7 of 11

Write now Article Tools

Vinegar is a fabulous liquid cleaner. A natural disinfectant, it can be used to safely sterilize items. Using vinegar in your kitchen, laundry, and bath as a frugal and environmentally friendly substitute for ammonia or bleach.

There are many ways to use vinegar around the house, including:

Hard water stains disappear when you use vinegar. Soak your vases in a vinegar-water solution to remove rings. Use vinegar in your bathroom to remove hard water stains from tiles and shower doors.

Vinegar shines stainless steel better than any commercial product out there. Use it on your stainless steel sinks and fixtures and they'll look brand new again. For really cruddy fixtures, soak a cloth in vinegar and wrap the cloth around the fixture. Come back and check it every 10-20 minutes. Eventually, even the worst fixture will be shiny, with very little effort!

Vinegar can be used to clean laminate counters. Have horrible stains on your kitchen counters? You can get those white laminate counters white again! Soak a white cloth in vinegar and lay it on the counter top. Check it every few hours and make sure the cloth hasn't dried out. Old and persistent stains may need to sit overnight.

Plastics were first used to contain acids, so acids like vinegar clean anything plastic better than base cleaners like ammonia and bleach. Soak your plastic ware in water and vinegar to remove tough stains. Use it to wipe down all those plastic children's toys: they'll be cleaner and safer than if you used bleach.

Vinegar is a disinfectant. It kills germs and is still safe to use around pets and children! Use it to wipe down doorknobs, light switches, phones, handles, and trash can lids after someone in your house has been ill. You can even clean toothbrushes with vinegar.

Use vinegar to clean your microwave oven. Heat a dish with vinegar in your microwave for a few seconds: stuck on food should then be much easier to remove!

Mix vinegar with water to clean windows. Realize that the first time you use it on your windows the vinegar will be removing the film left behind by other cleaners. Until this film is completely removed, your windows may streak. But vinegar will leave your windows streak-free.

Use vinegar as a multipurpose laundry rinse. It will remove bad odors from pet bedding, diapers, and athletic socks. Vinegar also whitens clothes safely. It also works as a fabric softener. Just pour vinegar into the liquid fabric softener dispenser in your washing machine, or add it during your rinse cycle.

Be creative! Vinegar is inexpensive, safe, and easy to use. Try it on that object in your home that you've never been able to get clean enough-you might be pleasantly surprised!

Learn more about this author, Vicky Harper.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.

Add your voice

Know something about Great cleaning tips using vinegar?
We want to hear your view. Write now!