Make Your Countertops Shine Like New With The Bananas Already In Your Kitchen

Whether you love cleaning your kitchen or dread it, you probably still want it to look good when it's done. A full, deep clean can require glass cleaner, degreaser, floor polish, and a general cleaner for everything else, but sometimes that's just not feasible. All of those things can be expensive, and it's easy to forget when you need more. If you're stuck looking for a quick and easy way to clean your countertops, you may already have the answer at hand. Bananas make a surprisingly effective polish and cleaner for countertops and wood.

Bananas, famously, are rich in potassium; it's part of the reason bananas make great silver polish. But it doesn't have to stop at your silverware. The various acids, oils, and enzymes in banana peel also make it a great wood polish, though you should not use it on untreated wood. If you have any wood furniture or surfaces in your house that are showing their age, gently rub with some banana peel and then wipe clean. It will return the shine that it once had and really make it pop.

For the most effective cleaning of your countertops, make a solution of vinegar and banana peel. Instead of tossing your peels out, chop a couple of them and put them in a jar with vinegar and water (the usual ratio is one to one). Let it steep for 24 to 48 hours. Pour the liquid into a spray bottle, and you have an effective, budget-friendly, environmentally safe cleaner.

While banana alone is a good polisher, it can't remove grease or stains very well, which is why mixing banana with vinegar is a better solution. If you're using straight peels as a polish on your wood surfaces, gently rub with the wet side of the peel and let it sit for about 10 minutes. Wipe the residue with a wet cloth and then use a soft cloth to buff it clean afterwards so you're not leaving any banana behind. It's the effect of the oils and acids you want more than actual bits of fruit.

Using bananas might sound unusual at first, but when you think about it, is that much different than using vinegar? Or lemon juice? We use natural cleaning products all the time. Bananas are just less common, so they don't immediately come to mind as a solution.

Another helpful thing to keep in mind is that it's not just the peels. The fruit itself is just as effective. Obviously, you're better off eating a ripe, tasty banana. If you have older bananas that have gotten too soft and you're not planning to use them for banana bread, you can take a small amount of that overripe banana and use it the same way. Rub it into the wood surface with your fingers and then wipe it clean. If you keep bananas in your home regularly, this is a simple way to get the most out of them.