By Jo Tweedy For Mailonline
Published: 06:51 EDT, 10 August 2022 | Updated: 07:14 EDT, 10 August 2022
Since leaving the Bake Off tent victorious eight years ago, Nancy Birtwhistle has re-modelled herself into an eco-friendly cleaning guru - with her latest kitchen wizardry saving a dirty plastic chopping board from landfill.
The transformation of the grubby board, which the Lincolnshire-based baker admitted she was 'ashamed' to own, has left her 185,000 followers on Instagram impressed.
In a short clip posted on the social media platform, the champion baker shows off the grimy board before she embarks on a few simple steps to revive it - using just a couple of easily available ingredients: washing soda and green bleach.
The former Bake Off winner, 67, has built up a cult following with her eco-friendly household tips - her latest sees her transform a grubby plastic chopping board back to its original glory
Saved from landfill: the Bake Off star, who lives in Lincolnshire, admitted she was 'ashamed' of the dirty plastic chopping board - and vowed to revive it
She told followers that plastic chopping boards are prone to becoming 'smelly and look unsightly' with only a limited amount of use, as knife grooves in the plastic attract hard-to-reach dirt.
Birtwhistle said she conjured up a solution without resorting to harmful chemicals: 'I resisted the urge to sling it into landfill or use harmful chlorine bleach. I can clean, sanitise, freshen and whiten using eco-friendly products.'
Detailing how she brought the board back to its former glory, she said all that after using washing soda, all that was required was 'an overnight soak, a light scrub with an old toothbrush then a spray of Pure Magic to complete the clean and whitening.'
Followers of the cleaning guru were left impressed by her latest efforts. Right, the board after it had been soaked overnight
Washing soda crystals (sodium carbonate) and green bleach (sodium percarbonate), which is a non-toxic, biodegradable alternative to the normal chlorine bleaches many households use, helped restore the board
Birtwhistle told her followers she simply gave the board 'an overnight soak, a light scrub with an old toothbrush then a spray of Pure Magic to complete the clean and whitening'
And let the sun do the rest, the board was left out in bright sunshine for an extra dose of whitening
The two planet-friendly products used are washing soda crystals (sodium carbonate) and green bleach (sodium percarbonate), which is a non-toxic, biodegradable alternative to the normal chlorine bleaches many households use.
After dousing the board in boiling water and leaving overnight, it was then moved to a sunny spot for the final stage in the whitening process.
Since winning the show when it still aired on BBC One in 2014, the Lincolnshire baker, 67, has garnered a cult following with her planet-friendly hacks - including cleaning clothes with English ivy, using baking soda to replace dishwasher tablets and making oven racks shine by leaving them in damp grass.
Still in the kitchen...but 2014 Bake Off winner Nancy Birtwhistle is enjoying a second round of success thanks to her eco-friendly household tips, which have earned her a cult following on Instagram
Her book, Clean and Green, which boasts 101 tips for keeping your home spick and span without resorting to harsh cleaning chemicals, shot into the Sunday Times Bestsellers list, just two weeks after it was released last year.
The domestic goddess now has around 185,000 followers on Instagram and while many are there for the dreamy photos of cakes and loaves, the eco-friendly cleaning tips are clearly proving a lucrative side-line.
The comments below have not been moderated.
The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline.
By posting your comment you agree to our house rules.
Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline?
Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual.
Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline?
Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual
We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook.
You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.
Published by Associated Newspapers Ltd
Part of the Daily Mail, The Mail on Sunday & Metro Media Group