subject: Ten Uses For Vinegar As A Home Cleaner [print this page] Ten Uses For Vinegar As A Home Cleaner Ten Uses For Vinegar As A Home Cleaner
Vinegar is made in the same way that wine, beer and cider are made by fermentation. In fact, if you leave wine uncovered while it is brewing, you'll get vinegar very easily. But whether you have white vinegar (from wine), malt vinegar (beer) or cider vinegar (from cider obviously), there are more things you can do with this household acid than just sprinkle it on your fish and chips, or making vinaigrette dressing.
Vinegar is an excellent domestic cleaning product that leaves no residue, gives off no toxic fumes and is completely non-toxic, if not positively good for you. Vinegar is also a pretty decent disinfectant, as well.
So what can you do with vinegar apart from using it as a condiment?
1. Use it dilute in warm water for window cleaning. Rub it on with a clean cloth or spray it on, then dry and polish off with crumpled newspapers no streaks!
2. Clean the inside of a refrigerator or microwave. As it's non-toxic and doesn't give off unpleasant fumes, it's safe to use around food items. It also kills any mould spores that have managed to establish themselves in the fridge.
3. Use it as a fabric softener. Add it to the final rinse of a washing cycle or during handwashing. If you add an essential oil or make an infused vinegar, this puts a nice, delicate scent into the wash. To make an infused vinegar, pack a jar full of a scented herb (e.g. lavender or rosemary) or a spice and leave it to stand for a week or so. Then strain and bottle. The process can be sped up by using hot or boiling vinegar and steeping the herb or spice in it like tea, but this can blunt delicate scents. You can also use an infused vinegar for cooking.
4. My husband's grandmother used to use vinegar for unblocking drains clogged with soap scum and hair. To do this, pour vinegar down the blocked drain and add baking soda. You may need a generous amount of both items. The resulting reaction between them shifts large "clots" and the acid vinegar also reacts with the alkaline soap, removing it. If any moulds have grown in the blocked bit (you can tell by the smell if this is the case), then the vinegar will kill this as well. Cover the plug hole while the reaction is going on, then pour boiling water down the drain to finish the process off.
5. Vinegar kills mildew. If you have to clean surface mildew off an item, wipe it with neat vinegar and let the vinegar soak in, this will kill any remaining mildew spores.
6. Use dilute infused vinegar (see idea 4 for how to make infused vinegar) as a cosmetic toner. It's excellent for removing the last traces of soap cleaner from the skin and restores the pH balance of the skin. Used in a stronger concentration, vinegar acts as a chemical exfoliant cider vinegar in particular is effective.
7. This writer has never tried this, not having dreadlocks, but cider vinegar can be used dilute to deep-clean dreadlocks.
8. Vinegar can be mixed with salt and rubbed on copper or stainless steel to remove oxidation stains.
9. Dilute vinegar makes a good pH balancing rinse for hair after shampooing. Infused vinegars can be used to scent the hair.
10. Vinegar is an odour-eater that can get pungent smells out of porous surfaces. Try it on marble or wooden chopping boards.
