To clean and disinfect the wheel of a can opener, just use white vinegar and an old tooth brush. Dip the toothbrush in the vinegar and scrub clean. Swish in hot soapy water and rinse.
By Ron from Cortez, CO
This page contains the following solutions.
I've always used a hand held can opener. I can always put it away after using and cleaning. I think under the cabinet mounted openers are unsightly. I'm funny that way. (Well, that's one way). And I doubt that most mounted openers get a thorough cleaning after each use.
I sometimes put both my hand held ones and the business portion of my electric one in the dishwasher. I also put them in a small saucepan and boil them for a few minutes.
A piece of wet aluminum foil rubbed over a rusty item will remove the rust. Try it. I just saved myself from purchasing a new can opener.
Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
Why is it everytime I buy a can opener it only last for a few months and then it rust and becomes difficult to use? I heard you are not supposed to submerge them in water, but how should you clean them then? Any suggestions?
By Onesummer
We've had this U.S.A. made Swing-A-Way for fifteen years and it shows no signs of wearing out: around $9 online. Here's a link to a picture I found that most closely resembles ours.
www.acehardware.com/
All I do is rinse it off under hot water, dab the excess water off with a towel, put it in the dish drainer to air dry before putting it back into an enclosed drawer. Hope that makes your life easier!
One thing I have noticed: you know when you use a 'regular' can opener and you hear sound of air escaping from the hole being punched in the lid so you know the can opener has grabbed? I notice this one not doing that, but instead of thinking 'it's going to work' if I start to turn the handles it just starts cutting away. Read some reviews online & see if it would be better for you.
Vinegar will clean off rust. Soak just that the cutting part in vinegar. You can also use WD-40 to remove the rust (and then clean & dry thorougly). Also, scrubby powder and a scrub pad (the green ones) and then clean and dry thorougly. The best bet is never to let it rust heavily (they all seem to rust eventually) in the first place.
As a postscript, the rust is not likely to hurt you anyway....don't toss them for a bit of rust. Will probably give you some extra iron. Just my opinion, I have used hand can openers exclusively for years and I am still here.
