The Flour Hack That Makes Cleaning Up Kitchen Spills Easier

Preparing food is a messy activity and if it's not, then you're probably not doing it right. There are bound to be globs and puddles of food here and there, whether you're accidentally knocking things over or have liquid bubbling up out of various pots and pans. Cleaning up kitchen spills might not sound like such a burden, but wiping them down sometimes only causes them to spread out even more, especially if you're using a hydrophobic cloth or a rag that doesn't absorb water as easily as other materials. 

Luckily, you can just reach over to your baking cabinet and grab a handful of flour to fix the mess. If you're dealing with a particularly horrible kitchen spill, flour might not be the first solution to pop into your head. However, the chemical structure and composition of flour make it ideal for mopping up liquid. Flour is made up of starch and when these molecules come into contact with liquid, they absorb it, swelling as gluten is formed. The flour hack is as easy as pie and will quickly neutralize any kitchen spill you have.

Flour as a cleaning agent when liquid is involved is a surprisingly effective method, especially when the spill occurs in a hard-to-reach area. Liquid spills have a tendency to spread but flour draws everything back into a more localized spot. If you have a mess in the kitchen, all you need to do is sprinkle enough flour to cover it and then wait. It'll look weird but it makes the spill easier to manage. 

Once the flour has soaked up the spill, you can simply scoop up the resulting mixture with a broom or a kitchen sponge and then toss it in the trash. Obviously, the last thing you want is for any liquid to seep into those cracks between the tiles on your floor or to get into your stove burner. Thinking fast with some flour just might save you from attracting ants and other pests to your property too.