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Finished your morning coffee? Here's how to put the grounds to good use...
Coffee grounds are abrasive, which makes them a great cleaning scrub for pots, pans, ovens and foul-smelling fridge drawers. Scrubbing away at those tough kitchen stains can often seem like a never-ending chore, but used coffee could be the answer you're looking for.
"We've all heard about lemon juice and vinegar acting as great natural cleaning products for the home, but coffee also has multiple benefits to keep your kitchen spick and span," Polly Shearer, interiors expert at Tap Warehouse, says.
Looking for some simple cleaning tips? Take a look at what you can do once you've had your morning caffeine fix...
The coarse texture of ground coffee makes it ideal for scrubbing those hard-to-clean pans – and is much better for the environment than abrasive sponges. All you need to do is combine two to three teaspoons of ground coffee with warm, soapy water, and scrub the pans with a soft sponge until clean. Coffee is a natural degreaser, so your pans will be spotless in no time.
Removing dirt, grease and grime from your oven is no easy feat. Having trouble getting yours clean? According to the experts at Tap Warehouse, the acidity in coffee makes it brilliant for removing tough stains.
Polly explains: "Soak your grill grates in the sink for about 45 minutes in a solution of warm water and a few spoonfuls of coffee, (even instant coffee will do), and you'll find the tough stains will melt off, leaving you with a grill that's as good as new. This also works just as well for barbecue grills."
Looking to banish lingering food smells? Kitchen bins and fridges are a magnet for bacteria, but coffee is another great secret ingredient that can help banish bad smells for good.
To try this at home, all you need to do is place coffee grounds or a few beans in a cup in your fridge. Coffee is a great absorber of odours, so it can be used to keep your fridge smelling fresh. The same can be done with your bin; simply place a teaspoon of coffee at the bottom before you put in the bin bag and any bad odours will fade.
"Coffee is also great for removing hard-to-clean stains from tiles — mix a few teaspoons of instant coffee or used grounds with soapy water and you'll have your very own surface cleanser," says Polly.
"This method can also be used on wooden surfaces that have scratches - soak a spoonful of coffee with warm water and gently rub on the surface. This will minimise the appearance of scratches and stains."
Kitchen sink not draining? Try pouring coffee grounds into the sink followed by liquid soap and boiling water. A great way to use up old grounds, this will help clear any blockages and leave your sink odour free in no time.
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You can choose whether these stylish bottles come with a trigger spray or a pump and you can also personalise the label on them. They are a perfect replacement for plastic bottles: cleaning sprays, shampoo and conditioner, hand wash, washing-up liquid etc. They can be refilled at local refill stations. We suggest Ecover refills for cleaning products (list of stockists here) and Faith in Nature for personal hygiene (list here).
BUY NOW, from £8, ETSY
Ecoeggs are a long-lasting alternative to laundry capsules and detergents. It’s a recycled plastic egg, filled with mineral pellets, which you put in your washing machine as you would a normal capsule. The refillable mineral pellets are proven to be good for allergy-prone and sensitive skin and are also much better for the waterways.
Tip! The Ecoegg is great for everyday washing but you might want to consider a stronger stain remover on dirtier clothes or the natural bleach mentioned in the next few slides. You can also add extra scent to your laundry with essentials oils.
We love these sturdy dish brushes that not only do the job well but look much nicer in our kitchens, too. Their description reads: "Each cleaning brush is handmade and bristles are made from highly durable and long lasting coconut fibre."
BUY NOW, £9.90, Wearth London
Swap those yellow and green sponges which shed plastic into our sinks with these attractive, washable pads. Although they are much thinner than a traditional sponge and definitely feel different to use, they are great for washing up plates, bowls and glasses. They can be washed in the machine and are then fully recyclable when they do reach they end of their days.
BUY NOW, £9 for 2, Wearth London
This laundry bag collects the microfibres that escape from your clothes in the washing machine. You simply put your load in the bag and then put the entire bag in the machine. Once the load is done, the microfibres will be left in the bottom of the bag. These can't be recycled in most cases but this method stops them from entering the waterways and inevitably heading for the ocean.
BUY NOW, £24.95, &Keep
This is an excellent cleaner which can be used to refill reusable bottles like the glass ones mentioned earlier. This product can be found at most Ecover refill stations but, if you would prefer buy a bottle, rest assured that it is made from recycled plastic and plant based materials and is fully recyclable.
This is an obvious swap away from the plastic clothes pegs that have crept into our households.
BUY NOW, £4.95, &Keep
Swap plastic-wrapped, single-use paper kitchen roll for these much more attractive, natural and washable cloths.
BUY NOW, £14, Wearth London
Swap cling film for beeswax wraps. They are perfect for fruit, veg, bread and bowls of leftovers. You simply warm the wax up with your hands and they mould around anything.
BUY NOW, from £10, The Beeswax Wrap Co.
This natural bleach in a paper bag, from Mangle & Wringer, is a great alternative to big plastic bottles of harsh chemical bleach. On their website, the description reads: "Our Natural Bleach, also known as oxygen bleach, is a safe and non-toxic, biodegradable alternative to harsh chlorine bleach. When dissolved in water it releases oxygen which acts as a powerful stain remover and deodoriser. It breaks down harmlessly to oxygen, water and sodium carbonate. This miracle product brightens both whites and coloured fabrics and prevents them from yellowing. It’s great at removing organic stains like tea and coffee, fruit juice, food sauces, grass stains, pet stains, blood and red wine. Natural Bleach is also a great alternative to chlorine bleach in the bathroom. Dissolve in warm water to safely clean and disinfect the loo and clean drains. Also use to easily and safely clean and bleach sinks, baths, cups, mugs, tea and coffee pots."
BUY NOW, from £3.50, Mangle & Wringer
Mangle & Wringer also do a range of cleaning balms in aluminium tins that can be reused or recycled. We love the lavender scented bathroom balm – you simply rub it in with a clean cloth, rinse and wash off.
BUY NOW, BATHROOM BALM, £5.80, Mangle & Wringer
BUY NOW, KITCHEN BALM, £5.80, Mangle & Wringer
These tablets are friendly to the waterways and the cardboard packaging is fully-recyclable. Ecover have this to say about the plastic-wrapped tablets on their website: "Dishwasher tablets don’t react well to the moisture in the air. In fact, it causes them to crumble. We want you to open your box to find tablets, not powder, so we wrap each tablet. The packages of our dishwasher tablets are made of polypropylene and each pack weighs only 0.3 grams.We have not found a dissolvable film that meets our standards for biodegradability. We are actively investigating an alternative to this type of packaging – we’re looking at plant based options that meet our standards. We’re not there yet but when we find an alternative we will switch."
These reusable, washable clothes clean multiple surfaces with just water. The starter pack includes an e-cloth for bathroom, kitchen, windows, multi-surface and glass polishing
An obvious swap for their plastic, single-use cousins.
BUY NOW, £6, Ethical Superstore
Don't spend 5p on another plastic bag – these string ones are perfect for your shopping and stylish too.
BUY NOW, £10.99 for 4, Amazon