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Using foods etc for general cleaning

  • Thread starter Thread starter Shar67
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Shar67

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On another thread some one showed cola cleaning rust of s chrome bumper.
Made me think what other food and drink things etc we can use to clean up

I use cola to clean my brass stair rods, using 3 two litre bottles I pour a quarter of a 2 litre bottle into a jug cut a the top off bottle and put rods into soak over night, then turn them upside down to do other side (rods are longer than bottle) do this in the 3 bottles, the cola in the jug is used to clean sink and bath taps

I use toothpaste to clean the clear plastic of car headlights, brush and rinse

A cloth dipped in vinegar to clean wiper blades

Denture cleaning tablets couple overnight in toilet bowl leaves it gleaming

Bread takes off writing ink of walls

Drop silver jewellery into the cooled water you have boiled eggs in 3 minutes later remove wipe, shiny silver

Oh peanut butter takes chewing gum out of hair
 
Covering a dulled copper bracelet in a solution of lemon juice and salt for two minutes brings it up shiny as new, no rubbing necessary, just make sure you rinse it well!
Oats (porridge) makes a great soothing bath milk for damaged skin, I had radiotherapy burns and it helped take the inflammation down. Put a handful of oats in the foot of an old pair of tights and dangle under the running tap, this is good for kiddies with eczema and very irritated skin too. Last tip comes under the heading of cleaning, only it's the body that it's cleansing!
 
Sorry for lowering the tone.

Bicarbonate of soda can be used to clean up white surfaces, particularly as a paste with a little water, but you have to be careful - it completely ruined the enamelled finish on an expensive cast iron casserole dish of ours.....

Rhubarb leaves contain Oxalic acid, which is also a powerful cleansing agent: I'm not sure how much the leaves contain but it's enough to make them poisonous, so proceed with caution. You can also buy oxalic acid from a chemist, usually as a powder. Mixed with wallpaper paste and applied to the bottom of a boat, it cleans things up a treat.

Seriously: be careful. In concentrated form it's a goggles and rubber gloves job
 
Aluminium foil and bicarb of soda in a dish of warm water soak your silver cutlery removes tarnish.

A bottle of white vinegar in a hot wash in your washer will clean and deodorise it - empty washer of course!

Banana skin will nourish leather then polish to a nice shine - Aldo good for cleaning plant leaves

A teaspoon of bicarb in hot water in a vase will make it sparkle

A few grains of rice in your salt shaker will stop the rice getting damp and clogging

This next one isn't cleaning but I use it a lot - make a body scrub with sugar and olive oil - rub it on and massage then rinse of - skin is wonderfully soft and exfoliated

If your one of those who still iron your bedding make a spray with 3 parts water 1 part vodka and a few drops of lavender oil - spray then iron - makes its smell lovely - if you use just vodka and oil makes a great room spray
 
Silvo or brasso for cleaning plastic surfaces of all scratches ... rub it in hard, let it dry, buff hard. Amazing results
 
Neat gin. Pour some in a glass and drop in your diamond rings. Leave to soak as long as you like. Makes them shine beautifully.

HP sauce for anything copper. Cleans up old pennies like magic.
 
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