12 Foods That Make Great Cleaning Products

There’s probably a few food items in your cupboard that you already know make great cleaning products.

Whether you like to use natural ingredients or are just looking for a quick and easy fix to clean your home without taking a trip to the supermarket.

We have a list of foods that make surprisingly good cleaning products …

… and I don’t think you’ll have tried them all.

1. Vinegar

We’ll start with an obvious that you probably all know.

One of the many great uses for vinegar is cleaning windows. It’s cheap and easy to use and you probably have some lying around the kitchen.

Mix 1 part vinegar and 1 part water into a spray bottle, squirt on the window and then wipe away for a sparkly result.

2. Bananas

On to one that’s less commonly known.

Banana skins work well to shine up leather shoes and furniture.

The best part is, nothing goes to waste because you can even eat the banana before using the skin to clean.

3. Tea

Another great, waste free byproduct to use in cleaning is used teabags.

Instead of chucking them in the bin, make the most of your tea addiction, and use them to wash your dishes.

Just fill your sink with hot water and add a few used tea bags in to degrease your dishes.

4. Tomato Ketchup

If you own copper pans, you can use ketchup to get them looking like new again.

Squeeze some ketchup onto a cloth, sprinkle generously with salt, and rub in circles onto your marked copper.

5. Lemon

This is another one you’ve probably heard of and used before but it always amazes us how powerful something natural can be.

Cut the lemon in half and rub over chrome fittings in the bathroom then rinse with water and voila! Perfectly shiny taps.

6. Vodka

If you’re doing dry January you might have a little leftover alcohol that you’re dying to get out of your way.

Jewellery that’s looking a little dull can be brought back to its former glory by soaking in vodka for five minutes.

Just rinse with water afterwards and then head off out somewhere nice to show them off.

7. Onions

Finally! A solution to dirty grills.

Chop an onion in half and stab with a fork to create a handle, turn on the grill and glide it along the grill to remove dirt and grease.

Your next bacon sandwich will be even better without the whole house smelling like burnt food.

8. Walnuts

We’re sure we’ve mentioned walnuts before but they’re worth mentioning again.

Walnuts contain natural oils which, when pressed into marks on wooden tables, can make them virtually vanish.

7. Bicarbonate of soda

Back to an obvious one, a classic used through the ages.

Sprinkle on dirty, greasy surfaces to clean them up (for some items you can also combine with vinegar for extra cleaning power).

Bicarbonate of soda is also great for removing odours in your sofa – just sprinkle and hoover up.

8. Rice

If the tea cleaning tip didn’t interest you then maybe this one will.

If you’re the owner of a coffee grinder you might have noticed it’s incredibly hard to clean.

The best way to do this is pour rice in the grinder, allow the rice to soak up the oils from the coffee beans and then hoover out.

9. Cucumber

Did you know that cucumber skin is great for getting crayon off walls?

If you didn’t, you may well wonder how you’ve managed this long without it.

No more stains on your wall every time your child decides to show their creative side.

10. Oil

Oils, particularly olive oil, are great at bringing back shine to stainless steel.

Add a few drops to a cloth and rub in a circular motion then wipe any excess up with a paper towel.

11. Potatoes

Seriously! Cut a potato in half and rub on rusty areas to naturally remove the rust.

If it doesn’t budge, try adding a little washing up liquid.

12. Bread

Next time you smash a glass, don’t risk injuring yourself trying to collect all the tiny little shards.

Make sure you don’t miss any by using bread to collect up the tiny pieces.

Have we missed any?

Let us know if you have a food cleaning hack you want to share.