Cleaning with White Vinegar

White vinegar. You’ve probably got some in your house. It’s in the back of your refrigerator on the top shelf, in the corner. You bought it on a whim thinking “Hey! I probably need that.” Then you forgot it was there. No worries! It doesn’t go bad, so let’s get to using it shall we?

White vinegar is one of my favorite household tools. It will do just about anything. You can use it in the bathroom, kitchen, laundry, and garden. There are thousands of uses for it! Unfortunately, I haven’t yet figured out how to make it dust my house. I’m still working on that. I hate dusting. I’m conducting an experiment to see exactly how high dust can get before it caves back in on itself.

I want to share with you some tips about using white vinegar today so you can put them to use. I won’t even cover a fraction of them, so go do some research to uncover more wonderful surprises!

First, I get my white vinegar in bulk at Sam’s Club. It’s the cheapest place that I’ve found it. I think you get two big gallon jugs for around $4. Can’t beat that! It’s got a snap top lid, which is very helpful! I can snap open the lid with a baby on my hip. Super Mom! Oh, I can also spill it with a baby on my hip. Forget you heard that part.

White vinegar is a great household cleaner. It will kill mold, bacteria, and germs because it’s so acidic. You can avoid harsh chemicals by using it. It’s still pretty strong though, so don’t take a big whiff. Unless you want to lose nose hairs. Let Great Uncle Clyde sniff it because you know his long nose hairs that hang out have been bothering you for YEARS. You can clean your drains and garbage disposal by pouring in equal parts of baking soda and vinegar. Let it sit for five minutes and then run water down the drain or disposal. Ta Da! No more stench.

You can clean your microwave by microwaving equal parts of water and vinegar until it boils. You can also just use plain water, but the vinegar will get rid of any lingering odors.

Clean your coffee pot by running a cycle of white vinegar. Run two additional cycles of plain water to rinse it. Check your owner’s manual first to make sure you won’t mess it up. You did keep the owner’s manual, right? It will also remove coffee stains from cups by scrubbing with equal parts of salt and vinegar.  Got a smelly food container? Wipe it down with white vinegar. When the vinegar evaporates, the smell will go with it. Get rid of fruit flies by sitting out a small dish of pure white vinegar. That’s the bad part about having bananas. They attract those silly flies. But Banana Bread is worth it my friends!

In the bathroom, spray full strength vinegar and wipe clean to get rid of germs. To remove mildew from your shower, wipe down with vinegar. Make sure to rinse with water afterwards. Deodorize your toilet bowl by pouring in vinegar, letting it sit for 30 minutes and then flushing. If you forget you’ve done it, you might freak out when you go to do your business, smell something and think you’re peeing vinegar.

My favorite way to use white vinegar is in the laundry room. It’s a natural fabric softener! It’s SO much cheaper than store bought versions. It also kills germs in cloth diapers. White vinegar goes in every load of laundry that I do. It doesn’t leave behind a scent, only softness. I’m glad because I don’t feel like smelling pickles all day.  Before washing a mustard stain, dab with white vinegar. Avoid ketchup or barbecue stains by dabbing with a mixture of white vinegar and water. Why does it work? Who knows. I don’t really care, I just know it does. It’s like turning on the microwave. I don’t really want to know why it works; I just want to know it works. Thank you. White vinegar will also help brighten your colored clothing. It just seems like a Christmas miracle doesn’t it?

You can use it in your garden too! It poses no worries for kids or pets to be around. If you want to get rid of some weeds, just spray or pour on pure white vinegar. It’ll kill them dead. Dead as a doornail. Yay! No more weeds! I don’t do this part, but Barry does. I’m not really good outside. I have the Black Thumb of Death. Pray for me. See, I’m about to kill this plant here but Barry keeps it alive!  You can stop ants from coming inside by pouring vinegar on the area they’re in.  Increase the acidity of soil by adding white vinegar to your watering can. Some plants just do better with more acid. God made them that way, that’s all I know.

See my poor, ugly feet? Well, my toenail polish looks good though! You can make your polish last longer by rubbing your nails with white vinegar before putting on your nail polish. I’ve heard you can get rid of bad breath and whiten your teeth by brushing a few times a week with vinegar too. I have not tried that because I’m afraid I’d throw up. I would rather my breath smell bad than smell like vinegar throw up. But if you want to try it, knock yourself out. Also, you can soothe sunburn by spraying yourself with vinegar. If it’s cold, it feels even better. I know this is a post about vinegar, but I think rubbing alcohol works better for soothing sunburns. I can get easily sidetracked.

Did you know you can also use white vinegar in the kitchen? Shocking! When you’re poaching eggs, if you add a little vinegar to the water, it will help the white stay more uniform. Poaching eggs is fun! Try it sometime. You don’t need one of those “As Seen On TV” egg poacher thingies either. Make do or do without. That’s what my Mamaw said. Preach it! My mom adds white vinegar to a roast when she’s cooking it to make it more tender. She also puts vinegar in her deviled eggs, so the woman knows what she’s doing! To keep your eggs from cracking while boiling, add a tablespoon or two to the water. Of course you can use it to make dressing, pickles, and salads if you’re normal. The possibilities are endless!

White vinegar. It’s not just for collard greens anymore.