Ketchup is one of those condiments that everyone has in their house and often we have a lot of it.  There seem to be two schools of thought on ketchup when eating: a little to top it off or drown the food in the red stuff.

While we could debate how healthy ketchup may or may not be, we have to agree that every house in America probably has a bottle of it somewhere.  Most ketchup you get at the store or restaurant will be sweetened with corn syrup while organic versions of the condiment will have sweet spices instead.

The active ingredient in ketchup is tomato juice.  Tomato juice, especially when concentrated as in ketchup, is acidic.  That’s part of what gives it the “tang.”

Because of that acidity, ketchup can be used for a lot of things around the house.  Here’s some of the ways it can be used to replace harder, chemical cleansers or inorganic compounds.

As a Polish

Ketchup is a great polish for metals of nearly all types.  Especially on brass and silver.  Ketchup can bring back the shine, remove simple stains, and help buff the metal back to a sheen.  Squirting it directly onto the metal or onto a cloth and then rubbing will usually do the trick.

If an abrasive is needed, a toothbrush can help (especially with silver) while adding table salt can give it more abrasiveness to get the worst cooking stains and burns off brass.  If you use non-stick cookware, ketchup is safe on those as well.

Use it on brass knobs, chrome accessories, and more.

Skunk the Skunk Funk

Nature has a specific perfume that seems to be commonly encountered in North America.  That perfume, of course, is the Le Peu from the skunk.  Dogs, kids, hikers, bikers, and many others all stumble upon Pepe and get sprayed.

There are a lot of wives tales and questionable remedies for getting the funk off after the skunk’s done its job on you.  One of those wives tales is tomato juice.

Well, it’s not a tale, it actually works and the most convenient form of tomato juice most of us have access to is ketchup.  Better than that, it’s concentrated!  So when you or someone you love gets sprayed by a sunk, grab the ketchup bottle.

You, your children, or your pets can all be washed with ketchup to help get rid of the skunk funk.  Use it like liquid soap or shampoo and wash, scrub, rinse and repeat at least once.

Hair and Scalp Care

Your hair is often subjected to some strange stuff during its lifetime on your head.  Chemicals, sprays, colorings, and more are often used in people’s hair daily.  These have long-term damage effects that can be remedied with ketchup.

Did you know that ketchup can strip chemicals like hairsprays, conditioners, shampoo residues, etc. from your hair?  It does this mildly and naturally too.  It also helps to rejuvenate hair with renewed vigor.

Even if you don’t use those things, though, ketchup has other great and healthy, natural bonuses for your hair and scalp care.

If you have light dandruff, you’ll also find that it is helped immensely by ketchup.  The acidic treatment from the tomato juice helps strip stray dander from your scalp and the healthy effects of truly cleansing your hair without chemical residues does a lot to help heal the dandruff.

There are literally dozens of ways that ketchup can be used in your home.  What are your favorite ways to use ketchup?  Tell us!

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