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Easily Remove Rust with Ketchup

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Cleaning Tips

22 Aug

Rusty tools? Check out this easy tutorial on how to remove rust… with ketchup!

Rusty hammer

Sooo… the other day I was outside, putting together a ladder shelf in my driveway. I thought I had thoroughly cleaned up after myself, but after a nice rainstorm, I found I had left a hammer sitting out. And you know what happens when you leave tools in the rain, right? Rust. I had seen this little trick for rust removal, and thought I’d give it a try.

What You Need to Easily Remove Rust

Bottle of ketchup to be used to remove rust

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  • Ketchup
  • Paper Towels
  • Scour Pad (Optional)

I know. Weird, right?! But it’s true. We’re going to remove rust with ketchup!

How to Remove Rust with Ketchup

Here’s a look at the hammer I had left out in the rain…

Rusty hammer left out in the rain

I laid down some paper towels (for easy clean up) and set the hammer on top. Then I coated the hammer in a generous layer of ketchup.

Rusty hammer covered in ketchup

I left it this way for 2 hours in order to really let the ketchup go to work. After two hours was up, I simply rinsed it off, using paper towels to remove the ketchup. If you have some tough rust, you could also try a scour pad.

Rinsing ketchup off rusty hammer

Thoroughly dry. This is important, as water left on the item will only cause rust to reform. After 2 hours, this was where my hammer ended up… although much better, there was still a little rust at the top…

Hammer with small amount of rust after applying ketchup for 2 hours

So I repeated the process again, being that it only took 30 seconds to apply the ketchup, and then it was a simple waiting game. After round two, here’s what the hammer looked like…

Hammer with hardly any rust remaining after removing rust with ketchup

Not bad, right? Let’s take a look at the before and after:

Before and After of rusty hammer cleaned with ketchup

So, if you happen to have some rusty tools lying around, grab this popular condiment, and put it to use 🙂

For more amazing cleaning tip and tricks, click here.

 

Love it? Pin it!

I never knew you could remove rust with ketchup, but WOW! It does an amazing job with hardly any effort!

7 Comments

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Comments

  1. MrsSW says

    August 10, 2021 at 7:28 PM

    And we put that in our stomachs.

    Sheila

    Reply
  2. Jewell Martin says

    August 24, 2017 at 4:49 PM

    I Pinned it. Thank you for posting this. Do you mind if a post when I get around to doing this someday? I have a bunch of tools that need this. I might do some painting or staining, too.

    Reply
    • Erin says

      August 26, 2017 at 6:46 AM

      Thanks for pinning! And, yes, please share your results when you get around to it 🙂

      Reply
  3. Lynda says

    August 23, 2017 at 7:25 AM

    I have a stubborn rust stain on a porcelain tub. Do you think ketchup would work for that?

    Reply
    • Erin says

      August 23, 2017 at 8:22 AM

      I’m not exactly sure how that might work. If the rust has eaten through the porcelain, I wouldn’t think that you’d be able to restore the porcelain, if that makes sense. The reason ketchup works is because it’s acidic and eats away at the rust. I wouldn’t want it to also eat away at the porcelain as well.

      Reply
      • Lynda says

        August 23, 2017 at 8:26 AM

        Thank you! It’s not a very big spot but it’s driving me crazy. I don’t think it’s eaten through the porcelain, but I’ll take a look. Thanks so much for the quick reply! I really enjoy your blog!

        Reply
        • Erin says

          August 23, 2017 at 8:28 AM

          If you want to try ketchup, I would highly recommend testing it on a small (out of view) spot first to make sure it doesn’t damage the porcelain.

          Reply

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Hi there! I'm Erin. Welcome to Lemons, Lavender & Laundry, where we believe that creating a clean home should be done as simply and naturally as possible. [Read More...]

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