25 Ways to Clean with Vinegar

You know how people always send you those useless emails about some college student who needs to know how many people have the name Kendra, etc...? Well, this isn't one of those. This is actually useful!

Do you have any uses for vinegar besides the ones listed here?

1. Add 1/4 cup vinegar to laundry, along with the usual soap, to brighten colors and make whites sparkle. This will also act as a fabric softener. Also helps kills athlete’s foot germs on socks.

2. Soak or simmer stuck-on food in 2 cups of water and 1/2 cup of vinegar. The food will soften and lift off in a few minutes.

3. Remove ink stains from clothes by soaking them in milk for 1 hour. Then cover the stain with a paste of vinegar and cornstarch. When the paste dries, wash the garment as usual.

4. Appliances sparkle if cleaned with a vinegar and borax cleaner. Mix 1 teaspoon borax, 1/4 cup vinegar, and 2 cups hot water and put it into a spray bottle. Spray it on greasy smears and wipe off with a cloth or sponge.

5. Deodorize your sink drains: Pour a cup down your drain, let stand about thirty minutes, then run cold water.

6. Use vinegar instead of laundry softener. Vinegar prevents your clothes from getting that waxy build up on them.

7. Remove water stains from leather by rubbing with a cloth dipped in a vinegar and water solution.

8. Loosen food grime and clean the microwave: Place a microwave-safe bowl with 2 cups water, 1/2 cup vinegar inside the microwave and microwave on full power for 3-4 minutes (it needs to boil). Keep your microwave closed for a few minutes to allow the steam to loosen the grime, then open your microwave, carefully remove the bowl, and wipe clean.

9. Remove grease from kitchen walls: Put straight vinegar on a dishcloth to wipe grease off kitchen walls, or the stovetop.

10. Prevent mold and mildew in the shower: Wipe down tile or Formica shower walls with a sponge or cloth dampened with water and vinegar. The vinegar will clean the walls and inhibit the growth of mold and mildew.

11. An excellent toilet cleaner can be made from 1 cup borax and 1 cup vinegar. Pour the vinegar all over the stained area of the toilet. Then sprinkle the borax over the vinegar. Allow it all to soak for 2 hours. Then simply brush and flush.

12. Add a cup of vinegar to your mop water or mop floors with vinegar and water after a normal mopping. Vinegar removes the soap scum.

13. Annie Berthold-Bond says her favorite window cleaning recipe is to combine 2 cups of water, 1/4 cup of white distilled vinegar, and up to 1/2 teaspoon of liquid soap or detergent in a spray bottle. Annie says the liquid soap helps remove the waxy residue.

14. Boil vinegar and water on the stove to soak up bad smells from your house.

15. Fill your water reservoir halfway with vinegar to clean your coffee pot. Follow up by running 1-2 pots of clean water through to remove the vinegar.

16. Vinegar also works as a safe degreaser. No harsh fumes. Use it on grease, undiluted.

17. Clean vaporizers and humifiers by soaking unit in vinegar. Soak unit and then run water through it.

18. After washing your whites with bleach, run another rinse cycle with vinegar. The vinegar will help to remove the bleach smell.

19. If you have fruit flies, put some vinegar in a jar on your counter.

20. If your puppy (or child) has an accident on the carpet, apply full-strength plain white vinegar for about 10 minutes and then blot dry. You may want to test an inconspicuous spot first.

21. Adding a cup of vinegar to a dishwashing cycle will help clean your dishwasher and will also help prevent spots from forming on your glasses.

22. Vinegar helps to kill bacteria. Mix up a solution of vinegar and water in a spray bottle. Keep it in your kitchen to spray your sink and countertops.

23. Use vinegar to clean your garbage disposal. Run a tray of ice cubes with 1/2 cup vinegar poured over them.

24. Use vinegar, hot water, and a little soap to clean baby’s toys. Rinse well.

25. Use to clean your floors. Mix 1/3 part white vinegar, 1/3 part rubbing alcohol, 1/3 part water, and 3 drops diswashing liquid. Mix this into a spray bottle and you have the equivalent of a floor cleaner. Just spray and mop; also great for deodorizing a room and for a fast cleanup.

My oven is all but impossible to clean the grates. I sprinkle some baking soda on the grates and soak a stainless steel scrubber with vinegar and it makes them sparkle! Only until the next time I use my oven, though. Stink. That's why that doesn't get done very often!

Hope this helps!