Love it or hate it, Coca-Cola is one versatile sody-pop! We’re here to share some of the internet’s favourite unorthodox uses for this sweet treat… some may surprise you! We even went ahead and tested a few ourselves to see what really worked. No one was willing to get stung by a jellyfish for the sake of the blog, but we did what we could with the resources at hand. Here we go!
Removing driveway oil stains: C+
Some of you may be thinking… “Really? Why would I waste a perfectly good bottle of Coke on a nasty oil stain? How does that even work?” Well, for one, it’s convenient because most people have soda more readily available around the house than oil spill-specific cleaning solutions. We heard about this cleaning hack and were skeptical ourselves, but had to give it a try. We went out and found the biggest, oldest, nastiest oil stain we could find in our office parking lot and went for it. All things considered… we were pleasantly surprised! Having watched just a couple of how-to videos, we definitely went into this experiment with little to no idea of what we were doing. See for yourselves:
Ultimately we gave this hack a C+. There is definitely a noticeable difference in the before and after photos – and it was really easy and cheap to do. We did consider that this was a very old, well-established “here to stay” kind of stain, so we have faith that if you try this on a newer oil spill, the day it happens, Coca-Cola would do a spectacular (cheap and easy) job at cleaning it up.
Dissolving greasy clothing stains: B+
Spilling soda on your clothes probably has you thinking, “Uh oh, that’s gonna stain!” Well, Coca-Cola works in mysterious ways, and can actually help RID your clothes of stains! Some stains are more stubborn than others… especially grease! Whether you drop a bite of pizza on your shirt or soil it working on your car, we have a solution! This is another hack we were pretty skeptical about at first… I mean who would’ve thought that pouring some Coke on your clothes could actually make them cleaner? If you’re faced with a pesky grease stain on your clothes, we recommend spot-treating with Coke for a few minutes and then pouring the rest of the can into the washing machine when you do that load of laundry. Voila! It really works! To be fair, we tested this hack on a freshly greased shirt that was rubbed with oil for the purpose of this test, hence the B+ grade. We did not perform the test on an old stain, so keep that in mind!
BONUS TIP: Coke works double duty by lifting stinky odors from your clothes in the wash!
Battery corrosion: Did not test
It’s probably a smart idea to keep an emergency can of Coke in your trunk with the jack, spare tire, and jumper cables! Car not starting? The acid and carbonation in Coke seem to work hand in hand to clean off a corroded battery – just pour it right on there! We hope to never have to test this one, but from the reviews we’ve seen online… it’s a great trick to have up your sleeve!
Jewellry/Coin cleaner: C+
We had high hopes for this one! Everyone’s heard that Coke is powerful enough to clean a penny – probably in an attempt to scare people out of putting it into their bodies, but we all know that isn’t stopping us. We took a variety of pennies (fairly clean to insanely dirty) and put them into a cup overnight with Coke. Using just a quick rinse + paper towel, we saw that Coke definitely loosened up some of the grime, but the pennies would probably need a good scrub with a toothbrush to look new again. We chose to simply rub them with a paper towel to see if Coca-Cola had the cleaning powers on its own that we thought it did – and we were pretty disappointed. See for yourself!
Garden security: Did not test, but want to test
Got a bug problem in your garden? Pesky slugs creeping in, eatin’ all your stuff? A shallow dish full of Coke strategically placed among your flowers and veggies will do wonders! You can also pour it straight into ant hills or along known bug territory in your yard. The sticky sweet treat will draw them in, but ultimately kill them.
Added Bonus Tip: Pouring Coca-Cola into the soil of plants who prefer more acidic soil will give them a little boost! Examples: Azaleas, Gardenias & Rhododendrons.
Toilet bowl cleaner: A-
Cleaning the toilet is a fun chore, huh? Obviously not. Using Coca-Cola is similar to the ole baking soda and vinegar trick – it just smells a lot better! Pour a can of fizzy Coke into your toilet and let it sit for anywhere between 20 minutes to an hour. The Coke will have loosened up any stains in your toilet, significantly cutting down the time you’ll have to spend scrubbing with that trusty toilet wand. Give it a quick scrub-around and flush… and you’re done! Easy peasy. We give this hack an A- because it’s cheap, easy, effective… and most importantly, safe. If your kids or dog get into the toilet during the soaking period, you’ll be a heck of a lot happier it’s just coke and not some harsh chemical cleaner! The only upside to those chemicals is that they will disinfect your toilet, something Coke will not do. But hey, if you’re on a health kick, or gave up soda for Lent, this hack will keep you honest. One can of Coke down the toilet = one less can of coke you can drink. Everybody wins!
P.S. We heard the same hack can be used on your bathroom tile as well. Give it a try and let us know how it goes!
Blackened pots/pans: Did not test (yet)
We heard this works wonders, so I’d really like to try it myself! That yucky black, seemingly permanently caked-on film some of your old pots and pans have, can be taken care of by doing a pre-treatment of Coke! All you seem to need to do is fill the pot or pan with enough Coke to cover the stain and simmer on low heat while scrubbing with a non-abrasive (silicone or similar) spatula. Once most of the stain is loosened up and scrubbed away, you can resume washing your pots normally.
Rust remover: B+
Rust is a huge pain… prevention is probably the best method of ridding it from our lives, but we know that’s not always possible! We tested the powers of Coke a small rusty pair of nail clippers – probably not the greatest sample size, we know. So we cannot comment on whether it’ll take the rust off your car or restore big old crusty tools to their original state, but all things considered… coke does seem to work for rust removal! We let the clippers sit overnight in a bowl of coke – and you can see in the video that with just some light rubbing, the rust was coming off onto the paper towel very easily. Definitely recommended for use on small rust spots!
Relieve a jellyfish sting: Obviously, did not test
During our research, this life hack surprised and intrigued our team the most. While none of us have personally been stung by a jellyfish, we’ve heard it hurts… a lot! Unfortunately, no one in the office was willing to go down to the Cincinnati Aquarium to sneak their hand in the jellyfish tank so we could test the validity of this hack, so we’ll just share what we’ve found on the trusty internet! Since it’s likely that you, or at least someone, at the beach, will have Coca-Cola handy… we like to think it’s a good fun fact to keep in your back pocket, that Coke will relieve the pain of a Jellyfish sting! Apparently, the acidic properties of Coke will alleviate and neutralize the sting & help tide you over ‘til you can see a doctor or gain access to more orthodox treatments.
YUMMY BBQ SAUCE: A+++++++
That’s right… we’ve got a great Coca-Cola bar-be-que sauce recipe, too! After a hard day’s work cleaning your toilet, pennies, driveway, and clothes… and relieving your jellyfish sting… you’re probably going to be hungry! That’s why we’ve created this AMAZING BBQ sauce recipe just for you (and for ourselves, not gonna lie). Easy as can be, this sticky sweet classic barbeque sauce has a bit of a kick – so feel free to omit the spicy stuff if you’d like! This sauce is great for slathering on ribs, grilled chicken pulled pork, burgers… and a whole lot more. I’m not going to list the calories or nutritional information on this sauce because I don’t know what it is, and don’t care! Also, not sure what the shelf-life of this sauce is, but it’ll be gone so quick you won’t have to worry about it!
What you’ll need:
– One 12oz. can of Coca-Cola
– 1.5 cups of ketchup
– 2-3 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar
– 2-3 tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce
– 2 tablespoons of brown sugar
– 2 crushed garlic cloves
– ¼ of an onion
– Black pepper to taste
– Dash of salt
OPTIONAL INGREDIENTS
– Smoky steak seasoning
– 3 tablespoons Frank’s hot sauce
– 1 tablespoon chili powder
– Dash of crushed red pepper
Crush your garlic, quarter your onion, and drop it into a pot with the rest of the ingredients. Bring to a soft (not rolling) boil then reduce heat and cover. Simmer for 20-30 minutes, until it begins to reduce. Strain the sauce into your sealable container of choice and let cool before capping & refrigerating. Your sauce will continue to thicken up as it cools. We know you will… but please enjoy!
Thanks for checking out our list of Coca-Cola hacks! We hope you’re inspired to try some unusual cleaning hacks yourself this spring – if you need help around the house, don’t forget your local Genie offers free estimates on ALL services: window cleaning, window tinting, pressure washing, gutter cleaning, and much more.
MEGA EXTRA BONUS TIP: After all that hard work & spring cleaning, reward yourself (responsibly) with a refreshing rum and Coke J
