Saturday, January 29, 2011

Coffee Ground Cleaner


Our bucket looks like this,
plus or minus a little aging
The abrasive qualities of coffee grounds may make them suitable for some limited cleaning uses.
We collect our compostable scraps in a lidded stainless steel bucket under the sink, and empty it into the compost heap every couple of days. Over the course of time and in the nature of things, the inside of the bucket gets kinda skanky. Fortunately, we generate a cup or so of coffee grounds in that time, and their nature abrasive properties are good for scouring out the inside of the bucket. A quick rinse from the rain barrel, and the bucket is almost as good as new. And best of all, the effluvia is harmless to the environment; rain water and coffee grounds go right on the compost pile!

If we had enough grounds, I'd like to experiment with it for other cleaning purposes. I imagine they might stain anything porous, but might be o.k. for metals that sit outside and perhaps the top of my potting table, which is wood but stained from potting materials anyway.

For a little more scrubbing power, I might experiment with baking soda, which comes free whenever we switch out an odor-eating box from the fridge. Thriftiness at no sacrifice in quality is always smart!
--
I was inspired to writ on this subject by this week's Change The World Wednesday Challenge:
"This week, if you've never tried Eco-friendly cleansers (either commercial or handmade), please try one out.

Or ...
If you've used commercial Eco-friendly cleansers but have never made your own, try making one (a simple cleanser can be made with equal parts vinegar and baking soda, with a few drops of essential oil added in to make it smell nice ... it's perfect for cleaning bathrooms and kitchens). We'd also like to know which commercial brands you use and your analysis of them.
Or ...

If you always use homemade cleansers, please share your recipe with us. We'd also like to know what you've tried, what works and what doesn't.
"
Thanks, "Small Footprints", for another fun challenge. I'm looking forward to seeing what other people come up with!

1 comment:

Small Footprints said...

Oh ... very clever! I like this idea a lot. I'm guessing that one could use them to clean out planters and all manner of things. Hm ... that gives me another idea ... I wonder how used tea bags would work on cleaning surfaces, like flat-topped stoves, mirrors, etc. I might have to give that a try! Thanks, Rewinn!