7 Ingenious Household Uses For Coca-Cola

One of the most ubiquitous brands in the world, Coca-Cola has been a kid’s drink, a medicinal drink, a mixer for adult drinks — but that’s only the beginning. Like many other common ingestibles, such as lemons, coffee grounds, and bicarbonate of soda, Coca-Cola has a number of practical household uses. Here are seven ingenious ways you can use Coca-Cola around your house.

Make plants happy

Specifically, gardenia and azalea plants love the sugar and acidity: the sugar feeds microorganisms in the soil and the acidity encourages growth of the plants. Not all flowers like it, but these in particular love it. But that doesn’t mean you leave out the other plants: you can put a small bowl of soda on the ground near the plants that slugs love best and take care of that problem in short order — because slugs also like soda, but soda definitely does not love them back.

Clean your entire bathroom & kitchen

You can literally clean everything from the toilet bowl, sink, tile, tub, and even the windows with just a can of Coca-Cola. Let it soak on the spots you want to clean, or just pour it right on grout and mildew and even hard water stains. Its cleaning power is possible because of a combination of the phosphates in soda and the carbonation action. Be sure to wipe the soda off with soap and water when it’s done its job, because Coca-Cola is sticky when it dries. Coca-Cola can also be used for similar cleaning in the kitchen in a pinch. Another thing it’s great at neutralizing is cooking grease and charred food from inside pots and pans. Let it soak if you can, or pour it on directly. Then wipe it back off.

Make great marinade

When you’re done cleaning your kitchen, use your unused Coca-Cola for your cooking! In the same way you can marinate steaks and ribs in beer, you can marinate them in Coca-Cola. Take equal parts Coca-Cola and ketchup, add a dash of Worcester sauce, a little salt and pepper and onion powder to taste, raise it to a boil and then reduce over low heat for 7-8 minutes. Now you have an awesome homemade barbecue sauce to slather over steak and ribs. Here’s a recipe for cola-marinated sirloin steak you can follow.

De-ice your car

In the wintertime, when the windshield ices up, don’t risk pouring water of any temperature on the glass. Pour a little Coca-Cola on it instead. It will turn the ice into a giant slushy, but it will be much easier to swipe off and takes much less time than more traditional de-icers. You can even clean the terminals on your car battery, since the soda’s acidity won’t mess with the battery acid.

De-skunk your dog

If you’re out and about with your dog and have a run in with a skunk, both you and your dog will appreciate being able to neutralize the odor quickly and with the least amount of embarrassment possible using Coca-Cola. There are other therapeutic uses for Coca-Cola, especially if you’re out camping or at the beach. Cola is very effective at soothing jellyfish stings (and a lot more pleasant than that other “home remedy”).

Remove laundry stains

Believe it or not, it’s also a pretty potent fabric cleaning solution. You won’t have to cry over spilled milk, or blood or grease, or even rust, if you soak the stain in cola for a few minutes before washing; it neatly breaks down the organic stain and dissolves it. For larger batches, you can just pour the can of soda right into the machine before hitting the start button. You can also use it for carpet cleaning, especially if you have kids and those kids like to draw on things with markers. Spot clean with cola and a toothbrush, then go over with a sponge and regular soap and water — or better yet, have the kids do it instead.

Nausea relief

There is a use for Coca-Cola that is taken internally, and is probably one of the best hacks you can have in your arsenal, because if you suddenly find yourself nauseous you will want some quick relief. Flat Coca-Cola works like a charm to calm your stomach down, in the same way that baking soda works — after all, that’s why colas are also called sodas. If you don’t have flat Coca-Cola hanging around, you can just stir a glass quickly to work the bubbles out, then drink it.