You may already be familiar with using kitchen items like baking soda, lemons or white vinegar for your cleaning needs. Many people use these for a wide variety of uses including cleaning their ovens or stainless steel pans. But it does seem a little crazy and unlikely that items like ketchup, mayo, coco cola or even olive oil would do much for cleaning—they seem more like items we need to clean off of our surfaces. Even bathroom items like shaving cream, toothpaste or Alka Seltzer cold medicine can clean a myriad of unexpected things. These items are all full of surprises! This list of clever home cleaning hacks could be a game changer for you. Not only is it great if you find yourself in a pinch, but with the high cost of most standard cleaners, it’s good to have other options.
17 Home Cleaning Hacks Using Household Items
Prepare to be awed by this list of unlikely cleaning products and what they are able to do.
1. Ketchup
Since ketchup contains vinegar and of course tomatoes, it is acidic and works well for cleaning up hard-to-clean surfaces. You just need to apply a thin coating of ketchup over the area to be cleaned and let it set for at least 30 minutes. Then, simply rinse and wipe clean. Use it to clean the following items:
Tough baked-on food on pots and pans.Metal surfaces like stainless steel appliances. It can work on kitchen tools, copper, brass and cast iron as well.Rusty garden tools.
2. Mayonnaise
The oil in mayonnaise makes it work similarly to GooGone or a polisher in cleaning the home. Here are some examples of what you can do with it:
Repair scuffs and scratches on wood floors. Apply a coating to scratches and let it set overnight, wipe clean in the morning and scratches won’t be visible.Remove adhesive residue from labels or price tags. Rub mayonnaise on the residue with a paper towel, let set for 20 minutes and wipe clean with a wet rag.Dust and shine artificial plants. Rub leaves with a small amount of mayonnaise and a damp rag to make them look shiny and new.Clean stainless steel appliances. Rub on and wipe off immediately to remove fingerprints and grime.Clean up paint splatters. Use a little mayonnaise to help break down the paint splatters to easily clean.Remove rust stains from a porcelain tub.Silence squeaky hinges.
3. Coca-Cola
If you have vowed to stop drinking Coke, there is good news. You can use what you have left to clean your bathroom! Since Coke is highly acidic, it works great for cleaning your home. Here is what you can do:
Clean your toilet bowl. Pour one can of Coke into the toilet and let it set for about an hour or so. Then, flush the toilet and it’s miraculously clean with no scrubbing!Remove marker stains from the carpet. Rub a little cola over the stain, scrub and clean up with soapy water.Clean blackened pots. Pour a can of Coke into the pot and heat on the stove over low heat for an hour, remove and clean.Descale a kettle. Boil a kettle full of Coke and let stand for 30 minutes and wipe clean.Remove tough clothing stains. Add a can of cola to your wash with the detergent.
4. Vegetable Oil
Oils are great for buffing stainless steel sinks and appliances. Although you could use other oils like olive oil, vegetable oil is the most budget-friendly. Just wipe vegetable oil on your sink or refrigerate with a soft cloth and then buff it with a clean soft cloth.
5. Shaving Cream
While you are in the bathroom, pull out the shaving cream to do a little sprucing up. Then move on to cleaning up some stains!
Clean and shine shower doors and mirrors. Apply shaving cream, leave on for a minute and wipe off.Scrub tile grout.Remove red wine from clothes. Work a little shaving cream into the stain and rinse.Clean carpet stains.
6. Alka Seltzer
When you drop a tablet of Alka Seltzer in water, baking soda and citric acid combine to make those effervescent bubbles. This makes it a fantastic cleaning product.
Clean thermoses and vases. Fill the container half full of water and drop in two tablets, let it bubble and when done rinse the vase or thermos.Descale coffee maker. Fill the water chamber, drop in four tablets, let dissolve and then run the coffee maker. Next, run another cycle with plain water.Remove stains from glass cookware. Fill cookware with water, add up to six tablets, soak for an hour and wipe clean.Remove burnt-on food from pans.
More Home Cleaning Hacks
Next Up: How to Get—and Keep—a Clean Home for the New Year
