The TikTok Air Pump Hack You're Going To Want To Avoid

If there's one thing we love about TikTok, it's that you can find anything on there, especially life hacks. The social media app is a DIY enthusiast's haven. If you like tinkering with your hands and fixing up things by yourself without calling in a professional, then you'll feel right at home there. However, while some of the hacks are actually quite sound and helpful, plenty are downright ineffective and even dangerous. One such hack involves using a hair dryer and a piece of a plastic bottle as a makeshift air pump, which is definitely just as risky as it sounds. 

If you love your hair dryer, you'll want to avoid this trick like the plague. A TikTok DIY enthusiast @majormumhacks attached a plastic bottle to her hair dryer and was able to successfully blow up a pool float. Responding to the creator, another user named Dustin Hadley (@that40yearguy) tried it out and gave his less-than-glowing verdict.

If you find yourself in desperate need of an air pump for pool floats or an air mattress, and you can't run down to the store to get one, do not resort to the TikTok blow dryer hack. This hack entails cutting up a plastic bottle so that you only keep the top half of it, and then fitting it onto your blow dryer. The resulting contraption is supposed to act like a pump when you plug in and turn on the dryer, blowing air into whatever inflatable you need. 

As a precaution, you're supposed to turn it to the cool setting only. While this may sound like a fun substitute for an actual air pump, you're probably better off just using your mouth if you don't have an air pump on hand. TikTok creator Dustin Hadley tried out this hack and used it to blow up an inflatable unicorn. However, he didn't even get halfway through when he stopped because the dryer was overheating, admitting, "I feel like the dryer's about to melt my hand." Ultimately, the dryer did burn out on the inside and never worked again. A cautionary tale for anyone who actually attempts this hack.