Ten “Green” Cleaning Uses for Flat Beer

Ever wonder what to do with a half empty bottle of beer?  Drinking it isn’t an option; there’s not much worse than flat beer.  So what’s a person who doesn’t like to waste anything to do with a bunch of flat beer?  Here are ten “green” cleaning uses for flat beer - just in case you have some extra left over from the holiday weekend!

Beer. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

#1.  Coffee and tea stain remover.  Though you don’t really want your clothes to smell like beer, it is actually a great stain remover.  Pour the beer on the stain and let it sit for a minute.  Blot the stain and examine.  If it’s still lingering, repeat as needed. Then launder as usual.

#2.  Polish your jewelry.  Pour that leftover beer into a small glass bowl and place your gem-free jewelry into the bowl.  Let sit for a couple of minutes, remove and dry thoroughly.

#3.  Furniture cleaner.  Use your flat beer to clean your wooden tables and other wooden furniture.  Place flat beer on a clean, soft cloth and apply.  Dry with another clean, soft cloth.

#4.  Clean your garden of slugs and snails.  It’s a long-standing gardening practice to use beer to attract snails and slugs to remove them from your garden.  Pour beer into a shallow dish and place in your garden overnight.  In the morning, you’ll find it full of slugs and snails that have imbibed and drowned.  Toss and repeat as needed to rid your garden of these destructive pests.

#5.  Remove stains from carpeting.  It’s always good to test this in a low-visibility area for colorfastness first.  Then, if you have a carpet stain, pour a little beer on the stain, wait a few minutes, blot and repeat until stain is gone.  This works better on fresh stains rather than stains that have become set in the carpet.

#6.  Cleaning doesn’t just mean cleaning your home.  Flat beer makes a great hair conditioner.  Wash your hair as normal and rinse, then pour that bottle of flat beer over your head, let set for a minute and rinse out.  (Don’t take glass into the shower, but rather pour into a plastic cup to avoid potential breakage and injury.)

Ick! Fruit flies. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

#7.  Trap fruit flies.  Flat beer is a good way to eliminate pesky fruit flies.  Pour the beer into a small plastic sandwich bag, filling it halfway.  Place the bag into a cup and snip the corner of the bag, not too big but large enough for fruit flies to be able to fly in.  They’ll be drawn to the beer and not be able to find their way out of the bag.

#8.  Bee bait.  Place a few dishes of flat beer on the perimeter of your home to attract them to those areas rather than where you and your family enjoy playing and hanging out. 

#9.  Copper cleaner.  Beer is great for polishing copper.  Try placing a little on a clean cloth and applying to the bottom of your copper pans to remove tarnish and add shine.

#10.  Plant food.  When watering your plants or garden, mix a few tablespoons of flat beer into the water and add to your plants. They will love the extra nutrients and vitamins. 

Flat beer may be unpleasant to drink but it has a number of valuable green cleaning uses.  In a time where we’re learning to make the most of our resources, there’s no reason to let a little flat beer go to waste. Try some of these tips whenever you have flat beer left over!