This TikTok Hack Proves We've Been Filling Ice Cube Trays the Wrong Way All Along

Some kitchen tasks are so rudimentary that the internet couldn't possibly fuss with them, right? Wrong. TikTok found a better way to fill ice cube trays.

Honestly, we're not surprised. In addition to unending cute dance routines set to songs we pretend we're young enough to love, the video-sharing social platform has presented us with a wealth of food and home hacks. From whipped Dalgona coffee and mini pancake cereal to genius cleaning tricks galore, TikTok has been gradually stripping away that phrase, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it."

Which brings us to filling an ice cube tray. You've done it a thousand times. You could do it in your sleep. But last month, TikTok user @4jmjcbitxh posted a quick clip showcasing a revelation: You don't need to make a giant splashy mess when you're refilling your ice cube tray. "Am I just dumb, or did nobody else know this either?" she asks in her viral video.

The trick is simple. Rather than moving an empty ice cube tray from side to side underneath the faucet to direct the water into the cube-shaped wells, she holds it steady as she lets the water stream into one of the flat areas that connects four wells. Instead of sloshing out of the tray, the water runs evenly into each of the wells at once.

She then moves on to the next set of four until the tray has been completely—and evenly—filled. "These little flat spots on ice cube trays are where you're meant to fill in the water," she says. She then goes on to demonstrate the messy method she'd been using previously, which of course leaves her entire countertop underwater.

If your mind is blown, you're not alone. "I pay $40k a year for college, yet I learn so much more from TikTok," said one commenter. Many others said they already knew this method and have been using it for years.

Whether or not this trick is new to you, put your cubes to use in some easy cocktail recipes. It will likely work best with rigid, rectangular plastic trays (like those from Rubbermaid) versus silicone ice cube trays or ones that form special shapes.