A couple of years later I met Cath from The Cheapskates Club for the first time and had a wonderful afternoon with her. Fast forward another three years and Cath and I became good friends doing workshops together. At one of our regular visits I found out she was the potato water lady from Money For Jam. We had a giggle over the saucepan story and Cath assured me potato water really does make saucepans shiny.
Each time I'd see Cath, Darren would ask me if he should save our potato water for her. It became a running joke between the two families.
Fast forward to 2017. We have a new kitchen with a stainless steel stove top. The stainless steel looks lovely but keeping it streak free is a challenge. I've used metho, miracle spray, eucalyptus oil, water, Windex and mineral turps with microfiber cloths or paper towel. Some worked better than others.
One night while cooking dinner the potatoes boiled over leaving water on the stove top. After loading the dishwasher together, Darren decided to clean the stove. Using a piece of paper towel, he wiped the potato water around the stove top. By then I'd moved to another area of the house but I could hear Darren in the kitchen yelping " It's a miracle, it's a miracle The potato water really does work." So I went into the kitchen to inspect his handiwork. I must say, I've never seen the stove look so clean and shiny. Streak free too. Darren insisted I tell Cath the next time I saw her. When I told her she had a good giggle at Darren's potato water miracle.
So, there are a few morals to this story -
* Don't laugh at crazy potato water ladies on tv. They might end up becoming a good friend ( with a lot of common sense ).
* Don't knock a frugal tip until you've tried it.
* Potato water really does clean stainless steel.
I often wonder how people even think of these things such as cleaning with potato water. Maybe it was similar to Darren's story. Happens by accident.
ReplyDeleteNext time I boil potatoes I may just overboil them 🙂.
I will never complain about spilled potato water.
DeleteI may be the mad potato water lady, but it works :) We still giggle about it too - I was thinking of Darren as I wiped over the stove last night, because yes, the potatoes had over-boiled and spilt onto the cooktop while I was on the phone :)
ReplyDeleteBoiling potatoes will never be the same Cath.
DeleteWell I'll be! Who would have thought!
ReplyDeleteMineral oil. ie baby oil is brilliant at cleaning stainless steel if you run out of potato water.
ReplyDeleteThanks for that great tip Cath and Wendy!
ReplyDeleteYou’ve just taught me something new!! Thanks, Wendy & Cath!!
ReplyDelete