Via the New York Times, this odd little article about using food as cleaning agents, including the classic 101 uses for Coca-Cola:
...Speaking of sticky things, our reader Peggy offers this suggestion: “I use a product called Goo Gone but its main ingredient is orange oil. If you have no Goo Gone, rub a piece of orange on the gunk from stick-on labels and Bob’s your uncle.”
Ketchup — yes, it’s a vegetable, just go with us — can be used to polish brass and copper. But if you’re out, and you happen to have a pineapple handy, you’re in luck.
“Whenever I trim a pineapple, I grab a saltshaker and whichever of my copper bottom pots needs tarnish removed: Sprinkle salt, rub with pineapple peel — Voilà!” wrote another reader....
...We noted that Coca-Cola can be used to clear a slow-moving drain, clean a toilet bowl and remove motor oil and grease from clothing and pavement. You all had many uses to add. Bill writes: “If road oil and dust have made your windshield smeary, pour Coke on it. The windshield comes clean,” and Thomas added, “Coke rejuvenates old windshield wiper blades.”Orange oil as a handy solvent makes sense to me, but ketchup to remove metal oxides? Also carbonated sugar water for motor oil?
Citric and phosphoric acids plus carbonation will help to remove very minor/light grease smear.
ReplyDeleteAdditionally, this website attempts to briefly explain the reasons: http://greencleaningproductsllc.com/mythbuster-science-of-cleaning-cleaning-with-coca-cola-effective-green-cleaning-products/
Toothpaste is also good for polishing silver and gold. I also recall stripping floors with concentrated, unsweetened "bug juice" when we had to get into the corners where the machine wouldn't go.
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