Family

Family

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Naturally--Vinegar

I recently posted about cleaning my bathroom using vinegar and baking soda, but thought I would share some other ideas for using vinegar around the home.  White distilled vinegar kills most germs, bacteria and mold.  The strong smell of vinegar slowly evaporates as it dries, so you don't have lingering fumes.

-I keep a spray bottle of vinegar that I use to clean mirrors, windows and glass.  Simply spray and wipe with a lint free cloth.

-I add about 1/4 cup of vinegar to the fabric softener dispenser in my washing machine.  It softens the clothes, cuts grease and reduces static during the winter.

-I add a cup or so to my mop bucket.  Water and vinegar do a fine job, but sometimes when the floor is exceptionally dirty I add a few drops of dishwashing liquid as well.

-I mix half vinegar and half olive oil in a pint size jar.  I shake it up well and dampen a dust cloth with it to clean and dust my wood furniture.  The vinegar cleans and the olive oil moisturizes the wood.

-I dump half a cup of baking soda down each kitchen drain and pour about 1-2 cups of vinegar in to clear and freshen my kitchen drain pipes.  I have never had a clogged drain....even with pouring grease down the drain.

-You can use straight vinegar to clean the greasy tops of the refrigerator and stove vent.

-I also use my spray bottle of vinegar and a dry cleaning rag to clean  fingerprints and smudges from my stainless appliances.

-I pour in a couple of cups of vinegar in my coffee maker reservoir and run it.  You would be surprised at what comes out of there!  I do this two or three times until nothing comes out except hot vinegar.  Then I dump baking soda in my kitchen drains and pour the vinegar in...Saving vinegar!  I then run clean water through the coffee maker to rinse out the vinegar.

I know that there are many more uses for white vinegar than I have posted.   What are some ways you use white vinegar around your home?  I would love to hear!


Raising Homemakers



13 comments:

Roan said...

Great vinegar ideas! I regularly do that to my coffee pot, but I hadn't thought about my kitchen drains. I plan to do that today!

Emily told me to call the Agri Farm and Ranch in Shannon. They have 5 gallon buckets of hard and soft wheat for $32 (30 something....). Jimmy is going there today to get me some! My mixer and mill are on the way!

Have a great day!

Mary said...

Awesome list! Thanks! Just this year I started using it on the bathroom and the faux wood floors. I can't wait to try it with olive oil for the furniture!

Jenna said...

Vinegar is my favourite cleaning product! We have just switched to natural cleaning products, and I find plain old vinegar and baking soda (and lemon sometimes, too!) are the best natural cleaners. Thanks for a few new ideas for the vinegar

Barbara said...

I want to thank you for that, I have always had a hard time cleaning the top of the fridge, I cant wait to get home and try this....

Mrs Mary Joy Pershing said...

Wow! I love all of your great ideas!!!! Time to get started on natural cleaning!!!

I'm sharing this article on my facebook page...

Love it!

Building Home with Him,

Mary Joy

Betty @ Little Farm in the Big City said...

Try this for an even cleaner coffee maker: pour 4 cups of vinegar into the coffee maker's reservoir. Put an fresh filter in the filter area. Turn on the coffee maker. Let all but one cup of vinegar run through the maker. Turn off the maker for 30 minutes. Turn it back on. Letting the hot vinegar sit in the coffee maker really loosens hard water deposits! And wait till you see what's on that filter! When the vinegar has finished going through the pot, run clean water through twice.

Oh, and you know the vapors you do smell temporarily. Did you know they're cleaning the air?!

One last vinegar trick: place a shallow bowl of vinegar next to the stove the next time you fry.

michelleleigh said...

Not a white vinegar tip, but I learned this one from Emily about a month ago. To get hair squeaky, shiny, etc.. Mix baking soda and warm water in a squeeze bottle, shake, make parts in wet hair and squirt on baking soda mix. Rub in, rinse. Then follow with mixture of apple cider vinegar and water on just the ends of your hair and rinse again. A little time consuming but so worth it. I have always been a wash my hair every day kind of girl, and with this method you can seriously go 5 ir 6 days before washing again. When Em first mentioned it, I was commenting on how great her gair looked. When she told me about this, I thought she was crazy...but Mackenzie tried it first, then me, and the results are amazing. I will never by shampoo again.

michelleleigh said...

Squeaky CLEAN and Hair...not gair...

Unknown said...

I have some vinegar in the cupboard, so I'm going to try and use some for cleaning and see how it goes. :o)

Anonymous said...

Just curious @Betty...what happens when you put the vinegar out when your frying??

Jill @ The Prairie Homestead said...

I absolutely love vinegar- and your list is great! The longer I go into natural cleaning, the more and more I find myself replacing so much things with vinegar. Sure simplifies the cleaning regime, though.

TyKes Mom said...

These are such great vinegar tips! I like to put a 25:75 vinegar:water solution in my upholstery cleaner. It cleans carpets and upholstery by removing any sudsy build-up, kills dust mites, and cleans the inside of the upholstery cleaner!

Also, you can add a couple tablespoons of vinegar to a cup of water and microwave it for two minutes. Then you can just wipe your microwave clean. It also freshens the filter in your microwave to destroy any odors that may accumulate there.

Vinegar is certainly a miracle worker!

Amy @ Raising Arrows said...

I need to do that to my coffee pot! Thanks for the idea!

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...