25 Ways to Clean With Vinegar
January 5, 2007 by Karen Weideman
Filed under Top 25, cleaning, frugal living, household product, recipes
This post is for my mom. She wanted me to write one about the many uses of vinegar.
It definitely pays to have some vinegar around the house. I need to go to the store to stock up on vinegar and baking soda. I’ve had a mustard stain that won’t come out of my daughter’s clothes. I think I need to try some vinegar or baking soda. Both seem to be amazing, inexpensive, and safe products. Definitely a thrifty choice!
1. Add 1/4 cup vinegar to laundry, along with the usual soap, to brighten colors and make whites sparkle. This will also act as a fabric softener. Also helps kills athlete’s foot germs on socks.
2. Soak or simmer stuck-on food in 2 cups of water and 1/2 cup of vinegar. The food will soften and lift off in a few minutes.
3. Remove ink stains from clothes by soaking them in milk for 1 hour. Then cover the stain with a paste of vinegar and cornstarch. When the paste dries, wash the garment as usual.
4. Appliances sparkle if cleaned with a vinegar and borax cleaner. Mix 1 teaspoon borax, 1/4 cup vinegar, and 2 cups hot water and put it into a spray bottle. Spray it on greasy smears and wipe off with a cloth or sponge.
5. Deodorize your sink drains: Pour a cup down your drain, let stand about thirty minutes, then run cold water.
6. Use vinegar instead of laundry softener. Vinegar prevents your clothes from getting that waxy build up on them. Vinegar is suggested for using to rinse cloth diapers to keep them absorbent.
7. Remove water stains from leather by rubbing with a cloth dipped in a vinegar and water solution.
8. Loosen food grime and clean the microwave: Place a microwave-safe bowl with 2 cups water, 1/2 cup vinegar inside the microwave and microwave on full power for 3-4 minutes (it needs to boil). Keep your microwave closed for a few minutes to allow the steam to loosen the grime, then open your microwave, carefully remove the bowl, and wipe clean.
9. Remove grease from kitchen walls: Put straight vinegar on a dishcloth to wipe grease off kitchen walls, or the stovetop.
10. Prevent mold and mildew in the shower: Wipe down tile or Formica shower walls with a sponge or cloth dampened with water and vinegar. The vinegar will clean the walls and inhibit the growth of mold and mildew.
11. An excellent toilet cleaner can be made from 1 cup borax and 1 cup vinegar. Pour the vinegar all over the stained area of the toilet. Then sprinkle the borax over the vinegar. Allow it all to soak for 2 hours. Then simply brush and flush.
12. Add a cup of vinegar to your mop water or mop floors with vinegar and water after a normal mopping. Vinegar removes the soap scum.
13. Annie Berthold-Bond says her favorite window cleaning recipe is to combine 2 cups of water, 1/4 cup of white distilled vinegar, and up to 1/2 teaspoon of liquid soap or detergent in a spray bottle. Annie says the liquid soap helps remove the waxy residue.
14. Boil vinegar and water on the stove to soak up bad smells from your house.
15. Fill your water reservoir halfway with vinegar to clean your coffee pot. Follow up by running 1-2 pots of clean water through to remove the vinegar.
16. Vinegar also works as a safe degreaser. No harsh fumes. Use it on grease, undiluted.
17. Clean vaporizers and humifiers by soaking unit in vinegar. Soak unit and then run water through it. I know, I got this tip from the actual directions that came with my vaporizer, but it really does help to remove the deposits and also to sanitize.
18. After washing your whites with bleach, run another rinse cycle with vinegar. The vinegar will help to remove the bleach smell.
19. If you have fruit flies, put some vinegar in a jar on your counter. (I wish I would have known this one a few years ago. I had some fruit flies and bought an expensive fruit fly trap. It probably just had vinegar in it. Errrr!)
20. If your puppy (or child) has an accident on the carpet, apply full-strength plain white vinegar for about 10 minutes and then blot dry. You may want to test an inconspicuous spot first.
21. Adding a cup of vinegar to a dishwashing cycle will help clean your dishwasher and will also help prevent spots from forming on your glasses.
22. Vinegar helps to kill bacteria. Mix up a solution of vinegar and water in a spray bottle. Keep it in your kitchen to spray your sink and countertops.
23. Use vinegar to clean your garbage disposal. Run a tray of ice cubes with 1/2 cup vinegar poured over them.
24. Use vinegar, hot water, and a little soap to clean baby’s toys. Rinse well.
25. I have Pergo floors. I was glad to find this tip from Frugal Living. Mix 1/3 part white vinegar, 1/3 part rubbing alcohol, 1/3 part water, and 3 drops diswashing liquid. Mix this into a (recycled) spray bottle and you have the equivalent of the Pergo floor cleaner. Just spray and mop; also great for deodorizing a room and for a fast cleanup. I also use this on my tile floors with great results. Pergo is better off when water doesn’t sit on it too long, the alcohol is added to make it dry faster.
For more tips on cleaning with vinegar try The Vinegar Book, Housekeeping: About, and Whole Foods Market.
Hurray for #22. I bought that stinky Clorox daily sanitizing spray once and then read online that vinegar does the same thing. I’m so used to the smell it doesn’t even remind me of salt & vinegar chips anymore. I buy generic grocery store white vinegar by the gallon!
I was wondering how that Clorox spray could be safe around food and children. Now I wonder if there is any vinegar in it. I need to go to the store today and I have baking soda and vinegar on my list. Did you see the post I had about baking soda?
So glad to see you finally finished this post! You did a fab job as usually. My hat’s off to ya!
Thanks Kelly. It has been on the back burner for a while because it was so time consuming. Plus there were the holiday posts that needed to be done.
Golly. I have always loved vinegar but I had no idea it had so many other uses. I’ll try it on her T-shirt with the watermelon stains!
Cheers
this is awesome it gave me chance to see my floor tiles agin!thanks!!!!
I really like the tip on cleaning the toliet with vinegar and borax. Thanks for all the good info.
Thank you for sharing this. I use vinegar in my laundry and to clean my coffee maker.
you forgot that it neutralizes a chemical burn!
It won’t neutralize all chemical burns, only a burn caused by a highly basic substance (something that has a very low PH, like lye). It will not neutralize an acid burn (say from a car battery or a paint stripping compound).
Apple Cider Vinegar neutralizes acids in the body, keeps the system very healthy. But ONLY apple cider vinegar (organic, raw, unfiltered)
Vinegar had ZERO effect on my fruit flies. some of these things are inaccurate on the list or misleading. of course you can clean toys wiht vinegar, the question is, will it clean the bacteria & virus? not likely, use chlorox
Vinegar kills 99% of bacteria, 82% of mold, and 80% of viruses. I use vinegar unless someone in our house has a virus and then I bring out the bleach. Vinegar is much safer for your family and pets.
In (South West) Britain I have found it really difficult to get vinegar other than Malt vinegar or wine vinegar and neither are appropriate for cleaning. I’ve tried health food/eco shops and hardware shops. The latter just want to sell hard core chemicals as cleaning products.
Any good suggestions out there?
Sorry. I wish I had a suggestion for you. Most natural cleaners have vinegar in them. Perhaps you could try searching online for natural cleaners. Good luck.