Yesterday we were gifted with some fantastic warm weather and bright sunny skies (an anomaly around Ohio these days!).
After school, all our daughter wanted to do was jump on her Razor scooter and scoot around the neighborhood. But when she pulled it out of the place in the garage where it had been propped up, for the better part of winter, we were mortified… rust, rust, and more rust!
It’s only a year old and it had been well cared for, but it looked like it had literally been left out in the elements for weeks.
Fortunately, I had exactly what we needed. Not a chemical, not a commercial cleaning concoction, just plain old aluminum foil waiting in our pantry. Before my daughter started to panic, I got “the supply”.
All you need to do is tear off a sheet, roll it into a ball (shiny side out, preferably) and start rubbing away the rust. And voila… shiny and new!
This works wonderfully on chrome and many types of metals. For the tougher spots, you can also saturate it in distilled white vinegar for a few minutes and then put the aluminum foil to work.
The beauty of it all? When you’re done, the aluminum foil can go in your bin for 
recycling!
Mom saved the day! The scooter was scootin’, “green principles were intact” and everything (and everyone) was bright and shiny!
Awesome! I love this tip girl – we have had similar experiences with our Razors and bikes too! Thanks for sharing – brilliant!
smilinggreenmom – well, THANK YOU! 🙂 Can’t seem to understand how a winter of storage can trash some chrome but happy I have a green way to resolve it!
Smilinggreenmom amd others. Most of our storage areas are not heated or are poorly insulated. Condensation from humidity is a problem. People who store vehicles and other items use various means to avoid moisture or other enviromental factors. Car buffs tend not to store cars in buildings with our a finished floor as dirt tends to transfer moisture to the vehicle being protected. A common tool box or fish tackle box may have a piece of charcoal just for moisture protection. Those little packets of desiccant in most packages that say “do not eat” contain a powder or beads that collect mosture. A poison to eat yet they are found in beef jerky pouches.;( DIY sights across the net advise microwaving the package of desiccant for like 10 seconds to dry one out. One scheem uses one in a set up to water proof a camera using a couple unlubricated condoms of all things. Dehumidifyers and other means are used for these purposess. When tools such as snow shovels are to be placed in storage many sources advise treating them with an anti-rust protective. Wax for instance is an old protective and used on most peoples cars. The WD40 brand spray is actually a fairly green product derived of fish oil. The sight has a section dedicated to customer uses for the product. Gun storage sources have charcoal based items to be placed in the gun cabinet. Many common items attract moisture: kitty litter, salt, charcoal to name a few. Though be carefull as items like salt tend to attract moisture too well. That explains why those who live by the Sea or live with snowy weather tend to get rusty cars. Salt is used to melt ice on most cold winter roadways.
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