Top 8 ways vinegar is the DIY cleaner of choice
As someone who dreads the job of house cleaning, simply because the toxic smells of most expensive products give me migraines, I am constantly on the lookout for "do it yourself" cleaning ideas:
- Vinegar is excellent for removing odors from your clothing, as well as perspiration stains.
- I also know that is a great way to get skunk smell off of your dog by using a mixture of vinegar diluted 50% with water. Rub the mix all over your pooch, rinsing with water and repeating as necessary until the skunk smell is gone.
- For cleaning windows around the house, mix a spray bottle with half vinegar and half water. Use lightly crumpled newspaper or a soft, lint free cloth for wiping and buffing to give your windows a sparkling shine.
- Placing a bowl of vinegar on your counter overnight will rid the room of odor. Just be sure to put it somewhere your kitty can't get at it!
- The rust stain removing toilet bowl cleaners produced for the market today can be very toxic. Why not try using full strength vinegar instead and let it sit in your toilet bowl for about 15 minutes, then scrub the bowl as usual. That spray mixture you made for your windows will also shine all the porcelain and fixtures in your bathroom and works just great for killing bacteria.
- Cleaning your no wax floors with a solution of 1 cup vinegar per gallon of water will give your floors a shinier surface.
- Are you tired of your drains clogging and having to use expensive commercial cleaners? Try this method: First pour 1/2 cup of baking soda down the drain, followed with 1/2 cup of vinegar. After the mixture stops bubbling, rinse with warm water and repeat as necessary. Be sure to keep your face away from the drain while doing this and I even recommend safety glasses any time you use any drain cleaner.
- You can clean your wood paneling with a mixture of 1/4 cup olive oil, 1/2 cup vinegar and 2 cups warm water. This will be awesome for us, because if we can buy the place, we don't want to tear down the solid wood paneling that my dad worked so hard to install in his house.
I am totally razzed about my new discoveries and can't wait to try out all the uses for vinegar I found. Right about now though, I should go clean my coffee cup with a mild solution of vinegar and salt before returning to the Internet to gather more excellent home cleaning strategies for you.Tags: clean, coffee, DIY Life, DIYLIFE, do it yourself, DoItYourself, green house cleaning, GreenHouseCleaning, non-toxic cleaners, Non-toxicCleaners, vinegar
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
7-17-2007 @ 9:41AM
Sharon M. Jouppi said...
Can't wait to try these vinegar uses!
Great article! Keep them coming!!
Reply
7-17-2007 @ 5:56PM
Peter said...
It will also clean all the minerals and scale off your faucet aerators, clogged shower head, etc... Just remove the item and soak it overnight in straight vinegar. Rinse it off and it's good as new.
Reply
7-18-2007 @ 9:14AM
james howell said...
try bragg organic apple cider vinegar.
Reply
7-24-2007 @ 9:54PM
Lana said...
My parents taught me the one for vinegar and baking soda MANY
years ago..I find it also refreshes your dishwasher beautifully at a
fraction of the commercial brand cost!! As always GREAT hints Anna!
Thanks! :-)
Reply
8-03-2007 @ 8:39AM
lee said...
If any brats throw eggs at your house, it removes the egg from vynil siding.
Reply
8-03-2007 @ 12:59PM
Risa said...
Vinegar is also a great home remedy for sore throats! Mix 1/4 cup of vinegar w/ 1/4 cup of honey and take 6 tablespoons throughout the day. By the time you take your 3rd or 4th dose you will already feel your throat getting better! The vinegar kills the bacteria. I always do this when I feel a cold coming on. I haven't used a throat lozenge in about 2 years!
Thanks! :)
Reply
8-03-2007 @ 2:20PM
Margie said...
I was told by a friend that vinegar is an anti-fungal, good to soak feet in. She had done it. I believe she used the apple cider kind. I started the daily soaking....but the smell was discouraging. Listerene is also good for that purpose. I may get back to the vinegar soak. This was tried and proven by my friend. Softened them too, she said.
Reply
10-28-2007 @ 3:21PM
v said...
My son loves to use his football gloves but after a few uses they smell horrible. I've tried washing them inside out but no help. Any ideas?
Reply
2-02-2008 @ 6:28PM
Lisa said...
I use vinegar as fabric softener when washing clothes. It just takes a little bit and no my clothes do not smell like vinegar.
Reply