Are you ready to get cleaning with a cheap and often readily available substance? How about the world’s favorite soda? Photo: Photo by Oilpanhands (Wikimedia Commons)
Have you ever looked at the nutrition facts of dark cola? Don’t. It’s scary. Besides a copious amount of corn syrup, caramel color, and carbonation, this sticky-sweet beverage also has a high acidity. For us creative cleaners out there, that means that the fizzy drink actually makes a very good cleaning solution. As a child’s beverage, it might not be the best choice. As a miracle cleaner, though, it’s excellent! To quote the great Willy Wonka, “Few people realize what tremendous power there is in one of those things!” I’ve had fun learning about how many ways you can use cola to clean items around the house. Here are some of the uses I’ve found.
A Toilet-Cleaner
Yes, you can use this miracle beverage to clean the john. Pour a can into the bowl and wait an hour. Scrub with a brush, flush, and a sparkling toilet remains.
A Bug-Killer
This one is kind of scary, huh? But yes, it kills bugs; they try to consume the sweet drink, and it will often destroy them. Spray it on hills in your garden or even in your cupboards to get rid of ants. Farmers in poor countries have actually used Coke as a cheaper pesticide that they spray directly on plants.
A Rust-Destroyer
Demolish rust stains on your outdoor furniture, your tools, a rusty nail or screw, or other metal items around the house. Cola has phosphoric acid, which causes the rust to loosen. You can even use a mug of soda to get rid of the tarnish on pennies. (I’ve done that before. Shiny pennies just make me happier, and they seem luckier!)
A Paint-Remover
Have you ever been in the middle of a painting project and just a tiny drop falls on a bit of metal furniture, a sink, or a cupboard? I’ve been there, and it can be very frustrating, especially if you’ve found the spot after it dried. Put some cola on a towel and rub the spot out. It’ll be gone in a few seconds. Then, go back over it with soapy water so that it doesn’t leave a sticky mess behind.
A Dish-Washer
If you have those burnt, crusted-on pans and pots, pour some cola into them and let them sit. The grime will flake away, and you’ll have to do much less scrubbing.
An Oil-Eraser
Garage floors, driveways, and sometimes even kitchens get marked with those deep oil stains that seem impossible to get out. Cola eats away at tough oils quickly. Pour it on the area, let it sit, and then wipe it away. I do this on my driveway every once in a while and spray it away with a hose until it’s good as new.
Photo: https://www.flickr.com/photo.gne?short=85PZfo Photo by Christopher Sessums (Flickr)
A Stain-Remover
Instead of an expensive stain-remover, used relatively cheap Coke to remove stains and deodorize areas. It’s especially effective against deep oil stains and can even get gum out of hair or fibers! Creepily, it’s something used in crime scenes because it’s so effective at cleaning up blood. And if you’re ever in a situation where a skunk has sprayed your clothing, use cola to get it out.
A Grout-Cleaner
Those dirty spaces between tiles frustrate me because they’re hard to clean and naturally become gray and dingy over time. I get them to shine like new again with Coke!
These are just a handful of ways I’ve experimented with cleaning with Coke. I’ve also heard that it can clean car batteries and be used as a last-minute defroster for your windshield. I might not want to drink the stuff after making these discoveries, but I’ll continue to use it as a great at-home, DIY cleaning solution!
