From the time I was a teenager all the way into my early 20s, I drank an insane amount of soda. My personal favorite was Vanilla Coke, but I’d happily drink Pepsi or Coca-Cola whenever I had the chance. It’s absolutely terrible for you, though, and I’ve pretty much given up the habit. In fact, I can’t even drink soda now—it’s so acidic and gross and it hurts my teeth. However, there is way more to soda than simply drinking it.
In fact, there are literally dozens of ways that Coca-cola can be used around the house. As it is carbonated and contains a ton of phosphoric acid, it can be used for cleaning and in dozens of recipes (including this rocking BBQ sauce). There are way too many ways listed for me to try them all, so here are six things I use Coke for around the house:
1. Remove rust and gunk from metals
Because of its acidic qualities, Coca-cola is great for removing rust from metal objects or cleaning the gunk from pennies. All you have to do is soak the metal in a glass of Coke and presto! Squeaky clean.
2. Clean the toilet
While nothing is really as good as bleach when it comes to cleaning and disinfecting, Coke can definitely remove some of the stains from your porcelain throne in a pinch. Just dump the coke in the bowl, let it sit for 10 minutes, scrub a little, and flush.
3. Remove milk stains
If you’ve ever had to try and clean off milk stains from clothing, then you know how hardy that stuff can be. However, if you soak the cloth in coke for about five minutes, then you can throw it in the wash like normal. The carbonation and the phosphoric acid will help get rid of the stains.
4. Get rid of skunk smell
Traditionally, tomato juice is the go-to for getting rid of that nasty skunk smell, but as it turns out, Coke is just about as efficient. Next time you hit a skunk or get some of the smell on yourself, rinse off with a bottle of Coke to remove the oils, then a some soap and water to remove the sticky residue from the Coke.
5. Remove grease stains
On the topic of stains, Coke can reportedly get grease stains out of clothing. Just leave let the garment soak for 10-15 minutes, then wash as normal. You can also simply dump some Coke in the laundry machine and get the same result. I’m not sure if this will work on set-in stains or not, but it’s worth a shot, right?
6. Remove gum from hair
Gum in your hair is the worst. Peanut butter is the normal solution, but that can be ridiculously messy. Instead, soak the piece in a glass of Coke. It should break down the gum enough that you can pull it out of your hair without problem.
What do you use Coca-cola for around the house? Leave me a note below and let me know!!
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