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DOMESTIC TRICKS
with VIRGiN OLIVe oil
The use of extra virgin olive oil passes over food
and cosmetics. Since ancient times, virgin olive oil has been used for
other purposes such as cleaning or the maintenance of wooden and metal
items, amongst others. These uses were observed by the humanist Gabriel
Alonso de Herrera from the sixteenth century who's work "General
Agriculture" relates the following:
"All 'alpechín' (Olive Mill Wastewater) gives
floors a great finish, and wherever it is used to wash down floors you
wont find any fleas, mice nor ants [....] If you wet the wood of the bed
with the 'alpechín', there wont be bugs [...]. And if
you use it,
mostly after
being
cooked,
to
smear
the
wood of clothes racks, chests, trunks etc so that
the liquid properly
embeds
itself into
the wood,
you wont get any
gnawing,
rot or
moth-eaten
clothes.
[...]. Leather shoes, belts, straps etc well wet
with 'alpechín' soften and they last longer."
The
following is
a
list of
home remedies
based
on
extra
virgin olive oil.
TO TREAT WOOD
-
Remove
water spots
from
furniture:
You only have
to
rub the
stain with
extra
virgin olive oil.
-
Remove
oil
stains
on
the wood:
First of all,
compact
absorbent powder
such as
kaolin
or
talc over
the
stain,
then
rub
with
a cloth soaked in
essential
oil
and
finally
varnish.
-
Polish
furniture:
Make a mixture of
two
parts
olive
oil,
three
parts
turpentine
and
four
parts vinegar.
Then,
stir the
mixture and
soak
a
duster or a dishcloth
in the
mixture,
use it rub
the surface.
The
extra
virgin olive oil
is a
good
help for cleaning
and
polishing
wood
-
Furniture
conservation:
To
keep
the
furniture
in good
condition
just
rub regularly
with a cloth
dampened
with a mixture
of
equal parts
extra
virgin
olive
oil
and
turpentine.
-
To
waterproof and
restore
shine
to furniture:
rub the
furniture
with a
cloth
dampened with a
mix of
lemon juice,
alcohol
and
olive oil
in
equal parts
.
-
Clean
wooden trimmings:
Mix
equal parts
olive
oil
and
turpentine.
Soak
brush
in the mixture and
scrub the
wood.
REMOVE OIL STAINS FROM FABRICS
Olive
oil stains
are difficult
to remove
from the fabrics,
however,
talc
is a good
resource
-
Oil stains
on
clothes:
The
first
thing to do is
to cover
the
stain
with
talcum powder
to
soak up
the
olive oil.
Then
place one
paper towel on top of
the stain and
one
below, place something relatively heavy
on top
and
leave
for two hours.
After two hours, remove the
paper
and
brush
the
stain.
-
Oil stains
on
silk and
satin:
Put
a drop
of
ammonia
over
the stain.
When the ammonia
evaporates
put a sheet of
absorbent paper underneath the item of clothing, below the stain
and with
hot
iron, iron over the stain.
The
stain
will be absorbed
quickly.
-
Oil
stains on velvet:
Wipe clean with
a cloth
dampened with
ammonia
and then
washed
with
turpentine.
CLEANING OBJECTS WITH OLIVE OIL
Rust
can be removed
with
a mixture
of
virgin
olive
oil
and other
ingredients
-
Cleaning
rusty objects:
Mix
fine
tripoli
(a brown compound used for
buffing)
and
sulfur
in equal parts,
add
olive
oil
and form a
yellow
paste.
Then
rub
the
object
with
this
paste
and then with
a cloth.
-
Cleaning
weapons:
Firearms such
as
the shotgun is cleaned inside with oil firstly and then
with
absolute alcohol
or
oil mixed
with gasoline.
The butt
is
cleaned
with oil.
If they are
rusty, make
a
mixture
of sulfur
and
Tripoli
(a brown compound used for
buffing)
in
equal parts
and
reduce
to a paste
with
olive oil.
Using
a
chamois
soaked with
the mixture,
rub
the
rusted parts.
This
avoids
any
scratches.
-
Cleaning
aluminum:
Prepare
a mixture in
a
bottle
containing
half
extra
virgin olive oil
and
half
alcohol.
Shake
the
bottle
to
emulsify
the ingredients.
Then
rub
the
metal
to polish.
-
Cleaning
tin
utensils:
These
items generally
lose their
luster
because
of
the fire.
To
recover
its
natural shine
simply
wipe
with
a cloth
moistened with
olive
oil
and
ash.
You can also
add
carbon
powder
to the mix.
Finally,
rub
the
utensil
with
a
woolen cloth.
-
Cleaning
brass:
Clean
with
a mixture
of
olive
oil
and
fine
tripoli
(a brown compound used for buffing) and ultimately
wash
with
a
soap and water.
-
Remove
tar stains:
Dampen
a
cloth
with olive oil
and
rub
until the
stain
disappears.
After
this,
wash the
clothes
as usual.
-
Remove
gum
stains:
Soak
a
cloth
with
olive oil
and rub
until
the
gum
is
comes off, then
rub
with turpentine and finally
wash
the garment.
-
Cleaning
lace doilies that has
yellowed
over
time:
Stretch
the lace,
roll it
and put it in
a cloth sack.
Soak it
in
extra
virgin olive oil
for 24 hours.
After
that,
place
the
bag
in
boiling
soapy water
for fifteen
minutes.
Finally,
rinse
with
warm
water
and
pass it through water
lightly
starched.
Remove
from the
bag
and lay
the
fabric
to
dry.
Lace
doilies
yellow or get soiled
over
time,
olive oil
is a
good
solution
TREAT OBJECTS WITH OLIVE OIL
Olive oil
is useful
as
for materials such as
brass
-
Cleaning
oil dispensers:
Simply
insert
into the dispenser the
remains
of the freshly
ground
coffee that's
left over
in
the coffee machine
and shake
in all
directions to
absorb the oil
from the walls
of
the
oil
dispenser.
Then
rinse.
-
Polishing pearl:
To
make
these
gems
shine
again,
rub them
with
a cloth
moistened with
olive oil
and
then
dry
them with
a
dry
cloth.
-
Sewing
machine maintenance:
Prepare
a
mixture of
virgin
olive
oil
and petrol
in equal parts
to
which
we must
add
10%
paraffin.
Petrol along
with
olive
oil
helps
to maintain
sewing machines
-
Long lasting
labels
for
garden plants:
Write
whatever you want in
ink
on
ordinary
cardboard.
Next,
put
the label in
olive
oil
and leave it
submerged
for an
hour.
Remove
and fasten
with
a
nail
on
a
wooden stand.
It will last
two
or
three years.
-
Polished
shell objects:
Clean
the surface
of the
object with
a
very
fine
sandpaper.
Next,
prepare
a mixture
with
three parts
of
very
fine
tripoli
(a brown compound for buffing),
glycerin
and
olive
oil.
Rub
this
mixture
and
finish
by rubbing
the
object
with
tripoli
powder
alone,
and
dry.
The
shell
material
can
be
polished
with
olive oil
and other materials
Source: March, L., Ríos,
A., El libro del aceite y la aceituna, Ed. Alianza, Madrid,
1989.
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