Cleaning with Vinegar

There are dozens of great websites, and a few books, devoted to plain old, distilled white vinegar. A quart bottle runs about $1.00 and can be purchased in grocery stores, pharmacies and an even few hardware stores. Mixed with plain tap water, baking soda and even olive oil and it will take care of fine glassware and even concrete floors. Scary huh?

I keep a spray bottle mixed 50/50 under my kitchen sink to take care of splatters while I am cooking. If any product splashes on the food or utensils, I don’t have to worry about poisoning or contamination, as vinegar is used in many recipes.

It disinfects and cleans without leaving a sticky residue. I use it to wipe down the laundry machines and folding tables several times a week. Tenants have complimented me how great the laundry room looks.

It removes odors. My grandmother would soak a rag in white vinegar, wring it out, and then spin the towel furiously while walking about the room: this freshened the air and killed any cooking or smoke odors.

Vinegar sometimes will need an emulsifier such as detergent to clean stains, follow the websites listed below for good ideas.

Smoke Residue: A Tale of Two Units

A while back, two heavy smokers moved out. The first unit, I used just about every product on the market, including ammonia to remove the greasy film and odor. It was very hard work to clean and I choked on fumes/perfumes in some cleansers.

The second unit was practically an OSHA-level clean out! Before anyone could work in this unit, I opened both front and back windows, then left a fan running for three days. Still, whenever I walked into the bedroom, I felt as if my chest was crushed and I could not draw a breath.

To wash smoke off walls: Make a solution of 50/50 warm water, vinegar and a bit of dishwashing detergent, low suds is important. (I prefer Dawn, it is the most effective on grease, and nicotine IS grease.)

Use a new sponge mop, or a Swifter wrapped in a terry cloth, or any applicator with a flat cleaning surface will suffice. After dipping the mop in the cleaning solution, wring thoroughly, then start scrubbing the walls from the bottom up. This is important: water may drip down the sheetrock and will bleed through any new paint later applied.

This helped tremendously, however the painters still needed to apply a primer over the sheetrock before painting.

Slow Running Drains

• Put a small kettle of water on to boil;
• Shake plain old baking soda into drain, or mound over the drain cover;
• Pour straight vinegar, slowly over the baking soda to rinse it down the drain. It will bubble up, this will loosen any crud in the drains;
• Wait a few minutes, then slowly pour the boiling water down the drain.
• Voilé! The drain will run free, it may be a bit shinier and it certainly will be smelling clean!

Vinegar Web Links:

This is not a complete list, I merely did a quick search, some sites are better than others. I do refer to these sites for cleaning ideas.
1001 Uses for White Distilled Vinegar
The New Homemaker
Cleaning with Vinegar, The All Natural Cleaning Solution

A small bonus: People may ask to borrow a bottle of your favorite window or household cleaner, then forget to return it, or simply return it completely drained, however, my spray bottle of vinegar hasn't vanished yet. Smile.