In the age of #CleanTok, there's seemingly a dozen different hacks for every common household conundrum, but determining the wins from the womps can be tricky.
AM co-host Melissa Chan-Green has vouched for one peculiar hack, claiming a certain pantry staple can rid your wooden table of water stains - a notoriously tough nut to crack - without a hitch.
Discussing popular home hacks on Tuesday morning, the co-hosts weighed up the pros and cons of using vinegar to achieve sparkling-clean shower glass. While Lloyd Burr noted that a solution of vinegar, water and dishwashing liquid has worked for him in the past, it also leaves the bathroom smelling like "a packet of salt and vinegar chips".
This led Chan-Green to reveal her own top tip, noting that while she's unsure what surfaces it can be used on, the hack had worked on her budget wooden table.
"I have a cheapie wooden table, but it had some water marks on [it] from putting cups down. I saw that you can get a walnut and just rub out the water mark - I didn't think it was true, but it worked."
"It's a walnut water mark eraser," Burr exclaimed.
"Did you end up eating the walnut after that?" newsreader Nicky Styris chimed in, to which Chan-Green responded with a disgusted, "Ew, no."
"It worked for me," she reiterated.
The walnut hack went viral on TikTok last year, popularised by content creator Christine (@_forthehome) who claimed the humble nut "fixed two years' worth of water stains" on her wooden dresser. Christine said she first vigorously rubs the walnuts on top of the water rings until the stains disappear, before using an exfoliating glove over the surface to smooth everything out.
It's believed the oil in the nut is behind its magical polishing properties.
According to Architectural Digest, walnuts aren't the only kitchen item that can work wonders on water stains. Items like mayonnaise, olive oil or petroleum jelly can all help remove the marks, Sabrina Fierman, vice president of luxury cleaning service New York's Little Elves, told the outlet.
Sabrina Tretyakova, a certified cleaning expert, also suggested combining baking soda and white toothpaste for removing damp stains from wooden surfaces.
And of course, everyone's favourite multiuse product - white vinegar - can also be used to tackle tough stains. Fierman noted it's important to test this method on a small, inconspicuous area first to ensure the acid doesn't discolour the wood or damage the polyurethane finish.
