Bread is a great surface cleaner because of its porous structure and absorbent properties. “Accidentally spilled butter, sauce or wine on your tablecloth? Bread will soak up the liquid before it has a chance to penetrate the fabric’s fibres. Next time you have a stain to remove, simply grab a piece of the bread to limit the damage,” says professional cleaner Jill Koch.
That’s not all: the gluten in bread acts as a magnet for dirt. “Household cleaning products can be as simple as rolling a ball of bread into an eraser that can easily tackle mysterious stains on walls, cabinets and door frames – just be careful not to rub too hard or you’ll end up with crumbs,” advises Jill.
You’ve probably heard that rice is indispensable when you need to dry something, like a smartphone that accidentally ended up in the washing machine. But there are other rice cleaning hacks, too, like Koch’s advice for cleaning your coffee grinder. “Pour rice in it until the grains completely cover the blades, and turn it on for a minute to get rid of any old roast or spice residue,” says Jill.
And here’s how to use rice for cleaning when you need to wash a bottle and don’t have a bottle brush handy: pour a quarter cup of rice into a container, add a drop of dish soap and a little water (it shouldn’t cover the grains), and then shake the bottle. Done — all that’s left is to rinse it with water.