DIY Kitchen Knife Rust Remover

DIY Kitchen Knife Rust Remover 
rusty knife

At some point or another, it happens. The kitchen knives end up in the dishwasher, despite conflicting “yes, you can” or “no you can’t” arguments about whether or not they are dishwasher safe. We haven’t had the greatest luck with avoiding food/contamination poisoning this year and I am determined to keep it from striking down another family member. Any knife that is used to cut raw meat goes straight into the dishwasher like a quarantined specimen and we don’t even think twice about it. Of course, it doesn’t help matters that our water isn’t fantastic either. We get quite a bit of build-up on our appliances from hard water residue, even with a water softener in place (Although, our water source isn’t from a well so really I shouldn’t say much!). All of these factors ultimately lead to build-up and rust our kitchen knife set. We cook A LOT, and we cannot prep our food knowing that we aren’t living up to our own code of standards. As you can see in the picture, we get little spots every now and again that can be “spot treated” in no time.
For those of you like us, we like things cheap, natural and cost-effective. I’m sure there are some industrial-grade cleaners out there that will eat the rust right off of the knife and then some. However, these are utensils we are talking about. If my problem stems from attempting to avoid contamination, the last thing I want to do is poison my family with toxic chemicals. Instead, anytime I notice a bit of build-up occur I simply grab a lemon or a bottle of lemon juice and some vinegar.  Pouring equal parts of each into a small cup, I add the knives and wait 10 minutes or so, depending on the severity of the rust. It isn’t always necessary to fill up a cup. If the spots are rather small and there aren’t many, it may be easier to “spot treat” and pour a small amount of just lemon juice over the affected areas. After your knife is done soaking, use a soft cloth to wipe away the residue.
Feel free to leave any questions or comments. What has worked best for you and your family?

See also DIY Coconut Oil Handsoap

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