Ideas To Reuse Used Cooking Oil

What do you normally do with used cooking oil? Some people keep it in a bin to later throw it away in a recycling bin. If your hometown doesn’t offer this option, you may be throwing it out in the yard, in the trash, or simply pouring it down the sink.

Pouring used cooking oil into the sink is certainly not the best option, a fact you are probably already aware of.

This oil mixes with leftover dish soap and in addition to acting as a home for various types of bacteria, this mixture also slowly clogs your drain.

This combination of detergent and oil is also very dangerous for the environment, so you should definitely remember this and try out these interesting options for recycling used cooking oil.

Are you ready to get started?

Negative effects of used cooking oil on the environment

Often we are not aware of the fact that our daily actions have an impact on the environment. A piece of paper that we blow away, a plastic bottle that we leave on the beach and that used cooking oil that we pour into the sink…

All these actions have consequences that we should remember.

Let’s take a look at what exactly happens to used cooking oil:

• Dispose of used cooking oil clogged. When it mixes with chemicals such as softeners and detergents, it creates a hard layer that traps food residue and bacteria. This will make drains smell bad and increase the risk of cockroaches and rodents entering your kitchen.
• You should also remember that fixing your clogged drains is very expensive.
• Do you know what happens when used cooking oil ends up in rivers and oceans?  Oil floats it on top of the water and creates a kind of barrier, which prevents the water from getting enough oxygen.
• Some of this oil also sticks to the gills and scales of fish.
• Throwing your used cooking oil into the yard will turn that soil into barren land in the long run .

Ideas to reuse used cooking oil

1. Homemade laundry detergent

You need the following products:

• 1 liter used cooking oil
• 200 grams of soda
• 10 liters of water
• 100 grams of lavender oil

Follow the steps below to make this homemade laundry detergent :

• Find a well-ventilated area away from children and pets. Put on rubber gloves and use protective glasses for your eyes.
• Start by pouring five liters of cold water into a bucket.
• Then slowly pour in the soda, being careful not to splash it on yourself. Use a wooden stick to stir this mixture and try not to inhale the vapors that come from it. It’s a dangerous mixture and if it starts to heat up and splatter, it can burn you.

• Now add the used cooking oil while stirring. Once you have an even mixture, you can also add the lavender oil.
• You have to constantly stir the mixture. Above all, be patient. This is a long process that can take more than 30 minutes and during that time you can never stop stirring. Little by little you will see that the mixture acquires a new, firmer density.
• Now leave this homemade detergent for another day. After 24 hours, add another five liters of water and stir well. Let the mixture steep again.
• You have to repeat this process for five days. Stir it every morning (no need to add more water). You will see it start to thicken, until it looks like a detergent you buy in the supermarket.

• After five days, you can store the mixture in a container and use it. It is awesome!

2. Homemade candles with used cooking oil

You need the following products:

• a nice jar or glass where you put the candle
• wire that will be the base for the fuse
• a cotton wick (it should be about 4 inches longer than the height of the pot)
• used cooking oil (enough to fill the chosen jar)
• 2 drops of sandalwood oil

How are you?

• It’s very easy. First, you should leave the used cooking oil you will be using for the candle overnight.

• The next day, filter it with a cloth, so you can remove food residues and make the oil cleaner.
• Now it’s time to make the fuse. Use a bit of wire to make the pedestal. The cotton wick should be able to stand in the center of the candle and allow the candle to burn. To do that, create a small pedestal by making a spiral with the wire and inserting the wick into it.
• Place the wire with the wick in the center of the jar, then pour in the used oil, taking care not to fill the jar to the brim. Finally, add a few drops of sandalwood oil.

That was easy wasn’t it? Now you can light your homemade candle.