Rusty tools? Check out this easy tutorial on how to remove rust… with ketchup!
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 Remove Rust From Tools
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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…
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.
I left it this way for 2 hours in order to really let the ketchup go to work. When the time was up, I simply rinsed it off, using paper towels to remove the ketchup. If you have some tougher rust spots, you could also try using a scour pad.
Thoroughly dry. This is important, as water left on the item will only cause rust to reform. After 2 hours in the “ketchup bath”, this is what my hammer looked like… although much better, there was still a little rust at the top…
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…
Not bad, right? Let’s take a look at the before and after:
So, if you happen to have some rusty tools lying around, grab this popular condiment, and put it to use 🙂
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Sheila
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.
Thanks for pinning! And, yes, please share your results when you get around to it 🙂
I have a stubborn rust stain on a porcelain tub. Do you think ketchup would work for that?
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.
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!
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.