11x the best cleaning hacks we’ve ever seen (thanks, Grandma!)
Of course I don’t know all your grandmothers, but mine were the best. One knitted the best warm sweaters, while another made the most delicious rendang. One baked perfect cakes, while another knew better than anyone how to save my favorite pair of jeans from a ballpoint pen stain and shorten a dress neatly. Indispensable! Just like these cleaning tips from the grandmothers of readers of the culinary magazine Food52. What is your grandmother’s winning tip?
Half a lemon? Don’t throw it away
Kaleigh: ‘Do you need to squeeze a lemon over your dish? Save that squeezed lemon, because you can use it to clean the inside of the sink when you’re done cooking. A sparkling clean, shiny sink is guaranteed to make you happy!’
Container stash
Brinda: ‘Of course Grandma always cooks too much, and of course you want to take some leftovers home for the next day. Then she would rummage through the cupboard to find exactly the right margarine tub or ice cream container with a lid. Grandma’s tip: store those containers with a paper towel inside them, so they won’t start to smell musty.’
Peanut butter in your hair
Cyndy: ‘You can remove ballpoint pen stains from your clothes with hairspray. And if you get chewing gum in your hair, knead some peanut butter into it, and you’ll get that sticky mess right out.’
Baking tray 2.0
Jada: ‘I have a whole stack of old baking trays whose non-stick coating has long since worn off. I don’t throw them away; instead, I use them in my pantry or refrigerator, just as my mother did. The baking trays catch sugar crumbs and syrup drips and prevent you from having to clean the entire refrigerator when a carton of milk leaks a little.’
Clean oven
Janine: ‘My housemate and I only cleaned the oven once a year. Gross, I know. We mixed half a cup of baking soda with a little cleaning vinegar and spread it around the oven. In no time, it was spotless. I use the same mixture to clean my sink when it gets a bit messy.’
Not a grease stain in sight
Erin: ‘A little Dreft will get all grease stains out of your clothes, especially those black streaks you get from your bicycle chain on your trousers.’
Sunny color
Amanda: ‘Never paint your house yellow, because it attracts flies and mosquitoes.’
Stock up
Delaney: ‘Not shocking, but useful: when I’m at a loss with cleaning, I use baking soda. And I spill a lot, so I keep a large package of baking soda in the cupboard under my sink. Grease stains in the oven? Baking soda. Burnt pan? Baking soda. Discolored stainless-steel pan? Baking soda. I make a paste with baking soda and a little water, and when it’s really dirty, I add a little vinegar.’
Lonely
Arati: ‘The best cleaning cloth is an old sock, says my mother. And I completely agree with her. You hold a spray cleaner in one hand and put an old sock over your other hand like a glove. Spray, wipe, done. What else are you supposed to do with those lonely socks in the sock drawer?’
Oil it
Sean Patrick: ‘My mother taught me that you should wash wood with soapy water and then rub it with oil. She usually used olive oil, because she had it on hand. I do this at home now too: cutting boards, wooden bowls, serving boards, wooden spoons. First wash them in soapy water, then rub them with oil, and they’ll be good to go for a while.
A strong brew
Catherine: ‘Descale your coffee maker with half water, half vinegar and a teaspoon of vodka or another strong spirit. Simply run that mixture through the coffee maker as if you were making coffee. Then run a pot of water through it to rinse; you don’t want to make coffee with that cocktail!’
Read also:
- How to really clean your dishwasher thoroughly
- 13x people who should never be allowed in the kitchen again
- Recipe: Aperol cake
Source: Food52
