Are you ever overwhelmed walking down the cleaning supply aisle? There are tons of products on the market, all claiming to do the best job of keeping your house clean. Back in the day, there weren’t foams, sprays, or gels to choose from. Good old-fashioned elbow grease and water were the two products on hand for the pioneers, along with one other little ingredient.
Vinegar.
Vinegar’s preserving ability is well-known. My mouth waters thinking of the variety of pickles lining my pantry shelves. Sauces and dressings wouldn’t taste the same without a small bite of vinegar. It's one of the most used items in our home.
My favorite homemade all-purpose cleaner contains vinegar and can be used almost everywhere in the house. Here are some other uses for vinegar you might not know about or use.
- Window cleaner. Take a spray bottle and fill it halfway with vinegar and then top off with water. Even with paper towels (though we've since switched to washable rags for most of the cleaning), I washed my sliding glass door, mirrors, and all the windows without a single streak. Want a citrus smelling cleaner? I've got ya covered with this Homemade Citrus All-Purpose Cleaner.
- Floor cleaner. Add a cup or so to your bucket or sink full of water. No soap. Use to mop your hardwood, laminate, tile or linoleum. Vinegar won’t hurt your grout or your tile like other harsh cleaners, plus it kills bacteria. Ever notice small dark spots in the dips of your linoleum? Overtime, soap builds up and dirt sticks to it. Using vinegar eliminates these spots. If you have little ones or pets, you won’t have to worry about harsh chemicals where they play.
- Laundry room. Add ¼ cup vinegar to your laundry instead of bleach. It will kill odor causing bacteria, clean your washing machine, and no discoloring. I toss mine into the liquid softener dispenser.
- Drain De-Clogger. Vinegar is also an awesome way to de-clog drains. Pour an 1/8 to a 1/4 cup of baking soda down your drain. Follow it with a chaser of vinegar. I pour until it reaches a good foam, allow it to foam for a few seconds, and chase it again. Let your drain sit for about 10 to 15 minutes and follow with a cup of boiling water. For an especially clogged drain, repeat. I do this every other month or so to keep pipes clear.
If you're having fruit fly troubles, they can lay eggs in your pipe, this will kill any eggs and help eliminate those pesky buggers. This fall, I couldn't get rid of the fruit flies for anything. I set traps, locked up my fruit, and still had a few buzzing around. Within 24 hours of doing this, we were fruit fly free!
Continue with the cleaning spree by using these tips on how to declutter your home in a way that reduces stress and keeps each room in your house feeling manageable.
Do you have any other uses for vinegar?
Originally published in the Concrete Herald November 2011 edition and also featured on The Prairie Homestead Barn Hop.
Do you have a good recipe for dry laundry soap?
I’m looking into making my own natural cleaning supplies, and I know vinegar is essential, but I HATE the smell. From what I understand, you can add lemon juice to give it a citrus scent, but it can damage certain surfaces. What are some good ways to mask the vinegar smell? Are there any good recipes for natural air freshener? I currently live in a small apartment, so I can only use store-bought products for now.
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I am going to try this on our drain at home! Does it matter what kind of vinegar you use?
No, but I prefer to use white vinegar as it’s the cheapest for my cleaning products.
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These are great tips! Thanks! Can’t wait to try the drain one!
Thanks, Lauryn! I can’t believe how well it works.
i take 1 tbls of cider vinegar 1 tbs water and a dash of hyoney for heart burn it ia a miracle drink for me since i had my gaul bladder removed
Peggy,
I suffer from acid reflux and am trying to go off the medications. I’m going to try this! Thanks for the tip.
I use vinegar to unclog shower heads, cleans mildew, cuts thru grease on the glass off my hood range vent and polishes up the black sheet metal on my cook top. My dad always bought rusty tools from garage sales and would soak them overnight in vinegar and they always turned out clean and shiny after some elbow grease. Melissa your right on on the laundry and vinegar is way cheaper than fabric softener.
Thanks, Jess. I’ll have to give it a try on the hood range vent. How long do you leave it on?
Susanne, here’s a great website w/ lots of recipes for making your own cleaning supplies. Towards the middle of the page is teh carpet cleaner.
http://eartheasy.com/live_nontoxic_solutions.htm
Here’s the carpet part, but they’ve got lots of other good solutions worth checking out.
I spray equal parts vinegar on the stain, let soak for a few minutes, then scrub. Repeat as needed, though once is usually enough. It’s a great odor killer as well.
It’s actually just for the glass on my hood range vent. I add vinegar to hot water, how much depends on how long between cleanings ;). Usually four cups of water to a half cup of vinegar. Wipe glass with white rag to see how clean your getting it. Then polish with dry white rag. I prefer old cloth diapers, they don’t leave rag fuzz behind.
Thanks for the tips! Do you know of a carpet cleaner made with all natural products from home? I just ran out of my all natural carpet spot cleaner & we live 2 hours from the closest Walmart!
Thanks,
Susanne
I use vinegar and baking soda to loosen baked-on food. If a pan or baking dish looks like it will be difficult to clean, I sprinkle the surface with baking soda and pour on vinegar. It foams away and loosens the mess so it cleans up easily. If there’s a lot, it sometimes requires a second try, but it sure makes cleanup easy when it could be dreadful!
Thanks, for the tip Christy! Just in time for those baked on holiday goody messes.