Have you ever tried to clean with vinegar? I’ve always been the kind of person that bought commercial cleaning products.
If it promised quicker or easier cleaning, I was going to buy it. Because of this, the area under my kitchen sink is packed with all sorts of chemicals, all in brightly colored containers whose purpose is to entice me to buy them.
One time I ran out of windex and needed to clean off a window. A quick google search showed me that I could clean my mirrors and windows with vinegar and water.
I tried it and was shocked at how clean and shiny they were. My mirrors and windows had never been so clean. I was a believer!
15 Ways to Clean with Vinegar
Use vinegar to clean windows and mirrors
As I already mentioned, this is my favorite way to clean with vinegar. Mix equal parts of vinegar and water in a spray bottle and label. (If you’re like my Grandma, you’ll use newspaper to clean the window or mirror.)
Add vinegar to the laundry rinse cycle
This is the one that I use most often. I stopped using a commercial liquid fabric softener and have been using vinegar in its place. It gets rid of odors, softens fabrics, and helps to get rid of static.
Clean your shower with vinegar
Use a mixture of vinegar and baking soda to clean soap scum, mildew, and grime from the shower.
Refresh stinky garbage disposals
Make ice cubes with vinegar (full strength), and then run them through the garbage disposal. Remember to label the cubes in the freezer so someone doesn’t accidentally put one in their drink!
Remove slime from carpet
Did you know vinegar will get slime out of carpet. Use a mixture of vinegar and water to cut through the slime and remove it. Get the full tutorial here.
Cut through the grime on appliances
Use a cloth and full strength vinegar to wash off that disgusting grime that can build up on the top of appliances like the refrigerator and stove top.
Get rid of germs
If you’ve had a lot of sickness running rampant around your house (as can happen during these cooler months), use full strength vinegar to clean areas that receive a lot of touches, such as door knobs or toilets.
Use a leftover baby wipe plastic box and store paper towels soaked in vinegar for easy access.
Clean the microwave
A mix of two parts water and one part vinegar, heated to a boil in the microwave, will not only loosen stuck on food, but will also help to clear out undesirable odors.
You can also soak a sponge in vinegar and water mixture. Place the sponge in the microwave and heat for 30 seconds. After the sponge has cooled slightly use the sponge to remove food from the inside of the microwave.
(As with any time that you are bringing a liquid to a boil in the microwave, please be careful with this.)
Safely clean toys
A mix of vinegar and water is a great way to clean germy toys without harsh chemicals.
Remove stickers and decals
My children are finally old enough that this isn’t an issue around our house. However, it wasn’t too long ago that I would find rouge stickers in the strangest places.
To remove stickers from furniture, spray on some vinegar and let them stick for a few minutes before trying to peel them off. Try again with the vinegar, if they can’t be peeled off after the first soaking.
Shine the toilet bowl
Instead of using harsh chemicals, try spraying vinegar into your toilet bowl and then clean with a brush, as you might normally.
Clean mineral deposits in automatic coffee makers
If you’re notice a build up in your coffee makers, run a cycle with vinegar to clear that out. Make sure to rinse well after that cycle. (Be sure to check your owner’s manual to check for cleaning notes.)
Get rid of (or at least deter) ants
Using vinegar might help deter ants.
(Although, let me share a quick tip, as someone who has received the stink eye from an exterminator: If you are planning to call an exterminator because of a large ant problem, try to not disturb the ant trail, as it may make it difficult for the exterminator to find where they ants are coming from.)
You can also use borax to get rid of ants.
Clean shower head build up
Take off shower heads and soak in vinegar overnight to remove build up. If you can’t take off the heads (or just don’t want to), soak a cloth in vinegar and wrap it around the shower head overnight.
You can also fill a small plastic bag with this mixture and band it around the faucet. Let the shower head soak in the solution for a few hours then rinse off.
Rinse Your Hair
Want super shiny hair? Use apple cider vinegar after you rinse your hair.
Apple cider vinegar can help with shine and make frizzy hair smoother. I’ve also read that it can decrease the residue left by shampoo and conditioner and decrease dandruff.
Mix eight ounces of water 2 Tablespoons of apple cider vinegar in a squirt or spray bottle. After shampooing your hair, spray your hair with the vinegar mixture.
You can leave the spray in your hair or rinse it after a few minutes.
Since there are, literally, thousands of uses for vinegar, what are some of your favorite uses that didn’t make this list?
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Fort Living Room says
I use a lot of the ones above. Another one I also use, which isn’t necessarily cleaning my house BUT…I wash my dog with a 50/50 vinegar water mix. He’s prone to yeast and it helps keep it at bay. Also, keeps his coat shinier.
Heather says
My favorite use for vinegar is as a hair rinse. We wash hair with baking soda (1 tbs soda in 1 cup of water, pour over hair and scrub) then condition with vinegar (1 tbs vinegar in 1 cup of water, pour over hair and comb through with fingers). It gets rid of tangles and build-up from styling products. Our hair has never been healthier!
apryl says
i clean up a lot of water deposits anywhere – especially on black appliances, my son’s retainer, in my homemade window/glasses cleaner, and in the rinse cycle of my dishwasher and. i think if you have vinegar and baking soda around, you can clean just about anything!
mrsb says
Great for burns. Takes the sting out. Works on sunburn, too.
Alexis R says
Can you use vinegar on stainless steel and if so, how? I use vinegar in my laundry and will be bookmarking this page for future reference!
Adrienne @ Whole New Mom says
Hi. Thanks for this! How do you use it in the laundry rinse cycle? Just pour it into that area in the washer’s dispense?
I use vinegar in my hair as well after baking soda to get out buildup. Seems to work well.
Melissa Sloniker says
i love using vinegar for household projects! i put it in the downy ball in the washer (it’s important to add it during the rinse cycle. adding it during the wash cycle tends to ‘bake in’ the vinegar smell…yuck!). i use it to shine my stainless kitchen sink – just clean the sink and then rub with vinegar for a beautiful shine! i clean my coffeemaker with it. i use it to dampen a cloth and clean the dash of my car. i use it as a presoak for cleaning my tub.
go vinegar!!
melissa
Amy says
Thanks for the extra tips! I use a few of these already. Over the summer we had a flash mob of ants in the kitchen and i was amazed how well vinegar worked to get rid of them. Sooo much better than using chemicals. 🙂
Jeanne Blackwood says
I just bought a new washing machine and it came with a sample of a washing machine tablet cleaner that it says I should use once a month…to reduce the buildup of the HE detergent it says I must use….I did find another article that says I could use 1 cup of vinegar instead of the tablets to reduce the buildup….less expensive than the tablets!!!
Barb-Harmony Art Mom says
Some new ideas to me…thanks!
Kelly says
Thank you for this post on the many uses for vinegar. I am always looking for ways to cut back on purchasing expensive cleaning supplies. That being said, I like to keep the Clorox wipes on each toilet for daily use, but they get expensive. I found a site today with a “recipe” for homemade wipes to use on the toilets using water, vinegar, and a few drops of tea tree oil with the wipes being cut from old t-shirts and stored in an empty baby wipe container. Dirty wipes go in with other cleaning rags in the wash and we save quite a bit of money!
Paula says
Kelly…could you send me the link to the site for the wipes…..that sounds like something i want to do but have not found what i wanted…..
Stephanie says
I would love the link to the site too!! I spend a lot of money on wipes. Please and thank you!!
Ashley says
Once a year I always seem to have a gnat problem, so my brother told me to get a small container and to fill half with dishsoap and half with vinegar to catch them. It works like charm!! The gnats are attracted to the vinegar smell and then get trapped in the dishsoap!
Sarah says
Use a mix of vinegar and water to rid your sidewalk of weeds this yaer! At my house, our patio smells like pickles, but at least I know it’s safe for my little ones to play around!
lela says
Full stregnth in my sprayer for grass on sidewalks, salt also works but it wears down bricks.
Kay says
I use vinegar and water to wash my floors. It helps with the buildup and the floor feel so much better.
Heidi says
I use it in my dish washer insted of Jet Dry and it works great and I have a stainless steel dish washer in and out and it helps keep the hard water off it as well as making my glasses shine..
Heidi says
and I should add that you only need a cap full, and it’s much cheaper than Jet Dry
Slawek says
I’ve been using a great cleaning service and my cleaning woman use vinegar and other natural products ( I am alergic to many of the chemical stuff) Important is to use the solution not the veinegar itself. When you clean your mirror always combine equal parts of white vinegar and water. Spray on the mirrow , wipe of with a cloth or old newspapers. Try their website and see their cleaning tips for cleanining services they offer-www.mycleaninglady.us
Renata says
I totally agree! I wrote a blog about the effectiveness of cleaning with vinegar as well! http://simplenaturalsolutions.com/vinegar-as-a-natural-cleaning-solution/
jb says
Thanks I have severe allerges and asthma and the chemicals were maing it unberiable for me to clean. Thank you for the tips.
Charles says
Nice one Angie! Vinegar is a wonder for home cleaning. It is very useful if you want to avoid the harmful effects of commercial cleaning solutions.
martin says
Can you use vinegar on woods as I read in other site that vinegar may damage the wood. Thank you.
Dot says
I learned a lot on how to use vinegar and will help save money to. thanks everyone
Marla says
White vinegar has 5% acidity. For an even better cleaning product look for extra strength vinegar. It has 9% acidity and works great for hard lime stains. I don’t use he salt when I do faucets. I soak a rag in the vinegar and let it sit on the faucet for about 5 mins or so then use the same rag to wipe the faucet. And speaking of hard lime stains, the 9% acidity vinegar works pretty good. I’ve never had much luck with the regular vinegar. By the way, The extra strength is hard to find but my local grocery store happens to carry it.
Brenda Spring says
Usually I use the vinegar for my salads! I had no idea that I can use it as a cleaner but this idea sounds amazing! I will try these tricks!Thank you! East Barnet Carpet Cleaners Ltd.
Tasha says
Vinegar rocks! I love it on everything (ok, well, almost everything) – but I never thought to clean with it though! Thank you for opened my eyes!
jenny says
thanks for this ideas. clean kitchen made happy to cooking. This is good for better cleaning.
Brenda Martin says
I was amaze to learn that vinegar help remove old sticky tile mildew from the floor. My floors were so sticky when you walk. I pour some vinegar down on the floor and began mopping and wham the sticky glue came right off. I plan to remove the remaining tiles with the vinegar.
Rose Maple says
I am constantly touting the benefits of using vinegar. Today I shared your uses with my friends. I mentioned the “15 Ways to Clean with Vinegar” and enumerated them (abbreviated format). I counted my list to ensure I didn’t miss one (or more). I’m missing one. Best I can count is 14 ways………….perhaps something has happened to your original post?
BTW. Number two is my personal favorite. Due to my sensitivity to scent, I consistently use vinegar in the rinse cycle. Nothing in the dryer except for my wool dryer balls!