5 Household Items that Do Double Duty as Cleaners

I am still traumatized by that classic 1970s commercial for Wisk laundry detergent, that warned wives that "ring around the collar" was not OK on their husband's work shirts. While I realize that my husband's professional success did not rely on whether or not the inside of his shirt collar was clean, for me—as the person who does the laundry—that long-ago commercial's message was loud and clear: if you love your husband, you'll make sure his shirts (including the collar) are spotless.

This is why before every load of laundry I do, I pretreat my husband's shirt collars with a stain-removal product. Really, what I need is a sweat and grime removal product, which is why when one day I grabbed some shampoo when I was out of that pre-treatment product, I discovered an inexpensive and effective substitute. Turns out that shampoo—especially the clarifying kind, designed to strip your hair of any gunky build up—did a great job stripping my husband's collar of the "ring."

It got me wondering: what other products around my house have a cleaning ability beyond their original purpose? Here are some of those tricks I've uncovered:

1. Clean Silver with Toothpaste
If you're out of polish for cleaning your grandmother's silver or want to give a quick shine to a silver tray in your dining room, you can hit up your bathroom and grab some toothpaste. Turns out that regular toothpaste is a terrific polishing tool, when applied sparingly to silver. (You want to choose a toothpaste without any whiteners or breath-fresheners in it—just plain old toothpaste.) Use a soft cloth and a gentle touch, and in no time you should be able to see your own reflection again in your once dull and dingy piece of silver.

2. Use Dryer Sheets to Shine Appliances
Most manufacturers of stainless-steel appliances suggest that you buy special cleaners to keep your stainless steel stove, refrigerator or dishwasher looking shiny and new. But if you need to clean them up in a pinch, guess what? Hit up your laundry room for some leftover dryer sheets, which shine stainless steel all on their own.

3. Whiten Whites with Hydrogen Peroxide
I am notorious around my house for being a bit overzealous with bleach. Usually in the course of a week's laundry I've ruined something with bleach. But I just love how white bleach gets everything. Maybe you do, too. If you find yourself out of bleach one time and need to whiten up something in the wash, reach under your bathroom sink for some hydrogen peroxide instead. It seems that hydrogren peroxide is an excellent bleach substitute.

4. Substitute Petroleum Jelly for Shoe Polish
When you need to spiff up your shoes in a jiff and can't find any shoe polish, you can use petroleum jelly instead. Just don't let the petroleum jelly sit on the shoes for too long or it might stain them.

5. Use Vinegar to Clean Your Shower
Vinegar can do a job on soap scum in the shower, on your shower curtain and in the grout in between the tiles. In fact, if you dip a toothbrush in vinegar and run it over any discolored grout, it should get it back to its bright white color in no time.

What are some of your favorite household items that do double duty for you?