Vinegar easily makes my “what would you bring to a desert island’ list — the practical version anyway. At less than four dollars for a gallon jug, white distilled vinegar offers a myriad of uses that can easily replace costly and harsh pesticides and chemicals.
Vinegar can be found throughout my home whether in its original jug in the basement, the filled spray bottle in the cupboard or the dainty cruet on the kitchen counter. Even more than its low-cost, I like the idea of cleaning with something that has no warning-paragraph. There is no fear from vinegar accidently getting sprayed on foods or tooth brushes, in fact, you can spray it on foods and toothbrushes.
Here is a list of some of my top uses for vinegar
From the jug:
- Add ½ cup to the wash cycle as a fabric softener and laundry booster
- Add 1 cup of vinegar to every gallon of water to wash no-wax vinyl or linoleum floors
Added bonus: ants and spiders don’t like vinegar so as you wash your floors you are repelling these pests
From the spray bottle:
- Spray weeds and grass growing in unwanted places such as cracks of walkways and driveways
- Spray or pour vinegar on ant hills to eliminate them
- Wash windows and bathroom mirrors
- Use on metal fixtures to restore shine
- Clean kitchen and bathroom countertops
- Wipe the insides of reusable lunch bags
- Lightly spray as insect repellant
- Spray and wipe to clean the inside of microwaves and toaster ovens
- Follow manufacturer instructions to clean a coffee pot
- Wipe toys clean
- Clean the inside of the car from top to bottom
From the cruet:
- For salads, of course
- Sprinkle onto a paper towel to wipe telephones, cell phones and other small hand-held devices
There are hundreds more uses, simply do an online search for resources.
so fun to see other vinegar enthusiasts! viva vinegar!
I love to put vinegar & water in a coffee cup, toss it into the microwave for a few minutes and let her rip (even if it boils over its not a big deal). The combination of the steam and wonder-cleaner loosens even the nastiest baked on messes making it a breeze to wipe out. Also straight vinegar or a solution of vinegar & a nail brush is the BEST grout cleaner I have ever used. Happy, healthy cleaning ladies.
sorry! that was crass. another use for vinegar we learned this summer: add a tsp. to the dog’s water bowl to make him less appealing to fleas and ticks.
didn’t our mothers also use white vinegar to make their hoo-hoos sparkle?
I, too, love vinegar. And the math geek in me likes to calculate how much money I have saved on cleaning supplies over the years!
I love vinegar, Elyse! I have a spray bottle for countertops in the kitchen, and in the bathrooms I have a spray bottle that’s a mixture of 1/2 water, 1/2 vinegar, and about a capful of CitraSolv, and that’s my cleaning solution (for floors, too). You can’t spray the CitraSolv on food, of course, but it makes the bathroom smell wonderful. Oh, and if you ever happen to get pantry moths, after cleaning out the cupboards and before putting everything back in, spray vinegar all over the place and liberally into the cracks. It kills the eggs. (Information I wish I didn’t have to know!!)