7 Surprising Things You Should Be Cleaning With Aluminum Foil

Aluminum foil can be a huge help when it comes to keeping leftovers fresher, longer. But did you know you can also use it to clean and scrub all around your kitchen? Whether you repurpose the foil you used to cover those delicious baked goods or you accidentally tear an uneven sheet and find yourself with extra, you might be surprised how much you can accomplish when you crumple this kitchen essential into a ball. 

9 Surprising Things You Should Be Cleaning With Dishwasher Tablets

Here are seven surprising things we’ll be scrubbing and cleaning in our kitchens. 

1. Pots and pans

Scrubbing grimy pots and pans with a sponge doesn’t always cut it. Next time, make a wad of tin foil and use it to scour baked or burned-on food off your cookware. For more oomph, add some dish soap and use the foil like you would a scouring pad or steel wool. This is especially effective on cast iron or stainless pots and pans.  However, use caution on non-stick pans, as the foil could remove the protective coating.

2. Rusty hardware or appliances

If your chrome drawer pulls, knobs, or metal appliances are beginning to rust, don’t stress. Just grab a ball of tin foil and gently work at the rusty area—you should notice significant improvement, and quickly. Foil, it turns out, can chemically dissolve iron oxide (aka rust). Who knew?

3. Grill grates or oven racks

Grill brushes are amazing at scrubbing away food from the barbecue, but they can also leave behind tiny bits of pointy metal that could end up in your food. Next time you want to deep clean your grill grates or oven racks, grab a wad of tin foil instead! Always make sure the grill is off and totally cool before you start cleaning.

4. Dishes

Don’t let your dishes pile up just because your sponge is stinky. In a pinch, you can use a ball of tinfoil to scrub away all that food residue instead. As a bonus, the foil will probably be a lot more effective than your sponge at scouring away stuck food than a regular sponge (you know, just in case it’s been a few days since you washed dishes).

5. Oven

You’ve probably lined your baking sheets with foil. But have you ever tried cleaning the inside of your oven with it? Rather than resorting to strong-smelling cleaners, you can remove baked-on food with a ball of tinfoil before deep-cleaning the inside of your oven with baking soda, vinegar, or other non-chemical products. You can use the foil on the oven glass, too.

6. Glass baking dishes

Glass dishes retain heat a lot better than metal, so they can keep your baked goods warmer longer. The downside of glass baking dishes? They can quickly accumulate hard-to-clean food residue. Next time you bake, use a ball of tin foil and a bit of dish soap to erase that pesky stuck-on gunk from the corners and edges of the baking dish.

7. Vinyl floors

If you have vinyl flooring in your kitchen, a wad of tin foil is a great way to remove scuff marks that accumulate from foot traffic. Just gently brush the affected area with the foil ball before washing the floor.