Uses for White Vinegar

So many people responded well to the post I wrote, titled, “25 Everyday Uses for Hydrogen Peroxide.” So I thought I’d do another post on uses for white distilled vinegar.

I think there’s really something to be said for being able to make use of basic, household items for most things, rather than having to purchase umpteen different products that only serve one or two purposes.

• You save money (’nuff said), because you’re not purchasing multiple different products.
• Your cabinets stay organized, because there aren’t as many bottles in your cleaner cabinet.
• Most of these household products that I use for multiple purposes, including hydrogen peroxide and vinegar, are safer alternatives to the chemicals typically sold in stores. That means a couple of things with regards to kiddos:
  • You can train your children to work alongside you doing household chores and feel confident that they are using materials that are safe for them to come in contact with.
  • You don’t have to be a nervous wreck if you accidentally leave the cleaner bottle out on the counter and see your toddler reach for it. You know they’re safe.

So, here are some of the ways that I use White Distilled Vinegar in my household (I buy it 2 gallons at a time from Sam’s Club because we use so much of it!):

1. I use it in my cloth diaper laundry when we get an ammonia build up. The only time we’ve ever had rash issues with cloth diapers was because of ammonia build up. A few glugs of white vinegar in a soak cycle neutralizes the ammonia, and my little one’s skin stays happy.
2. I use it occasionally in our regular laundry rinse as well, as a replacement for commercial fabric softener. 
3. I use vinegar and baking soda as a drain cleaner when there’s either a funky smell, or a drain clog. The fizzy chemical reaction that we all loved to watch as a kid does a great job of breaking up blockages in the bath drain or kitchen sink.
4. Speaking of fun for kids, we like to do these “rainbow eruptions” when we need something fun to do on a rainy day for the littles. 
5. I make our own homemade dishwasher detergent. I’m happy with it 95% of the time, but there are times when I feel it could use an extra boost. When I have an especially dirty load of dishes, or when I notice a slight cloudy film on my glasses, I’ll fill a coffee mug with white vinegar and it gets tipped over during the rinse cycle. The vinegar really helps get my dishes clean!
6. Make a natural multipurpose cleaner. My everyday, multipurpose cleaner consists of equal parts water and white vinegar, 20 drops of tea tree oil (a natural disinfectant), and a squirt of dish soap. I use this on most of my household cleaning as well as on our windows/mirrors. (TIP: For an added disinfectant boost, as well as a yummy scent, infuse your white vinegar by soaking some orange peels and cinnamon sticks in the vinegar in a closed jar for 2 weeks before straining and adding the other cleaner ingredients).
7. Clean the microwave by placing equal parts vinegar and water in a microwave safe bowl. Heat in the microwave for about a minute (more if it’s really dirty!). It helps cut the grease and your microwave will wipe clean easily.
8. Clean your drip coffee maker by running a cycle of vinegar, and then multiple water-only cycles to completely rinse it.
9. Clean your produce. Fill your cleaned sink with water and 1/4 cup of white vinegar and put your produce in to soak for 20-30 minutes. This will help remove any dirt/sand, and also help reduce your exposure to any pesticides that may have been used in growing them.
10. Clean laminate flooring. My 600 sq ft living room is all wood laminate. I clean it with a solution of equal parts water, white vinegar, rubbing alcohol, and a squirt of dish soap. It’s not the best smelling cleaner in the world, but it does a good job, doesn’t damage the flooring, and the smell dissipates as soon as it dries. I also use this solution on our tile flooring.
11. Make cleaning the shower/tub a breeze. Cleaning the shower/tub is probably the household chore I avoid the most. But since I discovered this cleaning solution, it’s not such a miserable chore. Mix equal parts vinegar and dish soap and warm in the microwave for 2 minutes until it’s pretty hot. Spray on the shower, let sit for 15 minutes, then rinse and soap scum will literally just wipe off. This stuff smells pretty bad, so crack a window if you have on in the bathroom, or have a fan running. But it works really, really well. I’ll never buy a commercial shower cleaner again.
12. Clean toothbrushes.
13. Deodorizer. Whether it’s a funky smelling fridge, laundry, cabinets, tupperware. Vinegar will do the trick.
14. Disinfect baby toys and teether toys. Either soak them in the sink with hot water and vinegar, and then rinse/dry, OR add vinegar to the dishwasher and wash the toys in there. I always do this whenever we get a cold or flu in the house to help prevent the spread of the ick!
15. Clean your iron.
16. Take care of water damage on wood furniture or flooring.
17. Make a paste with vinegar and baking soda to clean the oven.  I used this method to clean the old oven in one of our old rentals that did not have a clean cycle. When we moved out, the landlord made a comment that he’d never seen such a clean oven! The same paste can be used to clean pots/pans/baking sheets.
18. A few glugs of white vinegar in the toilet will help kill/prevent bacteria and mineral build up.
19. Remove wallpaper. I haven’t tried this yet, but we have an abundance of 1980’s farmhouse wallpaper in our house that we’ll be tackling soon. I will definitely give this method a try!
20. A DIY Pedicure! Soak your feet in blue listerine and vinegar, and the dry skin will slough off. I tried this (without the listerine, because I didn’t have any) at the end of my last pregnancy when my feet were swollen and not very pretty, and was very happy with the results!
21. A DIY natural weed killer. I sprayed straight vinegar on some wild morning glories that were choking my tomatoes last year. They were dead within 2 days!

What are some ways that YOU use White Distilled Vinegar in your home?