This Common Condiment Is Actually Great For Cleaning Your Kitchen

Yes, you can use ketchup to clean your kitchen!
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Rows of ketchup and mustard bottles.

Cleaning is a laborious task. Some people love it, but most of us just see it as another chore that needs to be done. Doing the actual cleaning is just one part of the job, you also have to think about the cleaning products. 

There are tons of cleaning products to choose from but you might be ignoring the items you have in your home that you can use for your next deep clean. 

Polly Shearer, a cleaning expert at Tap Warehouse, has pulled together five cupboard items you can use to get your household appliances sparkling again.

From coffee granules to mayonnaise (yes mayonnaise) these items will be lying around in your home somewhere, and they are a fraction of the price compared to cleaning products sold in-store. Here are five products you can use to keep your household appliances spick-and-span.

Coffee

We all know coffee is perfect for your morning boost, but it can also be used to remove tough stains on worktop surfaces. Simply sprinkle some instant coffee in with hot, soapy water and give it some elbow grease. As coffee is acidic, it will be able to cut through the grime with ease.

If you like to brew your own coffee, one other use of the coffee grounds is their ability to deodorise. If your refrigerator has a funny smell, pour some coffee grounds into a bowl and place it in the fridge until it has absorbed the unwanted odour.

Some people also like to line their bin (underneath the bin bag) with coffee to neutralise any smells given off by household waste.

Tea bags

If you’re more of a tea drinker and like to let your dishes soak when washing up, this tip could be perfect for you. Making a big pasta bake or shepherd’s pie is very rewarding until you have to deal with the oven dish afterward which is always a nightmare to clean.

Try throwing in a few tea bags and letting the dish soak overnight. The tannins in the tea will loosen the grime and you can simply rinse the tough stains away the next morning, hassle-free. 

Lemon

Lemons are fantastic for just about anything, so don’t throw them out once you’ve finished with them! This zesty fruit can work wonders on your oven, as well as the bathroom; simply rub the flesh on to chrome taps or faucets and rinse with clean water - it’ll help to remove a build up of limescale, leaving your bathroom amenities sparkling once again.

It’s important, however, to ensure the lemon juice isn’t left on to soak for more than a couple of minutes before rinsing as this may tarnish the finish of your tap.

Mayonnaise

We’ve all been there, you’ve left a glass or mug on a wooden table only to realise once you pick it up there is a ringed stain left behind. One great product to remove those eye-sore stains is actually mayonnaise. 

Squirt a small amount of sauce onto a paper towel and place it over the stain with a little pressure. Then, leave the towel for around 20 minutes before removing it and polishing the stain with a clean cloth to see the results. 

Ketchup

Another condiment you will likely have in your cupboard (or fridge, depending on your take on the popular debate) is red sauce. If, like a lot of people, you have delved into copper cookware, you may be starting to notice that they look a little dull and tarnished since you first bought them. 

To fix this, squeeze a decent dollop of ketchup onto a cloth and, using circular motions, scrub the tarnished area of the pots and pans - they will be back to their bright, shiny best in no time.