9 ways to use lime at home

Prepared from limestone calcium carbonate, quicklime is an inexpensive product found in building materials stores. Because it is a hygroscopic substance (which absorbs moisture from the air), it is used to dry environments. Before reading our tips and starting to apply them at home, pay attention: lime is extremely abrasive and can burn the skin, so it should only be handled with gloves. Now, yes, hands to work!

1. Clean area

If you’ve been thinking about changing the toilet because it’s always grimy and there’s no cleaning product to help, try this tip. Scrub the inside of the piece well with a handful of quicklime and a sponge. The powder has an abrasive action and works like sandpaper, leaving the surface renewed. But make smooth moves so you don’t scratch the porcelain!

2. Humidity-free library

Great news for book lovers: to keep them safe from humidity (and from moths, which love to proliferate in damp places), spread a few wide-mouthed jars half full on quicklime on the shelf. Replace the product every six months.

3. Glue-crystals

Did that crystal vase that belonged to your great-grandmother break? Calm! Just mix one egg white with three tablespoons of quicklime until you form a not very thick paste – the glue is transparent. Apply to the broken parts and reinforce the seam with a piece of tape. Wait 24 hours, remove the tape and you’re done. The same mixture serves to glue a chip or a corner of the broken marble top.

4. Anti-mold

Your room is always wet with damp walls, causing mold on your clothes and the like. Solve the problem by placing lime bags inside cabinets and drawers. The product dries the environment and prevents mold, in addition to the unpleasant odor. Remember to put the bags out of reach of children.

5. Shoo, rust!

The hubby keeps complaining that the tools rust. Tell him to put one or two bags full of quicklime in the box. As the substance absorbs moisture, pliers and screwdrivers, for example, will be free of rust for up to six months – time to replace the bags.

6. Freestyle

To eliminate algae in fountains and ponds where ornamental fish (such as carp) are kept, put a few handfuls of quicklime in the water until you notice that it has turned slightly whitish. But be careful, because the substance changes the pH of the water, making it more alkaline, and can affect the survival conditions of more sensitive fish. The tip is not for aquarium fish, ok?

7. Scented cage

Do you have birds at home? Avoid sanitizing the cages with ammonia-based substances, as the smell can affect the health of the pets. The simple and inexpensive solution is to spread a thin layer of quicklime on the bottom of the cage, then cover it with a layer of sand. Lime neutralizes odors and prevents the proliferation of microorganisms.

8. End of moss

To remove that slime that remains on the earth and plants, just prepare a liquid paste of quicklime with water. The mixture forms calcium hydroxide, which changes the pH of areas where moss and mold tend to develop. Apply with a brush or brush, washing the affected parts well.

9🇧🇷 white ceiling

Over time, the steam from the shower creates dark spots of mold on the shower stall ceiling. But if you use paint whitewash instead of conventional paint, the stain will take much longer to show up – maybe not at all! Use as directed by the manufacturer.