Cleaning your house might not be the most exciting part of your week but it is, however, necessary. Buying cleaning products can get expensive not to mention contain a ton of chemicals that we might not love being in contact with. Before you restock up on your favorite cleaning products try rummaging through your kitchen cupboards because a lot of food items you have on hand might actually just help you. We’ve discovered 16 food items that can help you clean your house. It will help put less stress on your wallet, and it’s all natural. That’s a double win in our books.
Vinegar can be used for so many purposes when cleaning the house. It can help cut grease, can help remove some stains, help reduce bad odors, and can help remove mildew. Keep a spray bottle handy and fill it with vinegar and water for an easy all-purpose cleaner. Combine it with baking soda, and a scrub brush and it’s amazing for cleaning grout!
This sweet and carbonated drink isn’t only for drinking. Trying using it to clean your house! Cola contains phosphoric acid, citric acid and carbonic acid which are all ingredients that help make cola a cleaning product. Use it to clean a dirty toilet or to help take rust off some pots. Proceed with caution though as the cola can corrode some metals such as tin, steel, and iron.
Olive oil can be used for many cleaning purposes in your house. More than just a cooking ingredient this oil can be used to help take paint off of soft surfaces, including your own hands. Olive oil mixed with some coarse salt can also help scrub off food build up or light rust. It can also help repair scratches on leather furniture as well as polish wooden furniture.
Ketchup, the best condiment ever can also be used to clean with! Use it to clean metal surfaces such as brass, copper or stainless steel. You can improve the sheen of your pots if you want to shine them or you can use it to help break down that burnt black layer from cooking. The acetic acid in ketchup helps break down the copper oxide which is the burnt layer you get in the bottom of your pan from cooking.
If you’re running low on your box of baking soda before you run to the store to keep your fridge smelling fresh try using oats. Place the oats in an open container or bowl and place in the fridge overnight, by the next morning your smelly fridge will be neutralized.
Lemon juice can be used in many different and brilliant ways to clean your house. Lemon juice is high in citric acid making it a good bacteria fighter and works best on alkaline types of stains. You can use lemon juice to clean your microwave, your oven and in general as an all-purpose cleaner. You can also use it to polish your pots and even your wooden cutting board. Not to mention it smells great too, so try using it as a deodorizer. Mix lemon juice with water in a spray bottle and spray into your air to freshen up the scent of your home naturally.
Did you ever think you could use your cream of tartar sauce other than a dip for your fish and chips dinner? Well, now you can. Use cream of tartar as a natural bleaching agent. The next time you get a stain on your white clothing or upholstery try using cream of tartar.
Cornstarch is more than a gravy thickener. It can be used to clean your windows, can help your furniture look polished and can even be used to shampoo your carpets. That is what we call a triple threat.
When your dishes come out of your dishwasher with an unwanted film it doesn’t always mean you have a poor dishwasher detergent. It may actually mean that your dishwasher is due for a cleaning. Put tang in your detergent dispenser and run a normal cycle with an empty dishwasher. The tang will help de-grease your dishwasher making it clean and your dishes even cleaner.
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Tang-Drink-Mix-Orange-20-Oz-1-Count/14089359 PHOTO HERE: WALMART
Onions are the perfect tool to clean your grill. A couple months into the barbeque season and we all know how grimy with residue build up the grills can get. Next time this happens cut an onion in half and rub it on the grill to help lift impacted residue. You’ll have a sparkling grill in no time!
More than just a flavor booster, when salt is combined with water it turns into a saline which promotes cleaning the stains of proteins. This means if you accidentally get a blood stain on clothing or even the carpet try using this mixture to take it out. Additionally, you can use coarse salt for scrubbing jobs at it is considered abrasive.
Believe it or not, walnuts are more than a hardy treat or salad topping. You can use walnuts to help extend the life of your wooden furniture. Simply, rub the “meat” of the walnut (a.k.a make sure it’s out of its shell) along the scratches in your wood. The wood will absorb the oils from the walnut! It is important to let the wood rest after it has been rubbed with walnuts. Wait just a couple minutes then rub the wood down with a soft cloth and you’ll have restored the beauty of your wood. Try this on your coffee table or even the banisters on your stairs!
Instead of composting your potato peels make sure to save them to clean your chimney. Fireplaces in the house are beautiful and create a cozy aroma but the creosote (a sticky, corrosive substance formed when gases are given off during the burning of wood) build up is the negative pay off. In between your professional cleanings try burning dried potato peelings. Save your potato peelings (the quantity will vary depending on how large your fireplace is) and then lay out on a flat sheet of parchment paper or a baking sheet and let dry for 48 hours or until completely dried out. Once that is complete burn in your fireplace and they will help push the creosote layers out your chimney.
Ditch the pledge and don’t sacrifice your lemon scent by using tea bags to clean the wood in your household. All you have to do is boil some water, make some tea and let it cool. Once it has cooled dip your cloth in your tea and use it to shine your wooden furniture. It’ll make your wood furniture look shiny and beautiful and will smell great too.
The next time your child rubs their gum into your beautiful carpet try using peanut butter to get it out. You can also use it to help a squeaky door hinge. Temporarily silence the annoying sound from the oil content in the peanut butter. You can also remove hard to take off stickers that are placed on non-porous surfaces, such as glass by using peanut butter. All you have to do is apply the peanut butter to the sticker, let it sit for an hour or until the oil has seeped down to the adhesive and the scrub away.
Mayo makes an excellent burger condiment but did you know you can use it to clean your house too? If you or a house guest leave a watermark on your coffee table from a drink or possibly you watered a house-plant a little too generously and it left a watermark on your windowsill, then no need to worry. All you have to do is smear a dollop of mayonnaise onto the watermark, let it rest for a minute or two and then wipe with a soft cloth and watch it disappear before your eyes. You can also use mayonnaise to rub off crayon if your child chose to use the wall as their canvas. You can even use mayonnaise to shine up the leaves on your houseplants. So many great possibilities!
