Useful properties of starch and 20 PRACTICAL WAYS TO USE it
Known to many, starch, it turns out, has a lot of useful properties. Quite often it is used in culinary recipes, but even more often it sits idle in a jar among other non-perishable products.
But this white powder can be used for a variety of purposes, which you often do not even suspect. Believe that this article will make you change your views on this magic powder a little and look at it in a new way.
1. Wash windows without streaks.
Starch is a natural abrasive which the Makes window cleaning much easier. It's also very fine, so if you add it to your window cleaner, you'll get streak-free windows.
2. Polish the silverware.
Just add a little starch to the water and your silverware will shine and delight the eye like new.
3. Remove grease stains.
To get rid of greasy stains on the carpet, sprinkle them with starch. When the dirt soaks in, just vacuum carpet. If the stain is particularly difficult - use a slurry of starch and gasoline (1: 1).
4. Soothe irritated skin.
If you are burned or bitten by some harmful insect, mix starch with water and rub the skin with this mixture. When everything is dry, you will feel much better. Starch is not only rich in calcium, but also helps to cope with skin irritation. Starch problem areas before putting on clothes.
5. Get rid of bad smell.
If your old sneakers smell a little bad, sprinkle cornstarch on them and leave them overnight. The smell will be absorbed. Before you put on shoes, do not forget to pour out the starch!
6. Starch clothes.
Starch spray is an aerosol that facilitates the ironing process, flavors and softens the linen. In order not to buy this expensive product in the store, you can take distilled water, pour it into a spray bottle and add starch there at the rate of 1 tbsp. a spoonful of starch in 1 glass of water. You can also add aromatic herbs or aromatic oils there. When the starch dissolves in water, the spray is ready to use.
7. Restore an old deck of cards.
If your cards get sticky, put them in an airtight bag of starch, shake, beat off the starch, and voila! - you are ready to go for broke.
8. Restore a damaged leather item.
This life hack is similar to the carpet trick: just sprinkle starch on a dirty spot on a leather jacket or leather sofa. Leave overnight and then wipe off the starch with a damp cloth or paper towel. towel.
9. Make a unique body powder.
Mix starch with a few drops of your favorite essential oil oils , give it a good shake and get a quick result - a fragrant body powder without any harmful ingredients.
10. Clean up old plush toys.
Put your favorite dog, bear or whatever you have in a paper bag with starch. Shake and leave overnight. In the morning, just walk over the toy with a vacuum cleaner, and it will become like new!
11. Make a delicious omelette.
Sprinkle some cornstarch on the eggs before beating them and you will notice a significant difference. The scrambled eggs will look like small egg clouds.
12. Update wooden furniture.
Mix equal amounts of starch and water and use this mixture to clean dirty wood furniture.
13. Refresh old books.
Old books are works of art, but a lot of smells eat into them over the years. A little starch will help fix this.
14. Make a unique dry shampoo.
Starch the roots of your hair and simply comb through if you don't have time to shower!
15. Treat creaky floors.
Starch the floor, sweep it, and the starch will fill in all the cracks. This will help reduce the volume of creaking floors from deafening to bearable.
16. Soothe diaper irritation.
Bathe your baby in a starch bath and diaper irritation will be gone.
17. Thicken the sauce.
The cornstarch can thicken the sauce a little. Plus, it's gluten-free!
18. Starch will help in the care of animals.
Starch can be used in grooming pets on the principle of dry shampoo: it must be applied to the coat, and then combed with a brush. The dirt will come off with the starch.
19. Natural deodorant for the gym (and not only).
If you prefer natural hygiene products, apply rubbing alcohol to your underarms to block odor, then sprinkle with starch to keep your skin dry. And no chemicals!
20. Save the sticky marshmallow.
If the marshmallows in the bag stick together,you need to add a little starch and shake. As a result, the sweet delicacy will separate without compromising taste and shape.
We bring to your attention another magical chemical experiment with iodine and starch, in which a transparent liquid turns blue in a matter of moments! All the ingredients for this simple experiment are usually already in the household, but even if something is not there, check out our article "Where to get reagents for experiments" and the questions will disappear by themselves.
We conduct an experiment with iodine and starch
To conduct an experiment with iodine and starch, we need:
- Iodine, and preferably an alcohol solution of iodine 5%,
- 1 vitamin C (1000 mg), you can immediately in powder,
- starch,
- 3 glass glasses.
Experiment algorithm with iodine and starch
Preparatory work for a chemical experiment with iodine and starch:
- We prepare solution No. 1. To begin with, we grind the vitamin into powder and, stirring for a minute, dissolve it in 3 tablespoons of warm water.
- We prepare solution No. 2. Pour 1 teaspoon of Solution No. 1 into a glass, add a teaspoon of iodine alcohol solution and 3 tablespoons of warm water. At this point, we will see that the brown iodine has discolored.
- We prepare solution No. 3. In the third glass, mix one tablespoon of hydrogen peroxide, half a teaspoon of starch and 3 tablespoons of water.
The preparations are over, you can call on the audience and demonstrate an entertaining chemical experiment with iodine and starch. To do this, pour solution No. 2 into a glass with solution No. 3 and back several times .... And the liquid will turn from transparent to dark blue!
How the experiment with iodine and starch is explained
Vitamin C decolorizes iodine. Starch, on the other hand, reacts with iodine and turns blue. By merging liquids No. 2 and No. 3 together, we start these two chemical reactions at the same time. After a short struggle, the starch wins and the liquid eventually turns blue.
From this article you will learn how the reaction of starch and iodine proceeds. This interesting chemical process has practical applications. For example, it helps to find out if starch is contained in a particular product.
Let's first understand what starch is.
It is a tasteless white powder with a flour-like consistency. The formula of starch (amylose and amylopectin polysaccharide) is (C₆H₁₀O₅)n.
Structure of amylopectinStarch is the result of a natural process called photosynthesis. For plants, it serves as a kind of reserve of nutrients, for the human body - a supplier of important carbohydrates.
Physical properties of starch
Insoluble in cold water. If you press the powder with a spoon, thereby pressing it, then a characteristic creak is heard, due to the friction of the microparticles against each other.
Chemical properties of starch
In hot water (C₆H₁₀O₅)n also does not dissolve, but swells to a thick and viscous substance, forming a colloidal mixture called a paste. A solution of starch in water is a non-Newtonian fluid.
If you add acids to water where starch is located (for example, H₂SO₄), then you can observe the process of hydrolysis with a decrease in the molecular weight of the substance and the formation of "soluble" starch.
Starch molecules are heterogeneous in their structure.
Starch is also a polyhydric alcohol that forms ethers and esters during intermolecular dehydration and esterification.
Industrially, starch is obtained from wheat, potatoes, corn and rice.
However, it is easy to get it at home.
Application of starch
Starch is widely used for industrial purposes. It finds use in the production of substances such as glucose, molasses and ethanol.
Starch is also widely used in textile production. They process fabrics. In paper mills, starch acts as a hydrophilic agent - a material that increases strength and improves the typographic quality of paper. It is also used for the manufacture of medicines and food.
In everyday life, almost all of us use this substance: we starch, cook jelly, make a paste (a mixture of starch with water and flour), etc.
The reaction of starch and iodine
Wheat starch granules reacted with iodine
For this experience, we will take a 5% alcohol solution, which is used in medicine - it is with him that most reactions are carried out in laboratories.
Starch reacts with iodine to form inclusion compounds, that is, clathrate. This chemical process was discovered back in 1814 by the scientists Jean-Jacques Colin and Henri-Francois Gauthier de Clobri.
An inclusion compound is a special compound in which the molecules of one substance are introduced into the molecular structure of another substance.
In this case, amylose molecules (one of the main starch polysaccharides) will be the “hosts”, and iodine molecules will be the “guests”. Click to see more unusual experiments with iodine.
Experience with starch and iodine at home
This is a fairly simple chemistry experiment that can be done at home and shown to children to instill in them a love of chemistry.
This will require:
- glass test tube;
- alcohol solution of iodine;
- a pinch of starch;
- water at room temperature;
- stirring stick.
Pour water into a test tube and drop 4-5 drops of iodine into it. Add a pinch of starch and mix well with a stick. As a result, you will immediately get a dark blue solution.
The result of the interaction of starch with an iodine solution
By the way, this experiment can be repeated in another way. For example, drop one drop of iodine into a small hill of starch, resulting in a dark blue spot. You can also drop iodine on half a potato (known for its high starch content). If you put a peeled potato in cold water, after a while, particles of starch will appear in the water. If you hold peeled potatoes in your hands, starch will also remain on them.
By the way, if you then heat a test tube with a solution of starch, iodine and water on a special chemical burner for 10 seconds, the solution will become colorless. This is due to the fact that the combination of iodine and starch is unstable, but if you hold the test tube in cold water, a dark blue precipitate will form again.
When starch is heated to boiling, it begins to break down, and the amylose chains will break. This is how short chains of dextrins are formed, so the color starts to change. By the way, individual glucose compounds do not give color when reacting with iodine.
The equation for the reaction of iodine and starch looks like this:
I₂ + (C₆H₁₀O₅)n => I₂ (C₆H₁₀O₅)n
An interesting fact: amylopectin, a starch polysaccharide, when interacting with I₂, gives a purple-red color. There is much more amylopectin in starch than amylose, which gives a blue color, but the blue color overlaps the red-violet.
Consider how the reaction to starch with iodine can be useful in life.
It's simple: if you have two unsigned jars of soda and starch and you don't want to taste these substances, drop a little iodine.
Also, due to the viscous structure of starch, it is added to fake some. This is especially true for honey: fakes with a high content of (C₆H₁₀O₅)n can be found on the market. Starch can be detected by the same simple chemical method in any food.
Starch is truly a magical substance! And you will understand this after reading the article))
From starch, you can make a magical non-Newtonian liquid, different types of sand, snow and modeling mass. We will consider all this further.
- non-newtonian fluid.
What we need:
- Starch
- Dye optional (food or gouache)
- mixing bowl
The proportions are approximately the same - 1 part water to 1.5 parts starch.
How to do:
Pour water into a bowl, you can add dye if you want to get a colored non-Newtonian liquid. Gradually pour starch into it. Constantly stir until smooth, adding starch until the mass is thick. In such a mass, you can add sparkles or quartz sand.
The resulting mass can be solid and liquid at the same time. If you slowly immerse your palm in a non-Newtonian liquid, it will be liquid and spread, and if you hit the surface with your fist or poke your finger sharply, then it will be solid.
The fact is that this is an unstable mixture that can exist in two states. Here is such a cunning solid-liquid mass.
Non-Newtonian liquid is perfectly washed and washed, it is easy to prepare and clean it, and you can play for a very long time, since this process is very addictive for both children and adults.
This liquid is completely contrary to Newton's laws, hence the name.
In no case do not throw away the non-Newtonian fluid, it can be dried and used in sensory boxes as sand.
Starch can make different types of sand.
Ordinary starch, without any additives, you can use as loose sand. If you want to sculpt from the sand, then the starch can be moistened with plain water. This is great to do with a spray bottle. If you add dye to the water, you can get colored sand. Adjust the moisture content of starch according to your feelings. Such sand is pleasant to the touch, soft gentle, creaky, velvety. Wet starch feels and behaves a bit like living sand. It is a pleasure to play with such sand, and cleaning up after such a game is much faster and easier than after regular sand.
If you overdo it with water, you get a wonderful non-Newtonian fluid.
This snow will not melt, it is a pleasure to play and build from it, and every mother will be able to do it.
Its composition is simple: starch is mixed with hair balm.
The snowball turns out to be wet (just for sculpting with molds), and it also smells very tasty (depending on the smell of the balm).
The difference between such a mass and the previous one (starch + water) is that “starch + hair balm” will not dry out and turn into ordinary starch, but such a mass cannot be tasted, because. it turns out chemical.
All pleasant and useful games!
To make the linen crispy, to re-paste the wallpaper - our grandmothers also used life hacks with starch. Today, linen is not starched, but they don’t risk it with wallpaper. Starch would have stood on the sidelines, recalling the years of its former glory, if it were not for life hackers who have found a lot of useful uses for this penny food product. See for yourself, with the help of starch you can easily ...
1. Prepare safe plasticine for children
- Plasticine can be dangerous, say Rospotrebnadzor experts. Some samples contain almost the entire periodic table! A safe viscous mass can be prepared from cornstarch. Mix 2 cups of starch with hair conditioner. Mix thoroughly, adding conditioner as needed. Add food coloring. The resulting "dough" is perfectly molded.
2. Make a hypoallergenic antiperspirant
- If deodorants cause allergies, or you are against industrial antiperspirants (only the lazy have not heard about their dangers), prepare a hard stick with your own hands. Ingredients: 2 tbsp. l. shea or coconut butter, 2 tsp. soda, 1 tbsp. l. cornstarch, 7-10 drops of tea tree essential oil. Dissolve the oil in a water bath before mixing. Transfer the resulting mass to a glass jar (or a tube of cream) and store in the refrigerator.
3. Clean plush toys
- Soft toys are the best friends of not only children, but also adults. And how often do you arrange hygiene procedures for your “friend”, relieving him of dust and dust mites? A gentle way to clean a teddy bear or any other plush toy is with starch. Sprinkle generously, leave overnight, and brush or vacuum in the morning. The coat will become soft, neat and clean.
4. ... And pets
- The coat of our pets also needs care. Veterinarians do not recommend frequent washing: the protective lipid barrier is washed off. Dry cleaning with starch will help keep the coat clean without harming your pet's health. Apply the powder evenly and comb through. Dirt will come off with starch.
5. Refresh the carpet
- And although dry shampoos for carpets are not in short supply, starch will do the job just as well, and the savings are significant. Sprinkle starch on your carpet - the powder absorbs grease and odors. Finishing - vacuum cleaner.
6. Eliminate odor in shoes
- There are many uses for the absorbent properties of starch. If shoes or sneakers "smell", generously pour starch inside. Leave overnight. In the morning, do not forget to shake out the starch.
7. Remove blood stains
- The main rule for removing blood stains is not to wash them with hot water. The protein will curl up, and the stain will settle on the fabric forever. However, you can try to eliminate it with starch. Apply a gruel of starch and cold water to the stain, after drying, scrape off the crust and wash the item in the traditional way. With a guarantee, the life hack will work if the stain has not been in contact with hot water before.
8. Polish the silver
- Starch and water paste is a budget-friendly way to restore lost luster to silver items. Apply the paste with a damp cloth, and after drying, polish.
9. Wash your hair
- No time for brainwashing? Starch will save the hair from skeptical views. Sprinkle the hair roots with a small amount of powder. After 10 minutes, shake it off with your fingers, comb it out with a comb or “blow it out” with a stream of cold air. Starch absorbs oil and hair will look fresh. One thing: burning brunettes will have to carefully get rid of traces of “shampoo”. "Dandruff" is not the best alternative to oily hair.
10. Take care of your skin
- Cleopatra's milk and honey bath is a non-budget pleasure. Another thing is starch. The effect is the same: soft and delicate skin. Why overpay? In addition, a starch bath is an indispensable remedy for skin diseases. To prepare such a cosmetic therapeutic bath, you will need 500 g of starch dissolved in a liter of cold water. Add the mixture to your prepared bath and relax to your health.
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