slide through fabric more easily and may resist moisture better, while unwaxed floss can grip better for some tying jobs. Either type is useful, but if you are adding one to a survival kit, choose a strong waxed version and keep it sealed in a small bag.
1. Repair Torn Clothing
One of the best emergency uses for floss is repairing ripped clothes. If your shirt, jacket, trousers, gloves, or socks tear while camping or hiking, floss can work as temporary thread.
Keep a small needle in your kit and you have an instant emergency sewing kit.
2. Fix Backpack Straps
A torn backpack strap can ruin a walk fast. Dental floss can be used to stitch small tears, reinforce weak points, or temporarily hold a strap together until you can do a better repair.
For stronger repairs, double or triple the floss before stitching.
3. Replace A Broken Shoelace
A snapped shoelace is annoying at home, but it can become a real problem on a long walk. Dental floss can be threaded through shoe eyelets as a temporary lace.
It will not be as comfortable as a proper shoelace, but it can keep your footwear secure enough to get you home.
4. Make An Emergency Clothesline
Wet socks, gloves, towels, or small clothing items can be hung from a line of floss between two branches, hooks, chairs, or tent poles.
This works best for lightweight items. Do not overload it with heavy wet clothing.
5. Hang Food Away From Pests
When camping, food should be kept secure and away from animals. Dental floss can help hang lightweight food bags from a tree branch or hook.
Use this only for small, light items. For proper bear country or serious wildlife areas, use approved food storage methods.
6. Tie Gear To Your Backpack
If you need to attach a cup, small tool, rolled-up mat, or light item to your pack, floss can act as a temporary tie.
It is useful when a clip, loop, or strap breaks and you need a quick fix on the move.
7. Repair A Broken Zipper Pull
If the pull tab snaps off a jacket, tent, sleeping bag, or backpack zipper, tie a short loop of floss through the slider.
This gives you something to grab and can save a perfectly usable item from becoming frustrating.
8. Fix Glasses Temporarily
A loose glasses arm or broken hinge can be held together with a small piece of floss until you can repair it properly.
It is not pretty, but in an emergency, being able to see clearly matters more than how it looks.
9. Secure A Bandage In Place
Dental floss can help hold a dressing in place if you do not have medical tape, but be careful. Do not tie it tightly, as it can dig into the skin and affect circulation.
Use cloth, gauze, or fabric under it where possible, and treat this as a short-term fix only.
10. Support A Splint
If someone has a minor injury and you need to secure a makeshift splint, floss can help tie sticks, padding, or fabric in place.
Do not tie it directly against bare skin if you can avoid it. Use padding and keep checking circulation.
11. Make A Simple Trip Alarm
Dental floss can be tied between two objects with a lightweight noise-maker attached, such as a tin cup, small bell, or empty can with pebbles.
This can alert you if someone or something brushes against it near a campsite.
Avoid setting it somewhere people could actually trip and hurt themselves.
12. Mark A Trail
Bright or reflective floss can be tied to branches to mark a route. This can be useful if you are collecting firewood, exploring near camp, or trying to find your way back.
Remove it when you leave so you are not littering.
13. Use As Light-Duty Lashing
Dental floss can help lash together small sticks, poles, or lightweight materials. It is useful for tiny camp projects, quick fixes, or temporary shelter adjustments.
For anything heavy or load-bearing, use proper cordage.
14. Secure A Tarp Corner
If a tarp eyelet fails or you need a temporary tie point, floss can help secure a light tarp corner in mild weather.
It is not ideal for strong wind, but it can help in a pinch.
15. Repair A Tent Mesh Tear
Small holes in tent mesh can be stitched with floss to stop them spreading.
This is especially handy if you are dealing with mosquitoes or midges and need to keep bugs out overnight.
16. Tie Up Plants In The Garden
Dental floss is useful outside survival situations too. You can use it to tie tomato plants, climbing beans, peas, or young stems to supports.
Tie it loosely so it does not cut into the plant as it grows.
17. Train Vines
For garden vines, floss can act as a temporary plant tie. It can guide growth along a trellis, cane, fence, or string line.
This is a good use for leftover floss you would not use for hygiene.
18. Make A Basic Fishing Line
In a real emergency, floss can be used as a basic fishing line for small fish. Tie it to a hook, safety pin, or improvised hook and use suitable bait.
It is not as good as real fishing line, but it can work as a backup.
19. Secure Bait Or Small Items
Floss can be used to tie bait onto a hook, fasten small objects, or hold together improvised fishing gear.
This is one of those tiny jobs where having a strong thin line really helps.
20. Bundle Kindling
Need to carry dry twigs back to camp? Use floss to bundle small kindling together.
It keeps your hands free and makes it easier to organise fire-starting materials.
21. Help With Fire Starting
Some waxed floss may help catch or hold a flame when combined with dry tinder, cotton, bark shavings, or other fire-starting materials.
Do not rely on floss alone as your main fire starter. Think of it as a possible helper, not the whole solution.
22. Make An Emergency Hair Tie
If you have long hair and no hair tie, floss can keep hair out of your face while cooking, walking, working, or dealing with an emergency.
Tie it gently so it does not pull or tangle badly.
23. Tie Small Bundles Together
Floss is great for organising small items. You can bundle matches, sticks, herbs, pencils, cable ends, or small tools.
This is a simple but useful way to stop small things getting lost in a bag.
24. Replace Missing String On Small Items
If a drawstring, tag loop, pouch cord, or small hanging loop breaks, dental floss can replace it temporarily.
This works well on lightweight bags, pouches, key tags, and camping accessories.
25. Make A Simple Handle Wrap
If a tool handle is rough, cracked, or slippery, floss can be wrapped around it to improve grip temporarily.
It is not as comfortable as paracord, but it can help with small tools.
26. Emergency Crafting And Improvising
Floss can be used for all sorts of camp crafts and quick fixes: tying feathers, making simple ornaments, hanging small items, repairing craft gear, or binding natural materials together.
In a survival kit, the ability to improvise is often just as valuable as the item itself.
27. Use It For Its Real Purpose
This one sounds obvious, but it matters. Dental problems can become miserable very quickly, especially if you are camping, travelling, or away from normal supplies.
Keeping your teeth clean is still one of the best uses for floss. A small roll can last a long time and help prevent discomfort when you are already dealing with enough problems.
Floss Survival Safety Tips
Dental floss is useful, but it has limits.
Do not use it for climbing, holding body weight, towing, hanging heavy objects, or anything that could cause serious injury if it snaps.
Also, avoid using floss to close wounds unless a trained medical professional tells you to do so. For cuts, the safer emergency option is usually to clean the wound, control bleeding, cover it with a sterile dressing, and get medical help as soon as possible.
What Type Of Floss Is Best For A Survival Kit?
For most emergency kits, waxed dental floss is a good choice because it is easy to use, compact, and less likely to absorb moisture.
You may also want to pack:
- A sewing needle
- A few safety pins
- A small roll of medical tape
- Mini scissors
- A few plasters or sterile dressings
- A tiny repair kit pouch
Together, these items turn a simple roll of floss into a useful little repair and emergency kit.
Final Thoughts
Dental floss might not look like survival gear, but that is what makes it so clever. It is small enough to forget about, cheap enough to keep in several places, and useful enough to solve dozens of little problems.
From fixing clothing and gear to hanging food, supporting plants, repairing zippers, marking trails, and keeping your teeth clean, floss is one of those tiny items that punches well above its weight.
Add a roll to your camping kit, car kit, hiking bag, kitchen drawer, and emergency supplies. You may be surprised how often you reach for it.
FAQ
Can dental floss really be used for survival?
Yes, but mainly for light-duty tasks. It is useful for repairs, tying, stitching, hanging small items, fishing in an emergency, and organising gear.
Is dental floss stronger than thread?
Dental floss is often stronger than basic sewing thread, especially for quick repairs. That makes it useful for fixing clothing, backpacks, tents, and straps.
Can I use dental floss as fishing line?
Yes, in an emergency it can be used as a basic fishing line for small fish. It is not as effective as proper fishing line, but it can work as a backup.
Should I keep waxed or unwaxed floss in my survival kit?
Waxed floss is usually better for emergency kits because it slides more easily, resists moisture better, and is simple to work with.
Can dental floss be used for first aid?
It can help secure bandages or support a splint in a pinch, but it should not replace proper first-aid supplies. Avoid tying it tightly around skin.
Is dental floss safe for shelter building?
Only for very light-duty shelter fixes. It can help tie small branches, repair mesh, or secure a tarp corner, but it is not strong enough for serious structural support.