Tuesday, March 22, 2016

15 uses for vinegar.

Vinegar Fermentation, Glass BottleI adore vinegar. I buy it by the caseload because it can be used in so many ways and is so cheap.  I use the white vinegar, not the cider because it seems to work better for what I do.

I'm not talking about  using it in salad or cooking, I'm talking about using it around the house.  It is one of the most versatile liquids out there.

I always add some to my laundry because it helps keep the clothing from bleeding color, it makes them smell fresher and the best thing of all!  It eliminates cat pee odor!  My daughter had a cat a few years ago who loved to mark everything with his pee.  I soon learned the vinegar did the best job of eliminating the stench.

I use it with hot water to remove scaling from my electric kettle.  It also removes the smell from any containers.  I pour some in the toilet to get rid of the rings that develop at the top of the water level.  I've poured some on paper towels on my counter to get rid of stains. In addition, I've used a vinegar/water mixture to clean my windows.  It cuts dirt beautifully.

Now for some other uses based on information from other people.
1. Removes ball point pen marks from the wall.  Use a full strength solution and dab it on until the marks are gone.

2. Use it to clean your scissors when they are gummy. Dip a cloth in full strength vinegar, rub the blades, then dry off. Do not use water as it can cause the scissors to rust. 

3. Clean window blinds by wearing white gloves whose tips are dipped in vinegar.  The vinegar helps cut the grease and dirt off the blinds. Dip the glove fingers in water occasionally to clean the dirt off.

4. If you mix equal parts of olive oil and vinegar, you can use it to remove the rings left by damp glasses off of wooden furniture.  Use a soft cloth dipped in the mixture, rub it with the grain, then polish with a second cloth.

5.  To remove stains from the carpet, prepare a mixture of 2 tablespoon salt dissolved in 1/2 cup vinegar.  Lightly rub the stains with the mixture, allow to dry, and vacuum.  If the stains are darker, add 2 tablespoons borax to the mixture, allow to dry, then vacuum.  For really tough stains, mix 1 tablespoon with 1 cornstarch to make a paste, apply it to the stains, let dry and vacuum 2 days later.

6. To clean brickwork mix 1 cup vinegar with 1 gallon of water.  Use a damp cloth to wipe the brickwork with the solution.  It cleans things up beautifully.

7. To make your wood paneling look great, mix 1 pint warm water, 4 tablespoons white or apple cider vinegar, and 2 tablespoons olive oil in a container.  Apply with a clean cloth, allow to soak in, then wipe off.  Finish by polishing with a dry cloth.

8.  Use vinegar to help unclog and deoderise Pour 1/2 cup baking soda down a drain, then pour 1 cup of vinegar to the baking soda in the drain. It is going to fizz and bubble.  When the foaming stops, turn on the hot water to flush the drain, wait 5 minutes before flushing with cold water.

9. Shine your silver by soaking them in a mix of 1/2 cup vinegar mixed with 2 tablespoons of baking soda for 2 to 3 hours.  Rinse and dry with a cloth.

10. To get rid of bugs from your pantry mix 1 1/2 cup vinegar with a couple drops of dish washing detergent.  Pour in a bowl and leave in the pantry for a week.  This mixture attracts bugs so after a week, throw out the mixture, clean the shelving and get rid of wheat products.

11. Clean your windshield wipers by wiping them down with full strength vinegar.

12. To keep your windows frost free in winter, spray the outside of the window with a mixture of 3 parts white vinegar to 1 part water.  This can last several weeks so reapply every couple of weeks.

13. Use white vinegar to remove mildew stains.  Use full strength if the stains are heavy, or mixed half and half with water if the stains are light.

14. Remove sweat rings from the collar or under arms by mixing 2 parts vinegar with 3 parts baking soda into a paste, apply to the affected area, let sit for 30 minutes before washing.

15. Get rid of ants from your yard by spraying a mixture of equal parts of water and vinegar on and around the hills.  Ants hate the smell and will move on.

I admit, I learned several new ways to use vinegar.  I can hardly wait to try.



6 comments:

  1. Ok I love vinegar for cleaning but there are some new ones here that I am excited to try! I wonder if it would take crayon off the wall as well as ball point, we had a crayon and wall coloring incident recently :P As a personal trainer who wears workout clothes literally all o the time I am excited to try this on my sweat stained clothes as well! Thanks for the tips!

    Amber
    Eat2SaveYourLife.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You are welcome. I plan to try some of these myself. Have fun trying them.

      Delete
  2. Wow...there are so many amazing tips here! I had no idea you could use vinegar for all of these things! Great post!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you for stopping by. I had no idea either. Thank you for the complement.

      Delete
  3. Just in time for Ant season I will be using my much unused vinegar to get rid of the wonderful lil creatures...without killing em! I have learnt some Amazing ways to use Vinegar thnx for that

    Julie Syl - Pit stop Crew

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You are welcome. I actually wondered how else it could be used other than the way I use it now and I learned so much.

      Delete