Five Ways to Spring Clean With Food Scraps

Banana peels contain potassium, citric acid, and salicylic acid, which gently clean porous surfaces like wood and leather, while the peel's natural wax helps keep the surface sealed and supple. Rubbing the inside of the peel on the surface, then buffing with a soft cloth, brings out the shine.

Cucumber peel contains mildly alkaline potassium that draws out dirt and tarnish-causing tannins from stainless steel appliances, faucets, and cutlery, while also removing fingerprints and leaving a fresh scent behind.

Potatoes contain oxalic acid, the same active ingredient found in store-bought rust removers. Rubbing knives, baking pans, or cast-iron cookware with a potato peel lifts rust, and adding a little salt makes the peel more abrasive for stubborn spots.

Tossing a few orange rinds into the disposal and running it lets the fruit's natural oils eliminate germs and leave a fresh scent; for rough odors, freezing peels in an ice cube tray and grinding the cubes scrapes the disposal's interior while the peels do their job.

Infusing a few lemon peels in a spray bottle of distilled white vinegar for a week makes a glass cleaner strong enough to cut through soap scum and mildew on windows, shower doors, and mirrors, leaving them streak-free.