I Tried My Mexican Mother’s Old-School $1 Stainless Steel Cleaning Trick, and I’m Never Doing Anything Else

The house I grew up in was always immaculate and put-together, mostly thanks to my mom’s passed-down cleaning tips and general passion for maintaining a neat home. My younger sister, Aimé, and I inevitably clung to her cleaning tips as we became adults and moved into our own homes. For years I’ve been implementing my mamí’s methods and tips, and I often call her up when I forget an ingredient or I’m stumped on how to remove a certain laundry stain. And one of her tricks in particular required a sweet treat I still only use for cleaning, just like my mom.

Unlike many Mexicans and Mexican Americans, I didn’t grow up drinking Coca-Cola (or any soda, for that matter). But my mom always kept a can or two in the fridge for cleaning. Yes, really! The carbonation mixed with the phosphoric acid in the beverage (and other sodas) makes it a go-to for shining jewelry, cleaning burnt pans, and even clearing drains.

My mom would regularly soak items overnight in a bowl of Coke, or boil it to descale our tea kettle (something I still do). I figured it was time to bring my rusty can opener back to life, so I bought a new bottle of the iconic soda — not to consume, but to clean with.

First, I placed my can opener in a mixing bowl and filled it with Coke to cover most of the metal and rusty parts. I then covered the bowl with a piece of aluminum foil as best I could to preserve some of the carbonation and let the bubbles work their magic. 

I set the bowl aside on my kitchen counter and let it sit for 24 hours. Once I removed the foil and took the can opener out of the liquid, I scrubbed the rusty parts with the same piece of foil that covered the bowl (but I balled it up). Then I rinsed the opener with soapy water. 

Although I had never tried my mom’s Coke soak trick for rusty items, I knew that it would work because I had seen her try it before, and because she always raved about it. I was truly impressed with the result — especially because I had tried baking soda paste and vinegar on separate occasions to remove the rust from the same can opener, to no avail. 

If, like me, you’re not much of a Coke drinker, but wouldn’t mind keeping a bottle in the fridge for some tough cleaning jobs, my mom’s trick is definitely worth a try. You might also try it with other types of soda to see which works best.