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The Best Way To Get Rid Of That Pesky Rust On Your Mason Jar Lids
The Mason jar trend may ebb and flow, but the truth is they're a great thing to have around the kitchen for everything from food storage to making your favorite cold brew. But after a while, we find the lids start to get discolored—rusty even—which got us wondering if there's a great natural way to get them looking shiny and new again.
We asked Becky Rapinchuk of Clean Mama for her advice and were excited by how simple it is: It turns out, the trick to spotless Mason jar lids may just be one of the most versatile DIY kitchen cleaners out there: white vinegar. We already knew that we could use the pantry staple for cleaning everything from our dishwasher to our coffeemaker, but this tip was new.
"My best tip would be to rub the rusty ring with white vinegar and wash," she told mindbodygreen. This is exactly the sort of simple tip that we love, especially because it means giving those rings a clean without having to buy any special products.
Putting it to the test
Given how simple the tip was, we decided to try it and we've got good news: It totally works. In fact, just a piece of cloth dipped in vinegar (and a bit of elbow grease) removed orange streaks from the top of the lid and the inside of the ring readily, before a soapy sponge was even used.
You'll still want to give the lids a quick wash after, even if they come out of the vinegar clean—unless they're going to be used for pickles because that vinegar smell lingers. It's also important to try to dry the rings thoroughly after washing—that rust probably cropped up due to water in the first place.
So if your less-than-spotless jar lids have been bothering you, there you have it: a deceptively simple way to get them clean and shiny with something you've likely got in the kitchen anyway. Now, please excuse us while we go clean our slippers in preparation for winter.