Ditch the chemicals and try these tricks to spring clean your home

Many of the foods that fill our fridges and pantries are big on multi-tasking. Order a side of fries, washed down with a fizzy drink and bet you didn’t know the ketchup, salt and coke are all dual-purpose food stuffs?

As well as tasting great and providing nutritional value (arguably), they also have the power to make your home sparkle and shine, meaning you don't always have to reach for the chemicals. Check out these 10 foods that do double-duty as cleaning products.

Lemon

It’s mildly acidic nature will help you make quick work of grease and grime, with an all-natural fresh scent to boot. Add water to lemon juice and put in a spray bottle to clean the stove and appliances. Combining lemon juice with kosher salt and mineral oil can also help deep clean a wooden cutting board.

Place half a lemon in a bowl of water and cook on high for three minutes to make the inside of a microwave sparkle and shine.

Club soda

Works fast to remove stains from fabrics and carpets if you act quickly when you spill a dark-coloured drink. Streaks on stainless steel will disappear after being buffed with a club soda-soaked cloth and the refrigerator will benefit hugely from a good wipe down with a mixture of salt and soda water.

Vinegar

This one will come as a surprise to no one. You can use it almost everywhere and. don’t worry, the smell dissipates. Vinegar is acetic, which helps cut through dirt while killing mold, bacteria, and viruses. Mix equal parts white (also called distilled) vinegar and water to clean kitchen and bathroom surfaces.

You can even pour it into the kettle to remove limescale, or into the sticky, fabric softener trays of the washing machine. But be warned. Keep vinegar away from marble and other porous stone surfaces.

Baking soda

A gently abrasive cleaner, this is vinegar’s partner in crime. A combination of vinegar and baking soda can help keep drains clear and even de-skunk dogs! Wet the inside of your oven and then sprinkle baking soda all over the surfaces. Leave for a few hours (overnight if poss) and then wipe clean.

Top tip: wax crayon masterpieces on walls will disappear with a bit of elbow grease and some baking soda.

Banana peel

Don’t drop the banana skin, someone might slip. Plus you could also use it to polish the silverware. Simply rub the inside of a banana peel along the tarnished parts on your silver and it will help them look as good as new.

Peel a ripe banana, or two, and slice it for your morning brekkie bowl but hold onto that skin. It can also be used for making plant leaves and even your leather shoes shine like new.

Cucumber peel

How long have you been staring at those unsightly marks on the walls and tables? Well look no more.

Over the last few years the experts have started recommending the humble cucumber as an extremely versatile cleaning product. The peel will remove marks on countertops and walls.

Ketchup

Nope, it’s not just a clever way to get the kids to eat their greens, you can also brighten up copper pots and pans with a dab of ketchup on a cloth, thanks to the acids in the condiment that remove the tarnish.

Onion

Run half of a raw onion against your grill grates with the cut side down and hey presto, grease and leftover grit will vanish from the grill. Best option is to do it while the surface is still hot.

Top tip: put the onion on a long fork so you don’t burn your fingers.

Walnuts

Well, who’d have thought it? Peel a crunchy walnut from the shell and rub the nut part along a scratch in wooden furniture. Run your finger over the scratch to help penetrate the oils and leave for five minutes. Use a soft cloth to buff the area and you’re scratch-free. Nobody will ever know!

Salt

Grape fans out there will probably already know this one as it may well have saved a new white carpet. Next time someone accidentally spills a glass of red on the brand new white couch, simply reach for the table salt and pour.

It’s not magic, the salt absorbs the wine, but it feels like it when you see the white reappear!