Most banana peels go straight into the trash or the compost bin. A kitchen tip that keeps circulating suggests blending them with a little baking soda and water first, to make a homemade cleaning paste. Here’s what the mix is for, how to make it, and what nobody has actually tested.
In short
- Blend the peels of two bananas with 1 cup of water, then stir in 2 teaspoons of baking soda.
- The paste is used as a gentle homemade cleaner for wipeable surfaces, flowerpots, trash cans and buckets.
- Baking soda does most of the work: it’s a mild abrasive and it helps with odors.
- No study has tested the mix, so try it on a small hidden spot first.
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What it’s for
The recipe, shared by El Cronista, turns a kitchen scrap into a cleaner. The site lists the uses: wiping kitchen counters and other wipeable surfaces, lifting light grime, cleaning flowerpots, deodorizing trash cans and drains, and rinsing out containers and buckets before washing them.
The logic is simple. Baking soda “works as a subtle abrasive and can be used to eliminate odors,” the site explains, while the blended peels give the mix a texture that spreads more easily than powder alone. And it gives a second life to something most people throw away without a thought.
How to make it
- Save the peels of two bananas and cut them into small pieces.
- Blend them with 1 cup of water until smooth.
- Add 2 teaspoons of baking soda and mix well.
- Apply it with a sponge or a soft cloth, leave it on for a few minutes, then scrub gently.
- Wipe off the residue with a clean damp cloth.
Where it fits in the kitchen
The banana version is a cousin of a tip many readers already know: potato peels mixed with baking soda. In both cases, the peel adds texture and the baking soda brings the cleaning power. Use it where a gentle scrub is enough: a sticky counter, a stained plastic pot, a trash can that smells. For tougher jobs, baking soda has stronger partners, like hydrogen peroxide.
The limit
El Cronista cites no expert, test or study, and gives no advice on which surfaces could be damaged or how long the paste keeps. Make only what you’ll use the same day, and test it on a hidden spot before going over a whole surface.
If the peels are just headed for the garden, there’s no need to blend them. The University of Maryland’s Home & Garden Information Center says, “We don’t know of any scientific studies on using banana peels as a fertilizer,” and its horticulturists suggest you “continue to add your peels to the compost pile.”
Baking soda has another kitchen job worth knowing: the two-ingredient paste that clears a smelly sink.
Two peels, one blender, two teaspoons of baking soda. That’s the trick.
