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4 Ways to Clean with Vinegar

Frugal Living, Homestead-Life

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4 Ways to Clean with Vinegar www.MelissaKNorris.com Frugal and recipes for homemade cleaners from the kitchen, to laundry, bathroom, and carpets!

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.

Here are some other uses for vinegar you might not know about or use.

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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!

You might enjoy this post.

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.

From The Farm Blog Hop

Melissa Norris

Melissa K. Norris inspires people's faith and pioneer roots with her books, podcast, and blog. Melissa lives with her husband and two children in their own little house in the big woods in the foothills of the North Cascade Mountains. When she's not wrangling chickens and cattle, you can find her stuffing Mason jars with homegrown food and playing with flour and sugar in the kitchen.

Read more about Melissa

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Comments:

  1. Christy Bower

    11 years ago

    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!

    Reply
    • Melissa K. Norris

      11 years ago

      Thanks, for the tip Christy! Just in time for those baked on holiday goody messes.

      Reply
  2. Susanne

    11 years ago

    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

    Reply
  3. Jessica Sterling Moore

    11 years ago

    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.

    Reply
    • Melissa K. Norris

      11 years ago

      Thanks, Jess. I’ll have to give it a try on the hood range vent. How long do you leave it on?

      Reply
    • Melissa K. Norris

      11 years ago

      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

      Reply
      • Melissa K. Norris

        November 24, 2011 at 1:17 am

        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.

        Reply
      • Jessica Sterling Moore

        November 24, 2011 at 6:07 am

        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.

        Reply
  4. peggydavis

    10 years ago

    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

    Reply
    • Melissa Norris

      10 years ago

      Peggy,

      I suffer from acid reflux and am trying to go off the medications. I’m going to try this! Thanks for the tip.

      Reply
  5. Lauryn

    January 11, 2014 at 3:01 am

    These are great tips! Thanks! Can’t wait to try the drain one!

    Reply
    • Melissa Norris

      January 11, 2014 at 3:11 am

      Thanks, Lauryn! I can’t believe how well it works.

      Reply
  6. Fabulously Frugal DIY Cleaners | The Granola Mommy

    January 28, 2014 at 1:58 am

    […] (I love vinegar)! She tells you 4 fantastic ways to use vinegar as a cleaner. Head on over to melissaknorris.com and check it […]

    Reply
  7. Do Natural Deodorants Really Work? + a Giveaway!! | Melissa K. NorrisMelissa K. Norris

    May 7, 2014 at 7:02 am

    […] this path to a more natural and simple life. It started in my kitchen, moved into my laundry and cleaning supplies, then to my critters, and now into our personal body care […]

    Reply
  8. 1 Ingredient Natural Oven Cleaner Pioneering Today

    8 years ago

    […] Want more natural DIY cleaning products for your home? Check out 4 Ways to Clean with Vinegar. […]

    Reply
  9. Chelsea

    7 years ago

    I am going to try this on our drain at home! Does it matter what kind of vinegar you use?

    Reply
    • Melissa Norris

      September 9, 2015 at 1:01 am

      No, but I prefer to use white vinegar as it’s the cheapest for my cleaning products.

      Reply
  10. Use Natural Products in Your Home – Hope for Better Living

    6 years ago

    […] for many-a-surface, if you have granite, check out the next cleaner below. Also check out her post 4 Ways to Clean with Vinegar.     Lemon Infused Disinfectant Spray Cleaner. I know of more than one person who uses […]

    Reply

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