Dennis, I believe it's the vinegar that does the cleaning, not the red ripe tomatoes, high fructose corn syrup, salt, onion powder, spice or natural flavoring.

If you want to try it, for less money, just use white vinegar and you should get the same effect, without the red mess. Soak the strike until it looks nice, follow the same instructions, rinse well, wipe with a soft dry cloth.

I use Distilled White Vinegar, which is what you will find in the grocery store to soak my shower head, it removes the scale that plugs the holes. The only possible advantages I can come up with would be that you already have catsup or ketchup around the house, and it's a paste form instead of a liquid.

Oh by the way, toss the old vinegar in your dish washer, and it will rinse mineral deposits off your glassware, and remove build-up inside the washer as well.

There are some polishes, which I think are a waste because they are so expensive. Anyone who was in the military, might have a can of Brass-O laying around. Trust me it worked on brass buckles and everything on the uniform.

Last of all, never anything abrasive like steel wool, or Comet which will scratch and ruin a nice Strike.

Vinegar...