Potatoes are more than just a gastronomy delight.
Potatoes are one of the most versatile vegetables to enjoy. You can cook, bake, fry, or boil them as a tasty hot dish or a summer salad. The options are limitless, which is why they are such a popular item in every kitchen. However, unbelievable as it may sound, potatoes aren’t used for cuisine alone. They offer practical uses when it comes to cleaning!
1. Glasses
Everyone who wears glasses will agree how bothersome it can be when your spectacles fog up, particularly when having to wear a face mask. But guess what? If you rub a raw potato on the inside of the glass lens, the starch will prevent your spectacles from clouding up.
2. Rust
Rust can be a real nuisance that can damage utensils permanently. Potatoes are a great solution for rust. Instead of throwing away knives or scissors that have succumbed to rust, take half a potato, and add some dishwashing liquid with baking soda to the potato’s surface and rub it on the item until the rust disappears. Then just rinse off your utensils and they will look good as new.
3. Cleaning Up Glass
When glass breaks, it shatters into hundreds of tiny pieces and it’s not an easy job making sure you have swept up every last bit of shard. And oftentimes you will miss those sharp fragments only to step on them days later. So, how do potatoes help here? Well, simply use half a potato to rub around the area where the glass shattered using the exposed part of the potato and not the potato skin. It will collect all those small fragments! To keep yourself protected from any cuts, make sure you wear protective gloves while cleaning up the glass.
4. Polishing Silver
If you’re boiling potatoes for supper, don’t throw the water away afterward. The reason for this is that the used water is loaded with starch that can be used to wash away stubborn stains on silverware. Put the silver in the water to soak for about an hour then Place the silver in the water for at least an hour after which time you can dry and polish to get that shiny look without any stains.
6. Rusty Cast Iron Skillet
A quick science lesson: Potatoes contain oxalic acid, which helps to break down rust. So you can use a potato to restore a rusty cast iron skillet. Just cut the potato in half (lengthwise or crosswise), dip the cut end in dish soap or baking soda, and rub it over the rusty areas. If the end of the potato gets slick, slice it off and dip the newly cut end. Repeat until rust is removed and then rinse and dry the item.
