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This Connecticut grandma’s DIY glue mix will clean your car and we’re obsessed

Barbara Costello is known as "Brunch With Babs" on social media.
/ Source: TODAY

Barbara Costello wooed the world when she became an internet sensation during the pandemic, and now Babs — as she's known online — is getting people chatting again.

The 73-year-old Connecticut grandma shared a video on Sept. 27 about the importance of cleaning your car.

"Did your Mother ever tell you that the average person spends 8.5 hours each week in the car!? That’s 18 days a year!" Costello captioned a video of her offering quick and easy car cleaning tips, including removing items from the car each night and using vinegar to combat smells.

But it was Costello's tip for using "Babs’ Magical Car Gummy Cleaner" that got people chatting.

"Use this to clean the hard-to-reach nooks and crannies in your car or on your electronics. Picks up bits of nastiness you didn’t even know existed," Costello wrote.

In the video, Costello is seen mixing the gummy-like substance, comprised of glue, baking soda and saline solution, in her car's cupholder.

"Ingredients: 1 cup white glue (like Elmer’s); 2 tsp baking soda; 2 tbsp contact lens solution," Costello wrote in the caption.

She continued, "Instructions: Pour all ingredients into cup holder in car. Mix together until completely combined. Let mixture sit in cupholder for 5-10 minutes. Then knead the Gummy Cleaner a bit and clean away!"

The post quickly racked up more than 56,000 likes and nearly 900 comments.

Followers were quick to weigh in on trying the gummy recipe, as well as tagging others who could use some car cleaning tips themselves.

"The recipe came from my days as a preschool teacher," Costello told TODAY Parents. "We used to make silly slime, but we realized that slime had more than one function to entertain kids. It’s a really good cleaner for spots you can never get to."

Some commenters wanted to know if the gummy substance could truly be mixed in the cupholder. Costello says yes.

"You have to stir it for a bit, and it's going to set and thicken," Costello explained of the mixture. "It doesn’t stick to anything. It doesn’t leave residue. It just adheres all the dirt, grime and dust. It just sucks up the dirt."

Other commenters were curious about whether the mixture could be reused. Costello told TODAY that the mixture makes "a lot" and could be divided up for multiple uses.

A smart tip to know in advance is that the "gummy cleaner" will expand if left in the car. But not to worry: "It rolls right back up," Costello said.

Costello launched “Brunch With Babs” alongside her daughter, Liz Ariola, in 2020 and began by making videos on TikTok. She quickly amassed a fan base and now boasts more than 3 million followers across social platforms. In 2022, she debuted a cookbook, "Celebrate With Babs," which hit the USA TODAY Best-Selling Books list within the first week.

"Everything has been a total surprise to me," Costello told TODAY Parents. "Sometimes you just can't plan things. We’re having fun, we’re sharing things and we feel like our followers are family."

Added Ariola, "It's been so fun being behind the camera (and) has been a really great journey with my mom."

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