How to Clean Your Home With Vinegar

Few people realize how easy it is to clean your home with vinegar. This inexpensive liquid can clean everything from car chrome to vegetables to pets. Here's how you can clean your house with vinegar.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Bottles of vinegar (cider and white)
• Soft clean cloths
• A measuring cup

1. Vinegar is great to remove strong food smells. Rinse your hands in it (full strength). For smells in the air, whether from food, cigarettes or paint, place dishes of cider vinegar around affected areas. This may take longer than spraying that flowery-smelling aerosol, but you won’t put chemicals into the air that could trigger allergies and end up with a fresh smell.

2. Use vinegar to help scale fish. Rub the fish with vinegar, wait 5 minutes, then scale easily. Keep wood cutting boards clean by wiping with full strength vinegar regularly.

3. To clean fresh vegetables, place in dish with water, vinegar and salt. Bugs and soil float right off.

4. To keep windows frost free, coat with vinegar the night before, using 3 parts vinegar to 1 part water.

5. To de-ant problem areas, spray full-strength vinegar around windows, doors, under appliances and anywhere you see ant trails.

6. To keep your kitchen drain smelling sweet, put a cup down the drain weekly. Let sit for 30 minutes, then flush with cold water. To unclog a drain, pour in 1/2 cup of baking soda and add 1/2 cup vinegar. Wait until it finishes fizzing, then pour a cup of boiling hot water down the drain.

7. Clean your fridge with equal parts water and vinegar for a nice clean smell. Use vinegar as a disinfectant in the bathroom. Spray equal parts water and vinegar on fixtures and the floor. Wipe clean and let dry.

8. To keep dishwaters clear of soap build-up, run a cup of vinegar through the entire cycle once a month. It cleans machinery and eliminates spots on glassware.

9. To remove food spots, boil a mix of ¼ cup water and 1 cup vinegar in the microwave. It loosens food and deodorizes too.

10. To brighten colors, add ½ cup vinegar to your washer’s rinse cycle. To remove grease on suede, dip a toothbrush in vinegar and gently brush the spot until it disappears. To brighten carpets or rugs, brush with a mixture of 1 cup vinegar (white) and 1 gallon water. Let dry.

11. Get rid of soap scum, dirt and mildew on bathtubs, tile and shower curtains. Wipe surfaces with vinegar, then rinse with water. Keep countertops clean by wiping with a cloth soaked in distilled vinegar.

12. Remove rings from wet glass on wood with a mixture of equal parts distilled vinegar and olive oil. Rub with the grain, then polish for great results. Vinegar has many uses. This old fashioned remedy can help sunburn, freshen flowers, clean rust, even dampen your appetite. By using this simple liquid, you’ll use fewer chemicals and create a healthier home environment.

Tips & Warnings

• Clean eyeglasses easily by wiping each lens with a drop of vinegar.
• Be careful as cider vinegar will leave a stain on porous materials.

[etangle]

on 5/10/2008 very useful tips...