Fabulous Ways to Use Vinegar – You’ll Always Want to Keep Some Handy!
Vinegar is a fabulous product! It’s not expensive and it’s readily available to buy. It’s MILES more eco-friendly and better for the environment than many cleaning products, detergents, bug sprays, hair products and drain cleaners.
You’ll be astonished at how many ways you can use this eco-friendly product!
- Did a sticker or tape leave some sticky residue behind on a wall? Put white vinegar into a spray bottle, spray on the area to saturate it. Leave for a few seconds, then scrub it away quickly.
- Spiders: Mix vinegar and coconut oil together in a spray bottle. Spray in your home wherever you don’t want spiders, concentrating particularly on corners. It doesn’t kill the spiders; it just discourages them from coming in! Re-spray about once a month if necessary.
- Clean your glasses and sunglasses by spraying a little vinegar onto them and then wiping the glasses with a soft cloth.
- Smelly bin or trash can? (In fact, this works well in any smelly place!). Put a piece of bread on a plate. Pour white vinegar over it and let it soak up. Place the bread in the bottom of the bin, leave it overnight and discard it. The smell will be gone! You can also just place a small bowl of white vinegar in any room where you don’t like the smell. Or add your favourite essential oil to water in a spray bottle and spray the room.
- Trap pesky fruit flies: half fill a small bowl with apple cider vinegar, then cover with cling wrap. Make a few small holes in the wrap at the top. Flies will go in – but not come out!
- Keep pets off furniture: put some vinegar into a spray bottle and spritz the area. Cats hate it!
- Keep flowers fresher for longer: Put a little apple cider in with the water in the vase.
- If your pots and pans have hard-to-remove stains, add equal parts vinegar and water to the cookware, then boil for about 5 minutes. Rinse and your cookware will be clean again!
- Blocked drain: don’t waste money on a plumbing company. Add ½ cup / 120ml baking soda and 1 cup / 240ml vinegar to the sink or basin. Once it stops foaming, wash it out with hot water.
- To clean your window blinds put on a white cotton glove — the kind sold for gardening is perfect — and moisten your fingers in a solution made of equal parts white vinegar and hot tap water. Now simply slide your fingers across both sides of each slat! Use a container of clean water to periodically wash off the glove.
And here are some great suggestions from our wonderful readers:
- Use it to melt ice on car windows in the winter
- Clean windows and mirrors without streaks
- Add it to the rinse compartment in your washing machine to give extra brightness to your colours
- Spray it on kitchen counters to discourage ants
- Use cider vinegar as a conditioning rinse in your hair
- Add vinegar and baking soda to your washing machine to give it a good clean
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How do you use it? Let me know in the Comments below
vinegar is fantastic – use in your washing machine in the rinse compartment for making dark clothes bright!
rinse your hair in cider vinegar instead of conditioner.
use vinegar and baking soda to clean out your washing machine once a month. spray counters to discourage ants (needed in hot climates). thanks Clare for your tips!
I agree – vinegar is indeed fantastic! I’m always intrigued by vinegar in washing machines, I initially thought all my clothes would smell of vinegar but of course they don’t, it’s just great! And as you say, it’s the perfect way to keep the machine from getting clogged up – thanks so much Elisabet!
I love white vinegar, I use it for all those uses you listed plus rinsing my hair and as an aid for melting ice from car windows (although I no longer own a car) in the winter.
You’re right, vinegar is just wonderful for hair, I use apple cider vinegar and it works a treat. Melting ice, now that’s news to me (admittedly the only ice I have here is in the freezer for drinks) but that is such a great idea, I know my readers will love that – thanks Lois!
Clare,
I can tell you first hand that the spider remedy works amazingly well. The only thing I would add is this…spray in the corners. Spray in all of the upper and lower corners of your walls and you will be rid of spiders for about 4 – 6 weeks. After that time just repeat the process.
Yours In Health!
G.E. Moon II
Gary, your spider remedy definitely works, it was you who told me about it, and at the time I told my readers what a marvelous idea you had shared with me! Living on a tropical island is in many ways idyllic, but the spiders are big here so I can’t tell you how glad I’ve been to use your remedy – it works wonderfully. So of course when writing about vinegar, I had to include it again!
We’re going into winter here and although it’s definitely not harsh, the spiders like to move indoors for extra protection so I’m stocking up on vinegar now.
Thanks so much for your comment, and the extra advice about corners – my house will definitely be spider-free this winter!
Clare,
Thank you for all of the great work that you do. You are a true plethora of knowledge. I always look forward to reading what you have to share.
Yours In Health!
G.E. Moon II
That’s so nice, thank you so much Gary, I really appreciate that!
Good tips Clare. I also use vinegar to clean windows & mirrors at home. Vinegar is green & cheap :^)
Elisabet, thank you too. I will try your tip this week!
You’re right, vinegar cleans beautifully without streaking. Thanks for stopping by!
[…] Clare proves vinegar is so versatile it should be in every home with these rarely heard of uses. […]
Lois sent me over from her blog. I use a LOT of vinegar but you have even more ideas that I had not heard of. This could be a very informative blog. I’ll check back in with you.
Hi Marlene, thanks for stopping by, and I’m glad you found some good suggestions here! Anything we can do to reduce the amount of chemicals in our lives is just so much better for our own health, and that of the planet.
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