Can I make vinegar smell better?

[TaraD.]

I have been using vinegar in a spray bottle to clean counter tops, mirrors and windows. However, I'm not too thrilled with the lingering vinegary smell in my house. Have you found any methods to make the vinegar smell better? I tried adding a few drops of essential oil to the spray bottle, thinking that it may leave a pleasant "after-smell". I didn't really notice a difference. Maybe I need to add more? Any other ideas (or better smelling alternatives to vinegar)?

Thanks so much!

Tara

[lurable]

Yes add a few more drops of EO. I usually use about 10 drops of lemon EO and a few drops of TTO.

[Naturalyst]

I add a bit or Mrs. Meyers all-purpose cleaner (Geranium) to my water/vinegar mix. It changes the smell significantly and adds to the cleaning power (better with grease). Mrs. Meyers comes in a Lemon Verbana and Lavender scent too - but, I haven't tried those. If you buy Mrs. Meyers, buy the all-purpose cleaner in the bottle withOUT the sprayer. The bottles may look similar, but one is a 32:1 concentrate and the other is already diluted. You get a lot of "bang for your buck" with the concentrate.

I'll sometimes add Bi-O-Kleen Surface Cleaner & Degreaser - another good and highly concentrated cleaner, which has a citrus fragrance and, then, I add a couple of drops of orange or lemon oil to enhance as the Bi-O-Kleen scent is very mild.

After awhile, I think you start associating the smell of vinegar with clean and it becomes less negative. Either that, or my nose just doesn't work as well lately.

[wannabe]

Try using a microfibre cloth and water instead, especially for things like mirrors and windows.

[TaraD.]

Thanks lurable - I'll try to add a bit more! Maybe that will do the trick. What's TTO?

Naturalyst - I use Mrs. Meyers too for other things and I love the lavender scent - heavenly! I'll have to add a bit of it to the vinegar. Ummm, should I be diluting the vinegar with water? I have been using straight vinegar.

Thanks again!

[hipmummy]

Any of the citrus eo's work very well. I sometimes infuse mine with flower petals. Once I got a little crazy and bought vanilla oil. very pricey but quite the treat for my olfactory system.

[lurable]

Originally Posted by TaraD.

Thanks lurable - I'll try to add a bit more! Maybe that will do the trick. What's TTO?

Naturalyst - I use Mrs. Meyers too for other things and I love the lavender scent - heavenly! I'll have to add a bit of it to the vinegar. Ummm, should I be diluting the vinegar with water? I have been using straight vinegar.

Thanks again!

Tea tree Oil and yes- I would dilute the vinegar with water.

[Naturalyst]

Originally Posted by TaraD.

Naturalyst - I use Mrs. Meyers too for other things and I love the lavender scent - heavenly! I'll have to add a bit of it to the vinegar. Ummm, should I be diluting the vinegar with water? I have been using straight vinegar.

Yes. You don't need straight vinegar to get a good cleaning solution. A 50/50 mix with about a tablespoon of your Mrs. Meyers in a quart spray bottle is a great all-purpose cleaner! It won't streak your mirrors, yet is still strong enough for stovetops and floors.

[TaraD.]

Oh yeah - Tea Tree Oil - of course!

I have some lemon and grapefruit EO's - I'll have to experiment with those too. The flower petals and vanilla oil sound beautiful!

Thanks so much for the tip on diluting the vinegar! Now I can make my bulk bottle last much longer!

[smudge]

Tip: I have used Lemon oil in my H2O/vinegar mix. I found that if the bottle sat around for a while then the oil would rise to the top of the liquid. If I gave the bottle a few shakes before spraying, it helped get the oil back in to solution.

[TaraD.]

Thanks smudge! I'll remember that - great tip!

[sofiabugmom]

Grapefruit oil is one of my favorites to counter the vinegar scent.

[reducereuserecycle]

i also can't stand the smell of vinegar i just grin and bear it so it is good to know i can add tto to it

[ErikaLeigh]

Any scent of EO is great@!