Some ordinary, unassuming household objects have hidden superpowers. And most of these items cost less than a couple of bucks. So the next time you stain a shirt, smell something funky or think about tossing an old banana peel, check out these extraordinary uses first. Not only will you be going green, you’ll be saving some green.

Alka-Seltzer

• Attract fish. Fill a tube jig with a piece of Alka-Seltzer and cast off.

• Clean car battery terminals. The acidic properties will eliminate corrosion. Pour soda over the battery terminals and let it set. Remove the residue with a wet sponge.

• Loosen rusted-on nuts and bolts. Soak a rag in the soda and wrap it around the bolt for several minutes. Remove burned food from cookware. Fill your cookware with warm water, then dissolve six tablets and allow to sit for an hour or so.

• Clean a toilet. Drop in two Alka-Seltzer tablets, wait 20 minutes, brush and flush.

• Soothe insect bites. Dissolve two tablets in water and saturate a cloth or cotton ball with the solution, and place on the bite for 30 minutes. Don’t do this if you are allergic to aspirin, which is a key ingredient in Alka-Seltzer.

Aluminum foil

• Sharpen your scissors by cutting through six to eight layers of aluminum foil.

• Shine rusty chrome. With a bit of water on a wadded-up piece of aluminum foil, you can rub most rust spots off chrome car parts.

• Eliminate electromagnetic interference if your TV and DVD player are stacked on top of each other. If the picture is fuzzy, place a sheet of aluminum foil between them.

• Move furniture with ease. To slide big pieces of furniture over a smooth floor, place small pieces of aluminum foil under the legs. Put the dull side of the foil down — the dull side is actually more slippery than the shiny side.

Aspirin

• Remove perspiration stains from white fabric by dissolving two aspirin in half a cup of warm water and applying to stained fabric. Leave on a few hours.

• Recharge a car battery by dropping two tablets into the battery itself. The aspirin’s acetylsalicylic acid will combine with the battery’s sulfuric acid to produce one final charge.

• Eliminate chlorine discoloration from hair by dissolving eight tablets in a glass of water and rubbing into your hair. Leave for about 10 minutes and then rinse. Shampoo.

Banana peel

• Remove warts by rubbing the inside of a little piece of a banana peel on a wart every night for several weeks.

• Tenderize a roast by adding a peeled banana to the pan.

• Wipe your houseplant leaves down with the inside of a banana peel to remove dirt and leave a shine.

• Polish leather shoes by using a de-stringed banana peel. Finish by buffing with a soft cloth or paper towel.

Baking soda

• Clean combs and brushes in a soda solution.

• Sprinkle soda on barbecue grills, let soak, then rinse off.

• For a badly burned pan with a thick layer of burned-on food: pour a thick layer of soda directly onto the bottom of the pan, then sprinkle on just enough water so as to moisten the soda. Leave the pot overnight, then scrub it clean the next day.

• Repel rain from your car windshield. Put gobs of baking soda on a dampened cloth and wipe windows inside and out.

• Get rid of ants in your house by mixing equal parts of baking soda and salt together. Sprinkle the mixture wherever you see the intruders coming in.

Beer

• Use beer instead of water in your favorite batter mix, and it will have a delicious flavor.

• Fertilize plants. Use all of those half-filled bottles and cups of beer after a party to pour on your houseplants and garden vegetables. The plants will love the nourishment that the yeast adds to the soil.

• Get rid of slugs in your garden. Put a shallow dish of beer into your soil buried up to the lip. The slugs will be attracted to the beer and become stuck in it. Empty the dish each day and replace with new beer as they are attracted to the smell.

Cotton balls

• Fight mildew in hard-to-reach spots in the bathroom. Soak a few cotton balls in bleach and place them in those difficult spots. Leave them to work their magic for a few hours. Finish by rinsing with a warm-water wash.

Dryer sheets

• Repel mosquitoes on your patio. Hang a sheet when outdoors during the mosquito season.

• Run a sewing needle through a sheet before sewing to prevent the thread from tangling.

• A sheet left inside luggage or travel baggage can prevent musty odors.

• Dissolve soap scum from shower door and tile walls. Clean the surfaces with a sheet.

• De-stink your pets: scrub incoming dogs or cats (especially wet ones) with a dryer sheet before they enter the home.

Epsom salt

• Exfoliate skin by massaging handfuls of epsom salt over wet skin, starting with your feet and continuing up toward the face. Have a bath to rinse.

• Remove splinter by soaking in epsom salt.

Grocery bags

• Bulk up curtain valances by stuffing them in the valances for a resilient pouf. Can also be used to stuff crafts or pillows.

Ice cube trays

• Organize jewelry, small nuts and bolts and buttons in easy-to-stack trays.

Ketchup

• Get rid of chlorine green hair with a ketchup shampoo. Massage ketchup generously into your hair and leave it for 15 minutes, then wash it out, using baby shampoo.

Lemon

• Remove soft cheese or other sticky foods from a grater. Rub both sides of the grater with the pulp side of a cut lemon.

• Create blond highlights by adding 1/4 cup lemon juice to 3/4 cup water and rinse your hair with the mixture. Then sit in the sun until your hair dries. Lemon juice is a natural bleach.

• Whiten fingernails. Rub a wedge on the surface of your nails.

Mayonnaise

• Relieve sunburn pain by slathering mayonnaise liberally over the affected area.

• Clean piano keys. If the keys to your piano are starting to yellow, tickle the ivories with a little mayonnaise applied with a soft cloth. Wait a few minutes, wipe with a damp cloth and buff.

• Remove bumper stickers by rubbing some mayonnaise over the entire sticker. Let it sit for several minutes and wipe it off. It will also remove tar and pine sap.

Marshmallows

• Stop ice cream drips by placing a large marshmallow in the bottom of the cone before adding the ice cream.

• Keep brown sugar soft by adding a few marshmallows to the bag before closing it.

Milk

• Clean patent leather shoes to a gleaming shine by rubbing them with a little milk on a soft cloth. Leave to dry and then buff them.

• Remove ink stains on clothing by soaking the area in milk. This can take anything from half an hour to overnight to remove the stain completely.

• Repair fine cracks in china plates and cups can by boiling them in milk. The milk reacts with the kaolin in china and closes the crack. Place the plate in a pan, cover it with milk (fresh or reconstituted powdered milk) and bring to a boil. As soon as it starts to boil, lower the heat and simmer for about 45 minutes.

Nail polish

• Make cup measurements visible by using a brightly colored polish to trace over basic measurement levels.

• Seal an envelope by brushing a little clear polish on the underside of the flap.

• Stop a windshield crack from spreading by brushing both sides of the glass with clear polish to fill it.

• Mark levels inside a bucket with a color that stands out.

• Protect your belt buckle’s shine by covering new or just-shined belt buckles with a coat of clear polish.

Newspaper

• Store sweaters and blankets in a few sheets to keep moths away.

• Clean and polish windows without leaving streaks.

Olive oil

• Lubricate measuring cups and spoons for easy cleanup of sticky ingredients such as honey, grain mustards and syrups.

• Control hair frizz by combing a bit of olive oil through dry hair to tame the frizz and flyaways on humid days or in the winter.

• Free a stuck zipper. Use a cotton swab to apply olive oil to the teeth of a zipper, then gently ease the tab down.

• Remove paint from your skin.

• Fix a squeaky door by using a rag or cotton swab to apply olive oil to the top of a problematic hinge.

Soda pop

• Clean car battery terminals. The acidic properties will eliminate corrosion. Pour soda over the battery terminals and let it set. Remove the residue with a wet sponge.

• Loosen rusted-on nuts and bolts. Soak a rag in the soda and wrap it around the bolt for several minutes. l Make cut flowers last longer by pouring about 1/2 cup into the water in a vase full of cut flowers. The sugar in the soda will make the blossoms last longer.

• Clear out a slow drain by pouring a 2-liter bottle of cola down the drain to help remove the clog.

Tissue box (empty)

• Store empty plastic grocery bags.

Vinegar

• Remove stubborn price tags or stickers. Paint them with several coats of vinegar, let the liquid soak in for five minutes, then wipe away the residue.

• Make wool sweaters fluffier. Drop in a couple of capfuls of vinegar during the rinse cycle for an extra-soft feel.

• Kill weeds between cracks in paving stones and sidewalks. Fill a spray bottle with straight vinegar and spray multiple times.

Wine bottle (empty)

• Put in boots to prevent crease line.