Canning foods is not just fascinating, it is also quite useful and a rather time consuming process. Especially if you decide to get a bit old-fashioned and do canning using canning rings. However, those rubber rings do have one bad habit: they tend to turn rusty over time, especially if you have been storing them for quite a long period.
Can such rubber canning rings be still used for canning? Are they safe to put over the jars’ mouths?
We will try to answer these questions below. Read on and you will learn how to keep your canned foods not just safe but also rust-free in the jars.
How to Remove Rust From Canning Jar Rings?
So, imagine the following situation. You decided to do some canning and preserve veggies or fruits for winter using the lids that require the use of those rubber canning rings.
You reach your home stock where all the canning stuff and tools are kept, you find those rings, but oh, my! What is that?! They are rusty!
Sounds familiar, right? We are sure that the majority of those of you who do canning regularly have faced such a situation at least once. And of course, a reasonable question rises: what shall I do to those rusty rings?
Shall I just toss them away and buy the new ones? Of, maybe, there is still a tiny chance that they can be cleaned and thus saved?
Well, we actually have one very easy yet very effective method that may help. Besides, since it uses only the products that are easy to get anytime, you can make use of it whenever you need to revive those rubber canning rings.
So what do you need to do to bring your rusty rubber canning rings back to life?
Grab those rings, take a clean dry cloth, and a bottle of distilled white vinegar. Open the bottle, soak the cloth with vinegar thoroughly until it is damp, and work with it on the canning rings vigorously!
You want to rub them quite intensively all around paying more attention to the areas that are rusty. If needed, add more vinegar if you see that the cloth begins to dry. Like this, you will scrub away all the rusty and orange traces and marks from the rubber canning rings.
Finally, when all the rust is gone, take a sponge, prepare some warm and soapy water, and wash the rings in it manually.
It will remove the vinegar residue and smell, and also rinse off any rust leftovers in case they are still there.
This method is the best possible one since, first of all, it works, and second, it uses no chemicals which means that your canning rubber rings will be safe to use later when it’s time for sealing the jars.
How to Remove Rust From Mason Jar Lids?
All right, we have figured out how you can get rid of those ugly rusty streaks on the rubber canning rings. But what shall you do to the rusty mason jar lids? Rusty glass lids do not look nice, and besides, they are not safe to use for canning since there is a risk of that rust getting into the jar’s contents!
Fortunately, we can offer you a couple of methods that will allow you to cope with this issue easily and quickly. And you will not have to spend a lot of money on that, too!
- If you see that the lids are not heavily rusted, try to rub them with some distilled white vinegar and then wash.
- In case there is a lot of rust on the jar’s lids, you can opt for another solution and soak them in vinegar!
Now, to describe each of these approaches in detail to you, we will start with the easier one. So, imagine you have rusty mason jar lids, but there is not too much rust on them. In this case, you can take a clean rag or cloth, soak it with some distilled white vinegar so that the cloth or the rag is damp, and rub the lids until those orange rusty streaks are gone.
After you cope with them, wash the lids in warm soapy water using a sponge to remove the vinegar residue. And remember to dry them well since lingering water usually causes rust to appear and develop!
How to remove rust from a glass jar lid if there is too much of it, you may wonder?
Well, in this case, you will need to literally bathe your lids in vinegar! Yes, just fill the bowl with distilled white vinegar and submerge the rusty lids into this “magical liquid” for a while! Normally, it is enough for dealing with even the most stubborn and heavy layer of rust.
But if you can still see the rusty traces after you take the lids out of the vinegar “bath”, don’t hesitate to reach for a stainless steel scrubber or steel wool soap and work on the lids until those marks are gone completely.
And again, remember to wash the lids in warm soapy water using a sponge to delete any vinegar traces, and dry them afterward.
How to Prevent Your Mason Jar Lids From Developing Rust?
When mason jar lids get rusty over time, you may wonder what you did wrong to let that rust appear. And of course, you start wondering what can be done to not just get rid of it, but to even prevent it from appearing in future!
Well, the recipe is pretty simple. Since rust begins to develop on your mason jar lids because of the excessive amount of moisture, the only way you can stop that is to make sure that both the lids and the canning rubber rings are kept away from your dishwasher!
That means you should wash them by hand only, and always make sure that both lids and rings are not only properly washed but also are thoroughly dried before you put them away.
See, if there is even a little bit of moisture left on either of them, it will sooner or later turn into those ugly orange rusty streaks!
And as a result, you will first have to spend time on removing rust, and only then you will be able to make use of the lids and rubber rings for actual canning.
This was our brief guide on what to do to get rid of rusty traces on your mason jar canning lids and rubber canning rings.
Now you know that the best and the cheapest (as well as the most effective) way of doing this is to go for a generous amount of distilled white vinegar. A good vinegar “bath” will cure your rusty lids and canning rings in just a blink of an eye!
We also shared a couple of useful tips with you on what to do to prevent your canning lids and rubber rings from getting covered with rust.
And since now you are aware of the danger that liquid and moisture bring to them, we are sure that you will be more careful and you will make sure your canning lids and rubber rings are always both washed and thoroughly dried.
Mason jars are great for not just storage but also for canning! They create that unforgettable homey atmosphere when you see different delicious yummies being canned in them!
So to enjoy your homemade canned foods and make sure no rust ends up in your mason jars, use the life hacks we shared with you today, and enjoy your delicious homemade treats!
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