The Last Thing to Do with a Jar of Mayonnaise Before You Rinse It Out
You learn a lot about your future spouse when you eat with them. One of the things I learned about my husband was that he likes to dip cooked broccoli in mayonnaise. I found this out many years ago when we were eating a meal with friends, and my now husband asked for mayo. I couldn’t figure out what he wanted it for until I watched, incredulous, as he swooped the broccoli through the mayo and popped it into his mouth with a smile. Guess who regularly uses mayo as a broccoli condiment now? Yep, our entire family of seven — including me!
All of this is to say that our family goes through our fair share of mayonnaise jars. Every time we go to toss one, it pains me to see how much remaining mayonnaise is left, even with meticulous knife scrapes along the bottom and sides of the jar. While you might not use mayo for your broccoli (although you should seriously give it a try!), tossing mayonnaise-laced jars in the recycle bin (which is actually pretty bad because jars need to be cleaned before they hit the recycling!) or rinsing them out and losing that last bit down the drain is probably a common occurrence.
Use the remaining bits of mayo to clean your hardwood floors.
Luckily, there’s a perfect solution to make sure you use every last bit! Next time you’re faced with an “empty” mayo jar, don’t be so quick to toss it — especially if you have hardwood floors in the kitchen. Instead of dumping the jar, grab a paper towel or an old rag, and use it to wipe out the leftover mayo. You can even use a butter knife to stick the paper towel farther into the jar to swipe out as much as possible from the sides.
Once you have a good dollop on your paper towel or rag, you can use the mayo to buff out scuff marks and water stains from your hard-working wooden kitchen floors. Surprisingly, mayonnaise is the ideal substance for wooden floors because the oils seep into the wood and “heal it.” Plus, its thick texture allows it the time the mayo needs to soak deeply into the wood.
It’s easy: Just spot clean the floor and then spread the mayo over the scuff marks and allow it to sit for half an hour before buffing it out and wiping it cleanly away. If marks remain, spread more mayo over the affected areas, and leave it overnight before wiping it all up. This mayonnaise solution is also great for watermarks on wood floors or for furniture with scratches or water stains.
Do you have any smart household uses for mayonnaise? Share your tips in the comments below.