Have you noticed your shopping bill is increasing due to the price of cleaning products? Cut down on the amount you’re spending by using everyday food items to clean your home. Not only does using food to clean work out cheaper, but it also reduces the number of chemicals being used in your home, helping to reduce allergies.

• Salt – remove burnt on food stains using a handful of salt 
• Lemons – bring a shine back to your shower with the juice of a lemon 
• Vinegar – great on chips and great for removing grass stains from your mower blade 
• Bicarbonate of soda – perfect for removing odours from your home 
• Other Foods – remove scuffs from leather with a banana

Salt:

• Cleaning after cooking brings about its own challenges, none more so than removing burnt on food from pots and pans. But there’s no need to spend hours scrubbing pots if you have a handful of salt.Sprinkle the salt onto the burnt food straight away and leave it to cool. Once cooled, wipe away the salt and wash the pans as normal.
• Is coffee leading to stains in your cups? Create a paste using salt and vinegar and rub this over the stains, allowing it to soak in before washing as normal. [source: MNN.com] 
• As we put drinks down onto wooden surfaces watermarks can appear. Remove the stains using a paste made of a teaspoon of salt and a few drops of water. Simply rub the paste over the mark until the stain has gone and then restore the finished look of the wood by polishing it. [source: Readers Digest]

• If your iron is sticking as you run it over clothes or it’s leaving unsightly marks, it’ll need to be cleaned. The best way to do this is to sprinkle salt over your ironing board and then run the iron over it on its hottest heat.
• Shampoo residue and hair can build up and clog the plug hole. But pouring a cup of salt, a cup of baking soda and half a cup of white vinegar down the drain will unblock it. Simply leave the solution for 10 minutes, before washing it away with two litres of boiling water.

Lemons:

• Remove limescale blemishes from your taps and sinks by rubbing a cut lemon over them before rinsing the residue away. If following this tip, take care not to leave the lemon for too long as it can discolour your surfaces.Chopping chunks of lemon and boiling them in a kettle full of water, before leaving overnight will also remove limescale.

• Clean your wooden, laminate and tiled floors without the need for cleaning chemicals. Instead add four tablespoons of white vinegar and roughly 10 drops of lemon essential oil to a bucket of water, and mop your floors as normal.

• Clean your windows by rubbing a cut lemon over the glass, before wiping off with a damp cloth and then drying.
• Whether you’re looking to clean your kitchen, bathroom or another part of your home an all-purpose cleaner is required – and what better cleaner than a homemade one using lemon juice and water. Not only will this remove dirt, but it’ll kill germs. [source: FOE.co.uk] 
• Our chopping boards can often become stained, making them look unhygienic. To bring the chopping boards back to life, wash them using diluted lemon juice, which will remove stains and kill germs, whilst making them look brighter.
• Remove mould and mildew from your home without using a strong smelling cleaner. Instead, create your own cleaning paste from equal parts lemon juice and salt, and then rub this over the affected area.A similar paste can also be used to clean stains from your oven. Simply rub the paste over the area, leave it to soak in for five minutes and then wipe it away with warm water.

Vinegar:

• Place a glass bowl filled with a quarter of a cup of vinegar and a cup of water into your microwave. Place your microwave onto the hottest setting for five minutes and allow the solution to loosen dirt and grime which has built up.Once the microwave has cooled, dip a clean cloth into the same solution and wipe away any remaining dirt.
• Clean your lawnmower blades after each use by wiping them with a cloth dipped into undiluted white vinegar. The vinegar solution will make light work of removing any grass, stains and pests which may be present, ensuring your blades are clean and ready for the next cut.
• Freshen up your toilet by pouring at least one cup of white distilled vinegar into the bowl, leaving it to soak for a couple of hours before scrubbing the toilet and flushing the residue away. [source: allyou.com]
  

• Have you noticed a build up of limescale around the head of your shower? Remove this by soaking the showerhead in a food bag filled with vinegar for a couple of hours. Once the allotted time has passed remove the food bag and turn your shower on to remove any remaining vinegar residue.

Bicarbonate of Soda:

• Remove odours from your floors by sprinkling bicarbonate of soda across them and leaving it to stand for fifteen minutes, before vacuuming away. [source: NewHomeMaker.com] 
• Clean greasy surfaces, including your BBQ, by sprinkling bicarbonate of soda onto a damp cloth and scrubbing the area.
• As you shower have you noticed the shower curtain is suffering from a build up of mould or mildew? Struggling to find a way to effectively clean it? One of the best ways is to soak it in a solution of water and bicarbonate of soda.
• Various foods can leave odours in our fridges which can taint other produce. A small saucer of bicarbonate of soda at the back of the fridge will help to soak these odours up, keeping your food and fridge fresh.

Other Food Produce:

• Getting a cloth into an irregular shaped bottle or vase can be difficult. Don’t waste time fighting with the cloth, but use uncooked rice. Fill the container which you’re looking to clean with some water, a handful of uncooked rice and a tiny amount of dish detergent, and then shake the container well.
• Did you know you can use ketchup to bring a shine back to your copper pots? Simply rub a small amount over the tarnished area and see the shine reappear.

• Gardening tools, wheel arches on cars and other metal objects around the home can fall victim to rust, which makes them look unsightly. A potato cut in half and dipped into baking soda can help remove the rust, due to the oxalic acid in the potato reacting with the baking soda to dissolve the rust. [source: Daily Express] 
• Is your leather couch looking scuffed? Lift out the marks with the help of a banana peel. The potassium inside the banana peel absorbs into the leather and slowly removes the scratch.

Do you know any other cleaning tips for around the home which only use food? Share them in the comment box below.

Tags: Cleaning Tips, Home Improvement, Money Saving