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Uses For Vinegar

post #1 of 21
Thread Starter 
A couple days ago, I was telling my husband a new thing that I had learned here on MDC. He replied with a laugh, "but don't they use vinegar for everything?" So, for what do you use vinegar? Let's make a list:

- ant repellent

- fabric softener

- hair rinse (for no pooing)
post #2 of 21
I think it's easier to say what I *don't* use it on. Wood. That's about it. I use it for everything else inside and out.
post #3 of 21
- all purpose cleaner (mixed 1:2 with water)

- fabric freshener (i.e. Febreeze replacement)
post #4 of 21
Cleaning out sink drains (along with baking soda and hot water).

Toilet cleaning.

Diluted for a doggie ear rinse.

Salad dressing?
post #5 of 21
I use it for everything, too.... Including my wood floors!

eta... And I just got done drinking my acv for today! lol!
post #6 of 21
I used it on mold a few weeks ago and it worked great!
post #7 of 21
produce rinse 3:1

urine neutralizer in cloth diapers

fix dye

extracting flavor from an herb

windex substitute

making ink

pickles!
post #8 of 21
I am another who uses it for everything. I also add tea tree oil to my vinegar for the bathroom, and can still use it on the mirror. I love it, and it smells clean! Unlike the fake clean smell of other cleaners. The only cleaners we buy is dish soap and dishwasher soap. O and charlies soap for laundry.
post #9 of 21
Quote:
Originally Posted by allnaturalmom View Post
I use it for everything, too.... Including my wood floors!

eta... And I just got done drinking my acv for today! lol!
Ack! Yes, I use it on my original (1939, restored) oak wood floors! I don't use it on my wood furniture, though. I use lemon oil on those.
post #10 of 21
I just finished cleaning the mineral deposits off my showerhead with hot vinegar. Sprays much better now.

Stinky laundry, pour in at rinse cycle.

Glass and counter cleaner, diluted and with peppermint oil added for scent.

Mopping, diluted with hot water, maybe EO for scent.

DH cannot stand it if my cleaning smells like vinegar, hence the mint.
post #11 of 21
Hi moms,

I love using vinegar! I started using it for almost everything after nearly killing myself with some commercial cleaners.. Ok, I felt as if death was coming after using them.
post #12 of 21
I did almost die after a friend mixed windex and bleach in college. I ended up hospitalized with chemical bronchitis. NOT FUN.

I use vinegar for everything! I drink ACV, gargle with it when I have a sore throat and use it for cooking. I use white vinegar for all of my cleaning and as fabric softener.

I agree...what don't I use it on??
post #13 of 21
I just drank some (ACV diluted in water) to get rid of a sinus headache I had for a week!
post #14 of 21
- to clean that hard water slime that developes on the glass that covers the of the fish tank (being careful to rinse before putting it back on you wouldnt want the fish to get too much vinegar)
post #15 of 21
Is Vingar better for cleaning the kitchen then 1 part bleach to 3 parts water? I have just started using a bleach mixer to clean but if Vinger works just as well and is safer than I would love to use that.

Right now I use it to get the smell of dog pee out of the carpet and to rinse my hair once a week when I use baking soda to get the chemicals out.
post #16 of 21
-with Oxyclean to get the stains/stink out of cloth diapers
-with water and Dawn to soak yarn and set the dye
-all-purpose cleaning
-fabric softener

I love vinegar. As a matter of fact, I just came home from Walmart with 2 gallons of it.
post #17 of 21
I have lately been using vinegar to spray on carpets after my LO peed on them (we are doing potty learning in this house).
I also put vinegar in the water where diapers are soaking before I wash them.
post #18 of 21
Quote:
Originally Posted by momof2kiddos View Post
Is Vingar better for cleaning the kitchen then 1 part bleach to 3 parts water? I have just started using a bleach mixer to clean but if Vinger works just as well and is safer than I would love to use that.
That is a LOT of bleach!! I *have* to use a bleach mixture for sterilization since I run a home daycare, but the formula (as per regulations) is only about 2tsps bleach in a 750mL spray bottle filled with water. It still smells "bleachy" too.

I don't really use it for cleaning though. I use vinegar and water to clean, and then after it dries I wipe it down again with the bleach solution. I don't like spraying the bleach with the kids around, even though it is so dilute, but don't worry at all about spraying the vinegar.
post #19 of 21
I found this nifty list on the box when I got vinegar at Sam's Club. I typed it up to have it on hand :P

"Vinegar. . .Quick Tips

1.Glassware. ½ cup of distilled vinegar added to a gallon of rinse water will remove soap film from glassware and make it shine.
2.Toilet Bowl. Clean and deodorize your toilet bowl by pouring undiluted white distilled vinegar into it. Let it stand for about five minutes then flush. Stubborn stains may require scrubbing.
3.Bathtub. Wipe down bathtub with vinegar and soda to remove film buildup. Rinse clean with water.
4.Ants. Ant invasions can e deterred by washing countertops, cabinets and floors with distilled vinegar.
5.Grease. Filmy dirt and greasy residue can be removed from stove and refrigerator by wiping with vinegar.
6.Grass or Weeds. Kill unwanted grass on sidewalks and driveways by pouring on venigar.
7.Chrome. To polish chrome and stainless steel, moisten a cloth with white vinegar and wipe clean.
8.Shower Curtain. Rub a cloth dampened with vinegar to remove soapy, steamed-in film and mildew from your plastic shower curtain. Then rinse clean.
9.Coffee Maker. To remove stale coffee residue, fill the reservoir with vinegar and run it through a brewing cycle. When cycle is finished, run two cycles of water to rinse.
10.Irons. Remove burn stains from your electric iron by mixing one part salt with one part vinegar in a heated small aluminum pan. Use this mix to polish the iron as you would silver.
11.Vegetables. Liven up slightly wilted vegetables by soaking them in cold water and vinegar.
12.Flowers. Add two tbsp. of vinegar plus three tbsp. of sugar to a quart of warm water (100â—¦ F) to keep fresh cut flowers blooming longer.
13.Cabbage. Add vinegar to the cooking water of boiling cabbage to prevent the odor from permeating the house.
14.Meat. A marinade of ½ cup of your favorite vinegar and a cup of liquid bouillon makes an effective meat tenderizer.
15.Rice. A tsp. of vinegar added to the water of boiling rice makes it white and fluffy.
16.Fish. Reduce fishy odors by rubbing fish down with white distilled vinegar before scaling it.
17.Cheese. Keep cheese moist and fresh by wrapping it in a cloth that has been dempened with vinegar and sealed in an air-tight wrap or container.
18.Eggs. To produce better-formed egg white, add a tsp. of vinegar to the water.
19.Onion Odors. Quickly remove the odor of onions from your hands by rubbing them with distilled vinegar.
20.Pickling. Cider, Red Wine, Balsamic and other dark vinegars are good for pickling, but may discolor lighter colored pickles such as pears, onions or cauliflowers. In this case, a distilled or white vinegar may be preferred."

I personally use it 50/50 in a spray bottle to clean just about everything. The kitchen gets the most attention. I keep a second spray bottle with castille soap in water but use it less frequently than the vinegar. For a big greasy chore (like my mom's sliding glass doors that hadn't been touched in ages!), I'd add a tiny amount of castille soap to the usual vinegar solution. Add baking soda for scrubbing, and that is everything I use to clean.
post #20 of 21
We have pretty hard water, so it leaves a lot of sediment in my electric kettle. I boil vinegar and water in it every couple of weeks and it comes out shiny and clean.

Vinegar also removes road salt stains from shoes.
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