How to clean using vinegar
Vinegar is one of the world’s best all-purpose green cleaners because of its antimicrobial properties and its dozens of cleaning uses. Furthermore, it is cheaper than any other cleaning agent and it is chemical free. I find it more effective to use white vinegar for cleaning purposes. Here are the ways I use vinegar in cleaning.
KITCHEN
1. Clean your dishwasher
Pour a cup of white vinegar into the bottom of the dishwasher or put a cup of vinegar on the top rack. Run the dishwasher empty. Hence, repeat once a year or more if you have hard water.
2. Sparkling clean dishes and glasses
If you have a dishwasher, pour half a cup of white vinegar and run a full cycle. If you hand wash the plates, use a bowl of soap water with half a cup of vinegar.
3. Clean the microwave
Fill up a glass with ¼ of vinegar and water. Microwave for five minutes and once it finishes, use a cloth to wipe the stain.
4. Clean the fridge
Mix in a bowl, equal parts of white vinegar and warm water in a bowl to wash the fridge (inside and outside).
5. Clean chopping boards
Clean the bacteria from the chopping board by pouring vinegar on the surfaced after let it for five minutes and then rinse with water. If the board smells badly spread some baking soda and vinegar. Let the mixture for five minutes, and then rinse with water.
6. Clean a coffee machine
Fill the reservoir with 1/3 of white vinegar and water. Run as many cycles as needed to empty the reservoir. Then fill the reservoir with water and repeat the same procedure to rinse away vinegar residue.
6. Clean a coffee machine
Fill the reservoir with 1/3 of white vinegar and water. Run as many cycles as needed to empty the reservoir. Then fill the reservoir with water and do the same procedure to rinse away vinegar residue.
7. Clean a teakettle
Fill the teakettle with a cup of white vinegar and water. Boil for no more than ten minutes and leave the mixture overnight. The next day, rinse the teakettle with water.
8. Clean and sanitise bottles, containers, etc
Fill the item (bottle, jar, container, vase, thermos) with ¼ of vinegar and warm soapy water, and next let the mixture in for half an hour (shake it if it can be closed) and then rinse with water.
9. Deodorise the kitchen drain
Pour a cup of vinegar into the drain, let it sit for half an hour and then rinse with water. You can repeat this procedure every month.
10. Deodorise lunch boxes and plastic containers
Soak a slice of bread in vinegar and leave it in overnight. The smell will be gone the next morning.
11. Clean mugs
Mix salt and vinegar, and scrub the stains.
12. Oven and stovetop
Use a mixture of vinegar and baking soda and leave it for half an hour. In the case of an oven, scrub it with a sponge, then wipe it with a cloth.
13. Clear the kitchen odours
Boil a mixture of half a cup of vinegar and two cups of water.
14. Get rid of fridge odours
Put a small glass of vinegar inside the fridge and leave it until the smell is gone.
BATHROOM
1. Clean bathroom surfaces
Fill a spray bottle with undiluted vinegar and spray the surfaces. Leave it for half an hour. Then scrub and rinse with water to clean the sink, bathtub, and shower door. To clean wall tiles and bathroom fixtures wipe with a cloth.
2. Clean the toilet bowl
Pour two cups of vinegar and half a cup of baking soda into the bowl and let it overnight. The next morning flush the mixture.
3. Clean shower head
Unscrew the shower head, dip it in a bowl full of vinegar and leave it overnight. If the shower head is fixed and cannot be removed, fill a small plastic bag with vinegar, tape it over the shower head, and leave it overnight.
4. Clean the shower curtain
Add a cup of vinegar and half a cup of baking soda to the washing machine and run a regular cycle.
HOME
1. Refresh the rug
Mix a cup of vinegar with four cups of water and brush the rug. Apply the same procedure to the car’s carpets.
2. Remove carpet stain
Pour some vinegar over the stain, let it dry and then vacuum.
3. Clean windows and glass surfaces
Fill a spray bottle with equal parts of water and vinegar. Spray the windows and wipe the solution out with a cloth or newspaper.
4. Clean the window blinds
Mix equal parts of hot water and vinegar, add a cup of baking soda, and use a cloth or a sponge to wipe the blinds.
5. Clean water rings in furniture
Mix equal parts of vinegar and olive oil, and using a soft cloth apply directly to the furniture, then use another soft cloth to shine.
6. Deodorise and unclog drains
Pour a cup of vinegar and half a cup of baking soda into the drain, wait for a minute and then pour hot water.
7. Remove candle wax
Soften the wax using a blow dryer and wipe as much as you can with a paper towel. Soak a cloth in a mixture of equal parts of vinegar and warm water and rub the remaining wax until it disappears.
8. Eliminate odours
You can leave a small glass of vinegar overnight in the room and the next morning the odours will be gone.
9. Remove stickers
Damp a paper towel with vinegar and let it on the sticker for five minutes until it gets wet and then remove the sticker by scratching it.
10. Clean bricks
Use a damp cloth and a solution of one litre of warm water and one cup of vinegar to brighten the bricks.
11. Erase pen and crayon marks
Rub the mark with undiluted vinegar using a cloth or a soft sponge.
12. Clean chrome and stainless steel
Fill a spray bottle with a cup of vinegar and water. Spray the fixtures you want to clean and wipe them with a soft cloth.
13. Clean the grease
Have a mixture of equal parts of white vinegar and water. Use a damp cloth to clean off the grease.
GENERAL
1. Maintain the steam iron
Fill the reservoir of the steam iron with vinegar, switch on the steam, and steam the vinegar until the reservoir is empty. Repeat with water.
2. Clean eyeglasses
Two drops of vinegar at each glass lens are enough to clean it. Use a soft cloth to clean the lens.
3. Clean piano keys
Wipe the keys using a soft cloth damped in a mixture of half a cup of vinegar and two cups of warm water.
5. Chewing Gum
Rub the chewing gum with full-strength vinegar.
6. Clean shoes
Use a soft cloth to rub leather shoes with a mixture of one cup of warm water and a tablespoon of vinegar.
7. Clean the scissors
With a cloth dipped in vinegar, wipe down the blades and dry them with a paper towel.
8. Polish brass, copper, and silver items
Mix equal parts of vinegar and baking soda and wait until you stop seeing bubbles. With a clean soft cloth scrub the item until it shines. Then rinse with water and polish with a soft towel.
9. Clean tools
Just soak the tools in vinegar for several days.
10. Clean the filters
To clean and sanitise the filters, soak them for at least an hour in a solution of equal parts of vinegar and warm water. Dry them before use.
11. Clean and soften paintbrushes
Soak them in full-strength vinegar until the paint is removed and then wash them with warm soapy water.
LAUNDRY
1. Remove stain
Pour vinegar onto the stain, let it stay for five minutes and then wash as usual.
2. Half a cup of vinegar
Adding half a cup of vinegar to the rinse cycle will eliminate lint, brighten colours, remove odours, rinse better, make fabrics softer, and kill bacteria.
3. “Dying” fabrics
For clothes that are old and the colours have faded, add a cup full of distilled vinegar to the final rinse to refresh the colours.
4. Eliminate wrinkles
Add a ratio of 3:1 water to vinegar in a spray bottle and spray the wrinkles. Then hang the cloth and let it dry naturally.
NOTE
Do not use undiluted vinegar on stone and wood surfaces, it may damage the surface of the stone. Also, check the owner’s manual of your machines (washing machine, dishwasher, etc) if there is any mention of vinegar.
Due to the earth’s pollution, more and more people are trying to adopt a more natural way of doing things as our grandparents did. I hope you find the cleaning tips helpful and I hope you will suggest more ways of vinegar use…
