Wednesday, August 08, 2007

Household Uses for White Vinegar

We all know vinegar is a must for cooking. That’s why you can find it sitting in a cabinet of almost any kitchen. If you’re into alternative medicine, you probably also know that white vinegar can be used to cure ailments from diabetes to toenail fungus. But if you want to know the full power of vinegar, you should try using it to replace some of the your unnatural cleaning products for a beautiful sparkling house.

The best part about cleaning with vinegar is that you know it’s safe. You no longer have to worry about your kids or your pets drinking cleaning products. While they may be a little queasy, drinking a bottle of white vinegar isn’t going to cause any permanent damage. In fact, it may actually be good for them.


Different and Alternative Cleaning Uses for Vinegar:

As an All Purpose Cleaner

Tired of those “all purpose” cleaners that usually work on one thing and not another? Instead of using several brands of these cleaners, just replace them with a bottle of diluted vinegar (half water, half vinegar). This can be used to clean counters, sinks, windows, and even carpet stains.

Floor Cleaner

Using a separate product to keep your floors shiny? You can use vinegar for this too. Just mix vinegar in your mop bucket (about 1 cup vinegar per gallon) and wash like normal.

Odor Absorber

Vinegar is a great way to absorb odors. If a room has a persistent smell that just won’t go away, leave a bowl of vinegar sitting out overnight to soak up the odor It also deodorizes as it cleans so is great for smelly jobs like garbage cans. If you’re not a fan of the vinegar smell itself, add a little bit of lemon juice for a fresher scent.

Shower Cleaner

There have been a variety of products appearing on the market that clean your shower for you. You just spray after every use to prevent the buildup of mold and soap scum. There’s no scrubbing or wiping, just spraying. You don’t have to worry about these hazardous and expensive products. Just put vinegar in a spray bottle and use it daily. The bottle can also come in handy for cleaning toilet bowl build-up and other stubborn bathroom stains.

Keeping Bugs Away

Ants can be a pain to keep out of the house, especially if you don’t use harmful poisons. Well, vinegar is a safe way to cut them off at the pass. Just follow the trail and figure out where they’re coming into the house. Then spray the area. Ants won’t cross the line and you’re saved from having to fix the holes with expensive repairs.

For jobs when plain vinegar just won’t do, you can add some baking soda. The bubbles produced by this reaction are great at breaking up backed up sinks and garbage disposals.

These are just a few of the literally hundreds of uses you can find for vinegar around the house. Now you don’t have to worry about expensive, dangerous products anymore. You’ll just have a clean, safe house.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Vinegar is simply amazing with it's many uses. I've used it as a cleaner and it's indeed a good alternative, considering that we bought it as a pure vinegar and not diluted in water.

Anonymous said...

These are great suggestions. It's great to learn something about vinegar's many uses. Most of the uses are common, but I admit that some are new to me. Thanks for sharing.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the reminder. Sometimes I don't get the results I want from our cleaner. I think it would be a perfect time to compare their results.