You’re paying unnecessarily for garbage disposals: You just need plain oil from the kitchen

You may know it too – the unpleasant smell, the slow draining water, and finally the completely clogged drain. A situation that many people reach for expensive and aggressive chemical products to deal with. However, these products destroy the pipesthemselvesalong with the debris ,pollutetheenvironment, and often leave behind an unpleasant odor, so they don’t solve the core of the solution. But what if you have the solution right in your home? The answer is surprisingly simple – you just need ordinary cooking oil.

You might be surprised, but table oil can be a great help in taking care of waste, especially if you are planning to travel for an extended period of time and know that the water system will be out of commission for a few days. This is because waste can dry out quite quickly, which not only leads to odors, but also to the gradual deterioration of the pipes.

Oil as a prevention against clogged drains

If you pour a small amount of fresh vegetable oil into the drain (not the overheated kind, which clogs the drain), a fine film forms on the inner walls of the pipes . This will both prevent the siphon from drying out and prevent unpleasant odours from entering the space. The most popular is sunflower, which you just pour into the waste just before you leave.

You’ll appreciate this simple trick just when you ‘re going on vacation or know that no one will be home for a few days. The water in the drain quickly evaporates and that’s when that aforementioned, typically musty smell enters the room. But oil prevents this and also helps to keep the pipes themselves in better shape.

But oil can do more than that in the home. For example, it can lubricate creaky door hinges to reduce friction and noise, and it can even help with a sticky lock. A thin layer of oil can also be applied to metal tools and surfaces to protect them from corrosion. The applications are simply immeasurable.

Kitchen ingredients instead of chemicals

Other readily available ingredients – baking soda and salt– are similarly effective. These two ingredients that we commonly have in the kitchen work as natural cleaners. Soda acts as a mild abrasive and neutralises odours, while salt disinfects and helps remove deposits.

Combined with oil, you get an effective home remedy that can loosen minor clogs and prevent them from reoccurring.

How to use these ingredients in practice?

• For cleaning drains: pour half a cup of baking soda down the drain, add half a cup of salt and cover with hot water. The mixture will loosen the grease that builds up in the pipes and leave the drain fresh.
• For the kitchen sink: Apply a paste of baking soda, salt and a little water to a sponge and scrub the surface thoroughly. Then rinse with hot water. The sink will sparkle and be disinfected at the same time.
• For the waste bin: Pour a handful of baking soda or a mixture of salt and a few drops of essential oil into an empty trash can. Leave it in, then rinse the basket. The smells will disappear and the home will smell fresh.

Extra tips

• Instead of spraying expensive air fresheners in the air, put a tablespoon of baking soda mixed with a few drops of lemon oil in the bottom of the basket.
• You can also try the popular combination of baking soda and vinegar for heavily clogged drains. After ten minutes, pour in boiling water – the effect is quick and safe.
• If you have cast iron or copper cookware at home, salt mixed with lemon juice can clean it without damaging the surface.

Expensive drugstore cleaners may give you a feeling of relief for a while, but in the long run they put a strain not only on your wallet but also on the environment. Yet the solution is so simple: use non-toxic products that we keep on hand.

Together, oil, baking soda and salt can do much more than meets the eye – and keep your home clean, functional and free of unnecessary chemicals.