Tips with Ketchup and vinegar

By Brian Clark Howard

Now that you know ketchup can be used for shining copper and repairing hair, or that vodka can be used to repel insects and freshen laundry, you may have been wondering what tasks you can get done for cheap with other household items. Since May is National Vinegar Month (did you forget??), we thought we'd take a closer look at this inexpensive, versatile good.

According to the Vinegar Institute, the useful stuff was probably discovered by accident (most wine drinkers know what happens when you leave a bottle sitting around too long). In fact the word vinegar comes from a French translation for "sour wine." Over the centuries vinegar has been produced from many stocks, including molasses, dates, sorghum, fruits, coconut, honey, beer, maple syrup, potatoes, beets, grains and more. But the principle is the same: you get acetic acid (a.k.a. vinegar) after first fermenting natural sugars to alcohol, and then fermenting again.

As Michael de Jong, TDG's Zen Cleaner and author of the Clean series of books, points out, vinegar has been pressed into service for many uses over the centuries. It has been prized as a foodstuff, condiment, preservative and natural remedy.

What's so great about vinegar? Besides being effective, vinegar is cheap and widely available. It is non-toxic and lasts for a very long time without losing strength. It does not pollute land, air or water or combust. It's much safer to have under your sink than bleach, ammonia or other toxic cleaning products. Many folks also swear by the benefits of apple cider vinegar.

In the spirit of green cleaning, green thrift and green creativity, we put together this list of alternative uses for vinegar. Add your own in the comments!

1. Clean Windows
Instead of spending money on window cleaning chemicals -- especially ones that include toxic or potentially toxic chemicals -- make your own! Mix 2 tablespoons of white vinegar with a gallon of water, and dispense into a used spray bottle. Squirt on, then scrub with newspaper, not paper towels, which cause streaking.

Gerville Hall/Istock

2. Get Spring Fresh Laundry
Got grass stains? No problemo, says Michael de Jong. Make a mixture of one-third cup white vinegar and two-thirds cup water. Apply the solution to the stain and blot with a clean cloth. Repeat this process until you've removed as much green as possible, and then launder as usual.

When your big washing day comes around, toss in a capful of white vinegar. Your colors will come out bolder and your whites whiter. If you've recently had an encounter with a skunk, it will take more than a capful.

After washing, get a sharper crease in pants by dipping the cloth in a 50/50 mixture of vinegar and water. Then wring out the cloth and press the creases. Now you look like Dilbert!

3. Clean Carpets
According to this TDG community member:

"Spots in carpets often remove with a simple dilution of one part vinegar, one-sixteenth part lemon juice and eight parts distilled water."

Thanks for the tip!



4. Wash Produce
According to the green team at Ideal Bite, vinegar can help remove bacteria and pesticide residues from fruits and veggies. Mix three parts water to one part white vinegar, and dispense in a spray bottle. Then rinse with water. The site claims the wash kills 98% of bacteria on produce.



Luca di Filippo/Istock



5. Break Bad Bonds
Having trouble getting that annoying sticky label residue off a product? Or accidentally glue something together? Vinegar can be used as a solvent to dissolve many common adhesives. Vinegar is also good at cutting grease.



6. Fight Hiccups and Cramps
If you often get foot or leg cramps in the middle of the night, you may want to try boosting your potassium levels. There are a number of great superfoods rich in potassium (way beyond bananas). Some folks have also suggested trying this remedy: Mix 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar, 1 teaspoon of honey and a cup of hot water. Then drink before bed. Yummy!

Some have also said they were able to cure pesky hiccups instantly by swallowing a teaspoon of vinegar. Hey, if the Roman legions drank it, it must be good for you!



7. Deter Cats
We love cats here at TDG (even LOLcats!). But sometimes you don't want them doing their business in the kids' sandbox. Or in your flower bed. According to HomeEnvy, a simple solution is to pour vinegar around the edges of the area you want to protect every few months.


9 Uses for Ketchup That May Surprise You

Photo: Craig Veltri/ Istock

By Brian Clark Howard

Whether you enjoy ketchup with fries or -- like some Americans -- a few fries with a boatload of ketchup, there's no denying the ubiquity and popularity of the distinctive red condiment. Ketchup has been satirized, politicized (W Ketchup anyone?) and considered for reclassification as a vegetable. Many folks can't even agree how it should be spelled (catsup or catchup perhaps?).

We're guessing we're not the only ones who squirrel away unused packets of ketchup in desks and cabinets after a quick meal on the go. (Or who have aging, half-empty bottles of the stuff crammed in the back of the fridge.) And since we hate to waste things here at The Daily Green, we got to thinking about ways to creatively reuse extra ketchup -- we mean besides the obvious choices of making recession ketchup "pizza" or "spaghetti." Shudder…

By the way, wonder what's in ketchup? Typically tomato concentrate (duh), the ubiquitous corn syrup or another sweetener, vinegar, salt, spice and herb extracts (including celery), spice and garlic powder. Some brands also include allspice, cloves, cinnamon, onion and other vegetables.

Perhaps not surprisingly given the condiment's popularity, ketchup is now available in organic formulations, including from industry leader Heinz. A recent study at the Agricultural Research Service in Albany, California found that organic ketchups tested had more lycopenes than conventional brands. Lycopenes are thought to offer cancer prevention properties.

There also are a number of brands available without corn syrup, such as Nature’s Hollow Sugar Free Ketchup, sweetened with the birch tree extract xylitol.

Another drawback of ketchup is that it usually contains a large amount of salt, a concern since our diet contains 43-74% too much of the stuff, according to the FDA. In fact one tablespoon of ketchup can contain up to 190 milligrams of sodium, and many of us use more than that in a sitting. There are low-sodium versions from Hunt's and others, and organic brands often have a bit less. Note that Worcestershire, barbecue and cocktail sauces typically have even more salt than ketchup.

So check out these great alternative uses for ketchup, which will save you money and time:

1. Shine Your Copper

Whether you have copper-bottomed cooking pans, architectural detailing or shiny knick-knacks, forget mucking about with costly and potentially toxic metal polish pastes. Why not use some of those old ketchup packets stashed away in your kitchen drawers?

Here's a very simple recipe from Michael de Jong, TDG's Zen Cleaner and author of the Clean series of simple living books:

Massage ketchup over the copper and watch it dissolve the tarnish away (thanks to the acid). In the event that you have stubborn spots, add a pinch of table salt while you polish.

2. Get Those Auto Parts Gleaming

According to The Cymbal Book by Hugo Pinksterboer, some folks have seen decent results getting their cars to shine by rubbing with ketchup. The book notes that the condiment does a good job cutting tarnish, but not so well in removing dirt. Sounds like you may need a multi-step process, with some soap and water as well.

Give it a try and let us know if it works for you.

3. Fight Skunk Odors

If you've lived in a rural or even suburban part of North America, chances are you may have had a run-in with a skunk one night or evening. Or perhaps your dog has. Although some experts have cautioned that the technique may not actually work well (beyond a masking sensation), many people still swear by tomato juice as a way to remove potent skunk odor. Michael de Jong points out that in the event you don't have any tomato juice on hand you can try using plain ketchup instead.

4. Get Back Prettier Hair from Chlorine Damage

According to de Jong, ketchup can also be used to correct limey-hair-highlights-gone-green, which can sometimes occur from exposure to chlorine found in swimming pools (another good reason to check out natural pools as a refreshing alternative).

How? Restore your normal hair color -- or at least the one you paid dearly for -- by applying full strength ketchup to your hair. Smoosh it in, let it linger for about 20 minutes and then wash it out thoroughly.

5. Fake Blood/Battles

As any elementary school jokester knows, ketchup makes great (albeit messy) fake blood. This goes for lunchroom antics as well as Halloween parties. Of course, we recommend you exercise a lot of caution with this one, since it's not much of a win for you or the planet if you have to try to launder away tough stains.

Also, we wouldn't really recommend random ketchup attacks on transit riders, or assaults on estranged family...although we suppose those technically are reuses.

Unusual Uses for Ketchup Packets
About those packets we mentioned...they pile up across America by the millions, as hurried diners and service staff often grab huge handfuls, only to end up using a few. Since we don't like to see things go to waste, here's some ideas to get at least one more use out of them:

6. Soothe Wounds

Lisa posted over on Seacoast Online that she freezes leftover ketchup and soy sauce packets to use on her children's "small booboos and bumps." She claims, "The kids LOVE them." Apparently even the mere appearance of the packets often makes their hurts go away.

We just hope they don't discover the "art" of ketchup packet fights.

7. Use Them for Target Practice

Speaking of that, a couple of chums over at Cockeyed went to some trouble to make an elaborate Ketchup Packet Bear, out of chicken wire, paper, plastic and sealed condiments. I'll let them tell the story:

"The sauce packet bear emerged from a discovery that ketchup packets burst open when you hit them with a BB gun. Leif and I shot a few in the kitchen one night. I got a remarkable bloody mess. I was intrigued, and set about designing a better bleeding target."

Click on the link above to see how their little experiment panned out (hint: it ends with a bonfire).

8. Speed Painting

Need to indulge your creative side? Why not try speed painting? This took 10 ketchup packets and 50 minutes, sped up into four minutes for our viewing pleasure. See who's face emerged? Nice job Eclectic Asylum!