Vinegar is really great stuff with many cool uses. Here are the the 2 best ones I know of.
Source: My own experiments. It works!
This page contains the following solutions.
I have stopped buying expensive and fume cleaning products and have gone to vinegar for everything. It is the oldest, safest and most effective cleaning product there is.
I keep a bowl of white vinegar on my stove to keep cooking odors down. When a closet or room starts to smell musty or stale, I put a bowl of white vinegar on a shelf for a few days.
Here are several clever ideas for using vinegar around the house. Post your own favorite vinegar uses.
After a nasty fall in my bath tub, I became extra careful to not have it happen again. My first idea was to always just throw a facecloth in the tub to stand on. My latest and very effective method that keeps me safe as well as my family is to spray my vinegar/water cleaning solution on the bottom of the tub.
If you don't have any cleaner in the house, you can always use vinegar. It makes your floors shine and cuts the grime off your floor. It makes your house smell cleaner than regular cleaner.
Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
There are tons of uses for vinegar. From cleaning to killing weeds. Post your ideas.
Use vinegar soaks to clean dentures, rusted tools and faucets
By imaqt1962
Vinegar adds an amazing sheen to dark hair.....(similar to lemon juice for blondes) ....apparantley!
I use white vinegar in the rinse-aid dispenser of my dishwasher. My dishes are squeaky clean and my glasses shine.
A huge saving.
My showerhead clogs after a while. I just remove it and soak in vinegar all night . The next day its perfect and ready to go.
Use vinegar in your fabric dispenser in your washing machine. Clothes will not smell like vinegar and they come out of the dryer real soft.
I like to use a mix of vinegar and baking soda to clean my drains. It can often unclog them (found this out in a clogged bath tub drain). I also use vinegar and water to clean my ceramic-top stove (leaves it with a nice shine). Vinegar and water clean my car windows and my house windows. You can use vinegar and water as windshield-washer fluid if you put some alcohol in it to keep if from freezing in the winter.
When you have a sore throat drink 1 TEASPOON of white vinegar and drink a small glass of water. My family has done that for years and it always works. The vinegar kills the infection.
Wash windows, mirrors,tile floors with white vinegar. Rinse your white clothes with this also. It helps get the soap out and keeps them from getting yellow.
Rinse your uncolored hair with it for a great shine. Gargle with white vinegar for sore throats. Use as an antiseptic for minor cuts. Clean your bathtub.
It also kills weeds, cleans your white walled tires. Spray on your animals as a repellant for fleas, ticks, etc. You may also put a little in their water.
PS. Don't use on colored items!
By Sandi G
use vinigar with crushed garlic in a little hot water to bathe your feet
it will kill any bacteria and get rid of smelly feet use a couple of times and feet will never smell again
PS no !!!!!
you won't smell of garlic
Cleaning
Clean the following with white vinegar: Tubs, sinks, tile floors, and toilets. Buff dry for a great shine, Cleans windows and mirrors also. Dry with a clean non -lint cloth or paper towel.One more,will remove oil or grease from driveway....may need to repeat. Scrub with the vinegar if needed.
I have been doing this for 20-30 years. Inexpensive and non toxic.
Removing Odors
A glass bowl place around the house will also eliminate odors. Refill as needed. It WILL remove color on fabric, so be careful unless you wear white. Rinsing white clothing, diapers and a few others will keep them nice and white and remove odors at the same time.
Rinsing Hair
Also a vinegar rinse will give non-colored treated hair a nice shine.
Sore Throats
And gargling with white vinegar helps sore throats. Don't swallow. This really works. Ask your grandparents they probably did this. Pest Control
Put white vinegar in a spray bottle and spray where ants are and around house: frame, windows, sidewalks etc. You can spray directly on ants and they will scatter. Spray as needed.
By Sandi G
Pet Flea Control
I use to put 1/4 tsp. Apple Cider Vinegar in pets water bowl for flea control. I stopped, my sister's dog got inside my house one day. the next day I noticed my dog scratching. I put her on the table and found 4-5 fleas. I started putting apple cider vinegar in water and fleas are gone. I also spray both dogs with tea tree oil when I see fleas on them this will kill fleas instantly!
By Mavis
I am a big fan of natural, non-toxic cleaners such as baking soda and vinegar. My question is, can you use vinegar to kill germs? For example, would vinegar be sufficient to kill germs from raw meat on your counter? Also, I am assuming that vinegar is totally non-toxic - please let me know if this is not correct! Thanks.
Here is just one site I found that says vinegar kills germs. I had heard about a study that proved this a few years ago...so use it without guilt!!!
www.care2.com/
Vinegar is a wonderful cleaner; but, there are two options I would suggest. 1st: spray the vinegar on the area that you want and let it sit 5 minutes and wipe that off and then spray hydrogen peroxide and do the same thing. separately sprayed on they kill germs well. mixed together they are not as effective. 2: my recommendation and what I use, I add a tsp of tea tree essential oil to a sprayer bottle of about 1 cup of water. shake each time before you use it. Tea tree oil kills just about everything. Ecoli and salmonella. And it smells clean as well and you only have the one step.
Is vinegar sprayed directly on a laminate surface, such as the kitchen counter, and then left to stand for 5 or more minutes harmful to the counter top? It seems like it would be too harsh to use undiluted.
If you use a chopping board for all raw meat, (kept solely for that purpose - do not mix chopping boards for cooked and raw foods), you can wash it in very hot water with detergent and then just wipe over with vinegar if you want - but this should not be necessary as long as all food residue and fat is scrubbed off in very hot water. Allow to dry thoroughly following cleaning.
Regards
Jo
for mkymlp
I don't believe vinegar should hurt your counter top even if left on for 5 minutes. You do not need to use it full strength however. I would think 1 part water to 1 part vinegar would be a good disinfectant. If you know the manufacterer of the counter top you may want to google them to see if they have a website. Often they have cleaning tips or even a support number or email address where you can contact them.
Susan from ThriftyFun
Thanks for the info. I'm glad to know I can use the vinegar to kill germs. My countertops aren't anything special so I don't worry about harming them...maybe something like marble would be a problem. I've never had a problem with it damaging anything. I've poured it full strength on carpet and upholstered furniture (when napping children have wet the furniture) and it's never done anything to the fabric.
I work for a commercial cleaning agency and I found that using vinegar to rid indoor brick of a dusty appearance caused by soap residue seems to work best. However I would like to know is there a ratio of vinegar to water that can be used in over a 1000 sq ft area? This is simply to help with cost.
First of all, spraying any product, wether its vinegar, or a hospital grade quat. disinfectant, onto a surface, and wiping it off, is not going to kill anything. All disinfectants need at least a 10 minute kill time, before you can wipe them off. Second of all, vinegar and disinfectants have 0 cleaning capabilities, they do not penetrate a surface, or loosen soils. There is a huge difference between cleaning and disinfecting, they are 2 seperate things all together. Using a good cleaning product, and doing a good job of cleaning, removes 98% of all bacteria. Thirdly, there is a huge differenc between a disinfectant, antibacterial, and sanitizer. Vinegar may be a good sanitizer, or antibacterial at best, but it is not a disinfectant.
What are some alternative uses for vinegar around the house?
By Holly from Lancaster, WI
I use iron out in my laundry to get my whites whiter. I saw on this site about using white vinegar, does this really work and how much do I use?
Adding a bit of vinegar to your home humidifier can help freshen the air. This is a page about adding vinegar to your humidifier.
This is a page about vinegar and dish soap fruit fly trap. A simple effective fruit fly trap can be made with apple cider vinegar and a few drops of dish soap.
Vinegar is a great odor eliminator, not only is it natural and non-toxic but it really works! Learn how to use vinegar as a natural odor eliminator in this page.
This is a page about using white vinegar for dandruff. Instead of trying expensive medicated shampoos, try using vinegar instead.
This common fermented liquid can be an inexpensive product for many household uses. This page is about frugal uses for vinegar.
A frugal and effective natural cleaner is vinegar. It can be used to disinfect surfaces, soften and brighten laundry, deodorize and much more. This is a page about cleaning with vinegar.
This page offers some advice about treating your hair with vinegar to remove shampoo build up. Vinegar works well to remove hair product buildup. Some people also use it to treat dandruff.
There are several common household products that can be used to remove mildew. This is a page about vinegar for removing mildew from a tent.
Spray clothes with a mixture of vinegar and water prior to ironing to help remove creases. This is a page about removing creases with vinegar spray.
Newspaper is relatively lint free and works well with vinegar to clean windows, leaving them streak free. This is a page about use vinegar and newspaper for cleaning windows.
Warning: Mixing vinegar and bleach creates chlorine gas. The two together make a stronger cleaning solution but can be very hazardous to your health. Don't mix vinegar and bleach.
