Cleaning with vinegar - P.U.!!

[chicklet]

I use vinegar and water all over the house for cleaning windows, soap scum, etc. But boy, I can't get used to the smell, and dh HATES it!!



Does anyone have any ideas on how to make it smell better?

[rainsmom]

I have the book.....CLEAN HOUSE CLEAN PLANET Lots of recipes using vinegar, essential oils and baking soda.

Add 20drops of essential oil to 16oz of Vinegar. This is all I use to clean floors and everything else. I use either lemon or peppermint. and Tea Tree Oil added to vinegar as a discinfectant......

[chicklet]

rainsmom - Thanks for the reply. Just wondering, do you dilute the vinegar with water or use it straight?

How long can you store the mixture - I like to use it in a spray bottle for windows, mirrors, etc.

Thanks!!

[rainsmom]

yes, 1/2 and 1/2.....

I just tried to pm you but your mailbox is full!

This will last indefinetly by the way. Though it doesnt take me long to go through it!

[bloodrayne]

Definitely dilute it, and try to air out the house a bit after you use it. The smell won't go away until it is completely dry at the earliest.

[BelCanto]

Chicklet--

I agree! I have just started using vinegar with essential oils, and it really does stink. I did my bathroom last week with tea tree and vinegar and it about made me ill (not that all the chemicals didn't). I think I'm going to try throwing some lavendar in there as well.

It sure does make things shine though! Floors, ceramic...very nice!

--Jennifer

[rainsmom]

Chicklet......if you clean out your pm box I have something to send you


Try using peppermint or lemon essential oils. It really helps! I find the smell doesnt last long, and I love it so much more than smelling 409!

[chicklet]

I'm trying to get over using my all-time favorite cleaner - Lysol Lemon. I just love it!! If the vinegar smelled better I would use it more often!!!

I also LOVE Lysol Tub & Tile. If anyone has a more natural alternative that really works on soap scum and hard water I'd love to know!!

[bloodrayne]

Originally posted by chicklet
I also LOVE Lysol Tub & Tile. If anyone has a more natural alternative that really works on soap scum and hard water I'd love to know!!

Absolutely! Plain ole baking soda! It cuts through ANYthing.

When we moved into our apartment, I had baked on, and I mean BAKED on, probably 10 + years old, oil, grease, all kinds of food scum on the tile behind our oven. I could not get it off to save my life, it just got dirtier looking from the sponge dragging dust and dirt over it. I tried baking soda (wet sponge, sprinkle with b/s) and I didn't even have to scrub.

It's gotten strawberry juice off my white countertop.

And a few weeks ago, DH was ever so graciously cleaning the soap scum off the tub for me, only the cleaner he got wasn't working. So I handed him a box of baking soda and he was done in minutes.

It's incredible and I use that (or vinegar, but usually b/s) for everything. It also really makes things shine. Just sprinkle it on the countertop/bathtub/your sponge/etc. and wet it to make a paste.

Works great on kitchen-sink-scum.

[compleatmomof4]

Baking soda and the right brush/scrubber is what works!

Originally posted by bloodrayne
Absolutely! Plain ole baking soda! It cuts through ANYthing.

I have found I need a good scrub brush for the tile shower in my bathroom. My MIL gave me one from "The Clean Team". I can't use just a natural plain sponge on soap scum - maybe my water is harder?

[LambQueen]

The addition of essential oil truly is the answer for getting the vinegar to smell pleasant. I like lemon and also tea tree oil.

Baking soda is a phenomenal cleaner!

[chicklet]

hey mamas - tonight I tried making a paste with baking soda and vinegar with lemon ess. oil, and I scrubbed inside my warm oven... WHOA!! It really worked!!!

Now for the shower...!!

Thanks for the recipies!!

[rainsmom]

I know! It kicks booty!

I just used it yesterday to clean hard water residue in the toilet. Let it sit overnight.....hardly any scrubbing.

Its weird to get so excited about a cleaning product.....but Im so siked I can use something that is cheap, better for the environment and my home, and Im no longer supporting the chemical industry, one of the biggest polluters on the planet!

YEA!!

[urklemama]

Careful with the tea tree oil if you're using it in a cleaner for your floors, and you have cats - tea tree oil is toxic to cats, and if they walk over it they will ingest it when they lick their paws.