20 Photos That Prove Even Century-Old Dirt Can Be Cleaned Off If You Really Put Your Mind to It

According to a survey done by the American Cleaning Institute, 33% of people admit that they don’t clean up very often, 41% of the respondents couldn’t remember when the last time was that they cleaned up their fridges. But the people from our article are nothing like that: they are ready to take on even the most hopeless cases. For example, thanks to their skills, a pile of rusty metal turned back into a grill, and a frying pan that survived rains and fires looks as good as new.

“From bleh to brilliant! Before and after results of cleaning and polishing an old purse of my mom’s from the ’80s!”

This building in Budapest that was only washed on one side

“I cleaned the playroom.”

Carpet cleaning: there was a pattern under all that dirt.

“I cleaned my oven.”

“Bringing some color back to the old pavers!”

“I’m tired of letting depression control my life, so here’s to taking it back one step at a time.”

“A much-needed cleaning of my iron-stained tub”

“Cleaned and repainted my very tired Nike AM90s.”

“Power washing our patio furniture”

“I dusted my ceiling! It feels so much brighter in here.”

Before and after descaling an espresso machine boiler that was hooked up to city tap water for years

“Cleaning up my backyard”

“Been using my great-grandfather’s razor for a while now. Decided to clean and polish it this morning.”

“I just finished cleaning my 10-year-old keyboard after 2 hours of work. Took off the keys, cleaned the keyboard, cleaned the keys and dried them, and finally put them all back together.”

“Smoker before/after. Paid 20 bucks for it, then spent a month making it pretty.”

“Found a way to clean the old hammock.”

A little closet before and after!

“Cleaned my kid’s slide. I didn’t even know it was green.”

“This frying pan survived a fire and then it spent a long time outside in the rain. My friend told me I wouldn’t be able save it.”

Do you like giving old things a second chance or do you prefer throwing them out right away?