There’s nothing like cracking open a cold bottle of Coke and taking a well-deserved swig after you’ve scrubbed out those troublesome rings in your bathtub, or finally gotten your kitchen sink to gleam the way you like. But if you’d opened the bottle a little earlier, you may have found that splashing a little Coca Cola into your cleaning routine actually helps you get things that much cleaner that much faster.
If you’re not familiar with all of Coke’s various cleaning uses, and all of the lifehacks that have been handed down over the many years this soda has been around, then some of the following may be eye openers for you.
#1: An Easy, Clean Toilet
One of the most difficult household chores is cleaning the toilet. Partially because it’s a task no one wants to do, and partially because stains can cling in the bowl for a long time. However, if you have some Coke, you have a ready made solution. According to How To Clean Anything, all you need to do is pour a can of Coke into the toilet, and let it sit undisturbed for about an hour. While it sits there, the citric acid in the soda will break up difficult stains, dissolving them. All you need to do once the time is up is to flush, and admire the easy clean you achieved.
For the record, this same strategy works for difficult sinks, as well as for vitreous china, if you happen to have any of that laying around that you’ve been meaning to get clean for a while.
#2: Unclog Stubborn Drains
There are few things more annoying than clogged drains, and most of us don’t want to risk damaging our pipes by using harsh chemical cleaners. However, if a plunger and a drain snake just aren’t doing the job, then a 2-liter bottle of Coke might be just the thing according to Amarco Plumbing. First, make sure as much debris as possible is removed from the drain using a snake, tweezers, etc. Then, once you have as much of the clog removed with your own hands as you can manage, carefully pour the Coke in. Make sure to pour it slowly, and avoid foaming and spilling, as it can stain ceramic surfaces. Additionally, make sure you have room temperature Coke, instead of hot or cold, as that can affect the process. Once the Coke has been poured, let it sit overnight (preferably for 24 hours or so), and then run the shower or the sink the next day to see just how much of that clog has been eaten away.
#3: Eating Away Rust
Rust is the bane of many people’s lives, creeping in and ruining all sorts of things. Whether it’s a good set of garden tools you left out overnight, your favorite fencing practice sword, or just something creeping in around the edges of a letter opener, rust is a huge pain to get off. But as Amarco Plumbing points out, Coke can take that rust right off!
All you need to do is submerge the rusty item in Coca Cola (filling a plastic bag and tying it around bigger items like shower heads is a neat trick for this), and give it some time. Somewhere between a few minutes and half an hour or so should do the trick for surface rust, but you may need to do several dips and scrubs in order to get deeper rust that’s been going for a while. Either way, it’s a lot cheaper than getting fancy polishes and brushes; just dip, wipe, rinse, and dry!
For more ways you can keep your pipes clean, and your bathroom spotless, simply contact us today!
