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I’ve been using my own homemade vinegar-based cleaning products for years, and I’m happy to say that they work just as well as (or better than) the chemical ones! Vinegar is great for disinfecting surfaces like counters, cutting boards, and toilets. It’s also an excellent natural fabric softener. And when mixed with baking soda (1 tsp) it makes a fantastic toothpaste alternative!
Looking to learn more about using vinegar around the house? Check out some of my favorite ways to use vinegar for cleaning, laundry, and personal care without dangerous chemicals
1. Clean Your Microwave With Vinegar and Water
Vinegar is a great natural alternative for cleaning your microwave. Simply spray the interior with equal parts water and vinegar and a few drops of your favorite essential oil, set the microwave to high heat for 5 minutes to ensure that the vinegar has cooked off and the smell has gone, wipe it down with a sponge and allow to dry completely.
2. Remove Sticker Residue From Jars
If you’re trying to remove sticker residue from small stickers, use vinegar straight from the bottle and dab it on top of the sticky area. For bigger stickers, make a solution of equal parts vinegar and warm water. Dab some vinegar/water solution onto a cloth then onto the sticky area. It is vinegar’s acidity which will work to loosen the glue and make it easier to wipe away with your fingers or a sponge.
For large areas or extra stubborn sticker residue: To remove sticker residue from jars with vinegar and baking soda, mix vinegar and baking soda to form the vinegar paste. Apply this vinegar/baking soda mixture over the sticker residue. Leave it for a few minutes before scrubbing with a sponge or using your fingers to remove residual glue particles. You will notice that the glue has softened in that time and is easy to get off.
3. Make Your Own Window Cleaner With Vinegar
Vinegar makes the best window cleaner. It’s more effective than all the chemical-laden commercial products, and much cheaper, too. To make your own window cleaner, mix 1/2 cup vinegar, 1/2 cup rubbing alcohol, 1 cup water, and 1 tsp mild dish soap (optional) in a spray bottle. Shake it up until the contents are well mixed.
A vinegar/water solution is also a good natural cleaner for windows if you don’t have rubbing alcohol available.
Use this homemade window cleaner on windows, mirrors, and any other glass surface that needs a streak-free clean.
4. Clean White Woodwork & Brighten Things Up!
White woodwork gets dirty quickly and can be a pain to clean effectively without leaving marks or stripping off the paint. White vinegar to the rescue! I usually just use vinegar diluted in water 50/50 to wipe them down as needed or when they start getting grimy looking. Vinegar helps brighten things up without stripping the paint or leaving behind dirty marks or soapy residue. It also strips away tough grease stains and grime.
5. Use it as a Natural Fabric Softener For Clothes
Adding 1 cup of vinegar to the rinse cycle of your washing machine is a great way to soften your clothes without adding chemicals. It also removes any musty smell from towels. You can also make this natural fabric softener smell great by adding ~20 drops of your favorite essential oils. I’m a bit obsessed with a mix of rosemary and geranium rose oils for my laundry. The scent of those two together is amazing!
6. Deodorize Shoes and Sports Bags
You can use vinegar as a natural deodorizer for smelly shoes and sports bags by soaking cotton balls in vinegar. Put them in a small container and put the container inside the shoes or bag. Leave for 24 hours and the vinegar should absorb the smell.
If your shoes are too stinky for that, try mixing water and white vinegar 50/50, adding a few drops of your favorite essential oil, and spraying the insides of the shoes. Then just leave them overnight to dry.
And finally, if the stink just won’t go away, soak the inserts overnight in the vinegar/water mixture. Then hang them out to dry. The vinegar and essential oil should neutralize the odor and any associated bacteria, and help to prevent the smell from coming back for a while.
7. Clean Plastic Toys Using Vinegar
Vinegar is very good for cleaning off those hard to clean plastic toys your kids love to play with, like Barbie dolls and picnic sets. The vinegar will remove any sticky residue and helps to get rid of any lingering bacteria. Just add vinegar to warm water and a splash of mild detergent, wipe the toys down and leave them to dry.
8. Use Vinegar to Make Your Own Hand Sanitizer
Make your own hand sanitizer by combining 1/2 cup distilled white vinegar, 1/2 cup water (or aloe juice), 1 tbsp rubbing alcohol or colloidal silver, and 15 drops of tea tree oil (or other antibacterial essential oil of your choice). Pour into a spray bottle and shake to combine. Now you’ve got a safe, gentle, and effective natural hand sanitizer for the whole family.
9. Clean Your Toilet Bowl by Using Vinegar and Water
Want to reduce how many chemicals you use in your bathroom? Add vinegar and baking soda to the toilet bowl. Let it work for about an hour or overnight, then brush and flush to remove any residue. You might want to avoid using this method if you have septic system issues though.
10. Make Powerful Natural Kitchen Cleaner With Vinegar
It’s so important to keep your kitchen counters and food prep areas clean, but it’s equally as important not to use chemical cleaners that leave residue behind that you and your children could end up eating. So, in our house, the only kitchen cleaner we use is my vinegar, water, and essential oil blend. Here’s how to make it:
Combine 1 cup vinegar, 1 cup water, and 30 drops of tea tree or citrus essential oil in a spray bottle. Give it a good shake and you’ve got a powerful kitchen cleaner that’s completely natural. Spray onto countertops, and, for the best results, leave for 5-10 minutes. Then just wipe away. You can also use your vinegar cleaner to wipe down regularly or just before preparing food, as an effective natural disinfectant that won’t leave behind any chemical residue.
11. Clean Kitchen Messes With a Mixture of Baking Soda and White Vinegar
For stubborn kitchen messes like burned on food and grease build up, your lovely vinegar kitchen cleaner might need a bit of help in the form of baking soda! Sprinkle baking soda onto the mess, then spray liberally with your vinegar cleaner. Then just rub the mixture onto the kitchen mess, leave for 5-10 minutes, and wipe clean. You might still need to apply a little bit of elbow grease, but this natural kitchen cleaning hack makes life a lot easier!
12. Clean Your Disposal by Pouring Vinegar Down It
If your garbage disposal is starting to whiff a bit or you want to add cleaning your disposal to your regular monthly chores, vinegar is a great natural way to do it. Just fill your disposal with vinegar, then run it for about 5 minutes without anything else going down it (like food) before turning off. The vinegar will help to loosen any stuck on debris and freshen things up a bit.
13. Use Vinegar in Your Dishwasher as Natural Rinse Aid
Add vinegar to your dishwasher for an extra clean wash cycle. Vinegar works as a natural rinse aid and will help to reduce the amount of spots on your dishes. Don’t add it to the rinse aid compartment though as this might damage the little gaskets. Instead, fill a bowl with one cup of vinegar and place it in the top rack. This helps it reach the dishes at most risk of hard water spots. Then just run a normal dishwasher cycle.
14. Use Vinegar to Clean the Dishwasher
Instead of using harsh chemical dishwasher cleaners, use vinegar. One cup of plain old white vinegar in a bowl on the top rack of your dishwasher is all it takes. Put the dishwasher on a hot water cycle and the vinegar will work around and through your machine, getting rid of any trapped grease and grime and eliminating musty odors and bacteria.
15. Put Some Apple Cider Vinegar on Your Hair
Apple cider vinegar, such as this popular organic one, is great for your hair as well as your body and your home. To get healthier, shinier hair, use apple cider vinegar in place of regular conditioner to rinse your hair after washing as it’s been shown to prevent build up on your scalp and nourish your hair.
16. Clean Shower Head With Vinegar and Baking Soda
Keep limescale buildup on your shower head at bay with vinegar and baking soda. Make a paste from vinegar and baking soda and rub this all over the shower head. Leave for up to an hour, depending on how bad the buildup is, then rinse with hot water.
17. Remove Soap Scum From Around the Bathtub or Sink
Soap scum can be hard to get rid of, even with chemicals. But with good old white vinegar, soap scum doesn’t stand a chance. Just use the natural vinegar kitchen cleaner to spray the soap scum. Let it sit for 10 minutes, then wipe it away. The vinegar is acidic and breaks down the soap scum, which is alkaline and is basically hard water residue mis with the soap.
18. Use Vinegar to Unclog Drains
Clogged or slow-running drains are a nightmare, and if you don’t have a plunger or drain snake to-hand (although I do absolutely recommend getting a drain snake at least) then you might feel you have to resort to those seriously dangerous drain unblocking chemicals. but wait – vinegar unclogs drains pretty well unless the blockage is really bad, so it’s worth a try before you run to the store for those horrid chemicals.
Pour a kettle full of boiling water down the drain first to try to melt away any fatty buildup. Then add a cup of baking soda. Next, heat a pan of white vinegar close to boiling, and pour that down the drain, too. Hot vinegar is a more effective stain remover and drain unclogger than cold vinegar. Then just wait. It’s advisable to wait at least a couple of hours and maybe overnight, depending on the severity of the clog. If the standing water has drained away, pour another kettle of hot water down the drain to flush it.
To stop clogs forming, pour 1 cup of baking soda and one cup of hot vinegar down your kitchen sink every month.
19. Leather Furniture
If your leather furniture is looking past its best, then revitalize it with equal parts vinegar and linseed oil. Mix them together in a spray bottle and then spray onto the leather furniture. Wipe it all over the furniture using a soft cloth, leave for a couple of minutes and then wipe the mixture off with a clean cloth.
20. Clean Car Wiper Blades
If the wiper blades on your car aren’t cleaning the windows very well then wipe them down with some white vinegar on a cloth. This thoroughly clean the blades, removing road chemicals, dirt, and any residue or debris that’s built up.
21. Ease Bee Stings
If you get stung by a bee, then apple cider vinegar is handy to have around. Use a cotton pad to dab on the stung area. This will help reduce both the pain and the inflammation. This also works on jellyfish stings.
Wrapping Up
Vinegar can be used to clean around the house and for personal care. Vinegar is a natural cleaner that has been shown to work well in many scenarios such as vinegar removing soap scum, unclogging drains, or adding vinegar rinse aid in dishwasher cycles. There are more creative ways vinegar is being put to use – like cleaning shower heads with vinegar and baking soda paste or using apple cider vinegar on your hair after washing it for shinier locks! You can get rid of almost all your expensive, chemical-laden household cleaners and replace them with cheap, natural white vinegar.
Do you have carpets that need cleaning? Here’s a great natural carpet cleaning recipe for you to use.
