There are many household tips that are passed down from generation to generation.

But not all of these traditional household tips are useful, and some are even quite harmful. Sonja Bart from the Krautgeschwisters took a look at some of the widespread claims and subjected them to a fact check:

Claim: St. John's wort oil and tincture must steep in the sun

Why this is unnecessary and actually not good at all:

Oil and tincture with St. John's wort turn red due to the hypericin contained in the flowers. This dissolves without direct sun and turns the oil and tincture red. Exposure to sunlight promotes oxidation (rancidity) of the oil and destroys light-sensitive ingredients. Wouldn't you put your cooking oil in the sun ?
Furthermore, initially only cover oil with fresh flowers with a cloth. However, always close the tincture tightly, otherwise the alcohol will evaporate.

Claim: St. John's wort is best collected on St. John's Day (June 24th).

St. John's wort can be collected both before and after St. John's Day. Nature does not adhere to old traditions or the calendar.

Claim: All you need for preservation is vitamin E, essential oil and grapefruit seed extract

Unfortunately, there are still websites, blogs and even books that list vitamin E, essential oil or grapefruit seed extract as sufficient preservation. This is wrong. Vitamin E, for example, only delays the oxidation (rancidity) of oil, but does not prevent mold formation or contamination of the water phase of an emulsion.

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Claim: Jars of jelly or jam must be turned upside down

Vacuum is not created by turning it upside down, but rather by cooling down the hot jam. So turning it upside down is not necessary. With cheap lids, this can release plasticizers from the inner coating of the lid, which is quite unhealthy. Furthermore, contents run into the spaces between the glass and the lid. There they come into contact with air and can become moldy and the contents spoil.

Claim: You can easily make hydrosols yourself

No real hydrosols are produced using the cooking pot method and espresso machine. The plant water obtained in this way is somewhere between tea and hydrosol and therefore does not last for a year, like a real hydrosol.

Claim: Discolored leaves are poisonous

Flowers and leaves can turn brownish over time, whether preserved in oil or alcohol. However, this discoloration is not a sign of mold or spoilage.

Claim: Woodruff becomes poisonous when it flowers

That too is a myth. Woodruff is used for medicinal purposes, especially when it is in bloom. It should then no longer be processed into luxury foods because of the increased coumarin content. The same applies to many other plants. Only the celandine herb should actually no longer be consumed once it has bloomed.

Claim: Quark helps against sunburn

Dairy products always contain germs; A sunburn is skin whose protective barrier is damaged, meaning bacteria penetrate more easily. Quark dries out, then becomes hard and deprives the skin of moisture, which is exactly what it needs.

Claim: Chamomile tea helps with eye problems

A treatment suggestion that is unfortunately still recommended far too often for eye irritation, conjunctivitis, etc. is rinsing the eye with chamomile tea. Unfortunately, this is not a good tip at all, because the suspended matter in the tea can irritate the eyes even more and even injure them; Chamomile also dries out the eye, which prevents healing.

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Conclusion

There are certainly numerous nice and useful household tips. We certainly don't want to deny that. But there are one or two things that were done out of ignorance in the past and about which we fortunately have more knowledge today. We should use these findings. Grandma also learned something back then ?

Author: Sonja Bart
Article image: Shutterstock / From Photographee.eu

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Notes:
1) This content reflects the current state of affairs at the time of publication. The reproduction of individual images, screenshots, embeds or video sequences serves to discuss the topic. 2) Individual contributions were created through the use of machine assistance and were carefully checked by the Mimikama editorial team before publication. ( Reason )