Vinegar is a commonly used ingredient in cooking. But it has many other uses in the home.
It is remarkable to think that such a simple food item, may also be one of the most useful things in your home. The high acid content in vinegar makes it an excellent cleaner, as powerful as bleach, but much safer. White vinegar is the best to use for cleaning, as it is less likely to cause damage to surfaces.
Clean your dishwasher
Your dishwasher does a great job of keeping your dishes clean. But how often does it get a good cleaning itself? Putting a cup of white vinegar in the bottom of the dishwasher, and running a cycle once or twice a month will clean any soap residue or other dirt from the machine.
Kill weeds
Vinegar is strong enough to be used as a natural weed killer. Of course, if it is strong enough to kill weeds, then it can also kill the plants you actually want. Try painting white vinegar on the leaves of the weeds you are trying to kill, this will ensure that you don’t get any on the plants you want.
Photo by zhang kaiyv: https://www.pexels.com/photo/white-dandelion-189791/
Vinegar needs a bit of time to work its magic, so try using it on a hot sunny day.
Cleaning glass
Vinegar is quite often an added ingredient in many commercially available glass and window cleaners, however, you don’t need to waste money on these expensive commercial solutions. Mix a small amount of vinegar in a spray bottle with some water, spray on the windows and wipe off with a cloth. An added bonus is that this solution when used in the winter will keep your windows free of frost. You could even try it on your car windows.
Photo by Polina Tankilevitch: https://www.pexels.com/photo/a-woman-cleaning-the-window-4440537/
Cleaning tiles
Much like with glass, vinegar can also be useful for cleaning tiles. Bathroom tiles can often end up looking a mess, with lime scale build-up and discoloured grout. Using a sponge or a cloth with some undiluted white vinegar will help remove that built up lime and make your grout sparkle again.
Kitchen cleaning
As stated previously, vinegar is great at getting rid of built-up lime scale. It is therefore great to use in the kitchen as a natural, non-toxic descaler for kettles or coffee makers. Rub some around the end of your kitchen taps too for good measure.
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