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The wonders of Vinegar

mariacallas

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I looove vinegar, it has sooo many household uses (and I drink apple cider vinegar for its super health benefits too!)
There are numerous studies to show that a straight 5 percent solution of vinegar such as you can buy in the supermarket kills 99 percent of bacteria, 82 percent of mold, and 80 percent of germs (viruses).
white_vinegar.jpg

Here are some tried and tested stuff I've done using inexpensive white vinegar:
* To a clean and restore your no-wax floors to a sparkly shine, add 1 cup of
vinegar to a bucket of warm water and mop as usual. The vinegar will eliminate the grease without stripping the floors of their protective finish.

* For a really tough stain on the floor, pour a small amount of vinegar direct
ly on the spot and let it stand for 30 minutes. If the stain persists, repeat
the process, then scrub with a soft toothbrush or nail brush and rinse.

* And this is tried and tested on my wood floors: I use one part vineger to a gallon of water. Remember to apply the liquid sparingly and dry with a clean towel. .....it gets rid of residue and Pledge buildup like magic ! Give it a little buff with a soft cloth and you get really shiny clean wooden floors! So much better than using Wax/floor polishers, etc

* Deodorize your sink drains: Pour a cup down your drain, let stand about thirty minutes, then run cold water.

* Unclog a drain: Dump 1 cup of baking soda down your drain and follow it with 1 cup of vinegar. When they mix, they foam and expand, cleaning your drain. Allow a few minutes for the mixture to do it's job, then flush with hot water for several minutes.

* Disinfect and clean wood cutting boards: Rub with vinegar to disinfect and clean. If your cutting board has deep grooves, you can also soak the board in vinegar for 5-10 minutes.

* Cut grease: When washing greasy pans or dishes, add a few tablespoons of vinegar to your soapy dishwater.

* Clean the dishwasher: Vinegar reduces soap build up, so throw a cup of vinegar in your dishwasher and let it run a full (empty) cycle once a month or so.

* Clean the coffeepot: Hard water can clog a coffeepot and cause yucky buildup inside it. To remedy this, pour 1 cup vinegar in your coffeepot, fill the rest of the way with water, then run it through a cycle as usual (without coffee grounds in the filter). Rinse the coffeepot out. Fill it with fresh water and run another cycle without coffee to rinse the inside of the coffee maker.

* Loosen food grime and clean the microwave: Place a microwave-safe bowl with 2 cups water, 1/2 cup vinegar inside the microwave and microwave on full power for 3-4 minutes (it needs to boil). Keep your microwave closed for a few minutes to allow the steam to loosen the grime, then open your microwave, carefully remove the bowl, and wipe clean!

* Clean windows: Mix 1 cup vinegar with 5 cups water, and you've got a great window cleaner. If you must have blue window cleaner, just a few drops of blue food coloring!

* Remove grease from kitchen walls: Put straight vinegar on a dishcloth to wipe grease off kitchen walls, or the stovetop.

* Remove pet urine stains (and smells) from carpet: Mix about 1/4 cup of vinegar to a quart of water. Soak a washcloth in the mixture and blot the area several times.

* Clean kitchen and bathroom faucets: Soak a paper towel in vinegar then wrap it around your faucet to remove mineral deposits.

* Clean and shine no-wax vinyl or linoleum floors: Mix 1 gallon of water with 1/2 cup vinegar in a bucket, then mop or scrub your floor with the solution.

* Inexpensive scouring powder: Combine two tablespoons each of vinegar and baking soda for an effective scouring powder.

* Clean the toilet rim: Put straight 5% vinegar in a squirt bottle and use it to clean the rim of the toilet. It disinfects, too!

* Prevent mold and mildew in the shower: Wipe down tile or Formica shower walls with a sponge or cloth dampened with water and vinegar. The vinegar will clean the walls and inhibit the growth of mold and mildew.

* Unclog the showerhead: Mineral deposits from hard water can cause a sputtering, clogged shower head. Place the showerhead in a pot, add enough vinegar to completely cover it. Heat the vinegar to just below boiling, then remove from heat. Allow to sit for at least 6 hours. The acid in the vinegar will eat away the deposits. Rinse the showerhead well, and it's ready to go again.

* Get rid of funky smells in tight places such as bags, lunchboxes etc: Soak a piece of plain bread in vinegar, then place it inside ; leave overnight and the smell will disappear!

* Remove rust: To get rid of rust, soak items in vinegar (do not dilute). This will work on any metals.

* Remove residue and styling product build up from hair: After shampooing, rinse your hair with a mixture of 1/2 vinegar, 1/2 warm water to remove all the build up and get rid of that dullness.

* Eliminate smells: Run a hot tub of water and pour in one or two cups of vinegar. Hang smelly clothes on hangers along your shower curtain rod. This will remove smoke and other tough smells.

* Get rid of stickers, decals and sticky residues: Rub a few coats of vinegar on the area and allow to soak. Then wash off with a wet washcloth and the sticky will rub right off.

* Polish patent leather purses and shoes: Place vinegar on a clean cloth, then rub over patent leather. Wipe dry with another clean cloth.

* Remove stains: Rub a small amount of vinegar gently on fruit, jelly, mustard or coffee type stains and wash as usual. No more stain!

* Clean your glasses: Place a drop of vinegar on the lens, then rub with a cotton cloth.

* Get the smell out of your clothes (cigarette, body odor, food) Just add a 1/2 to 1 cup of vinegar in your last rinse.

* Polish your car: Rub vinegar on chrome to clean and shine it.

* Remove bumper stickers: Soak a cloth in vinegar and lay it over the bumper sticker. Allow to soak a few minutes. The bumper sticker should peel right off. Rub vinegar over the area to remove the sticky residue, if necessary.
I've stopped buying commercial cleaning items that cost a lot of money (with the exception of orange Pledge and febreze , lol...) With just vinegar, baking soda, a little bleach and Tide i have nearly everything i need to clean up!
Share your other tips here!
 
* And this is tried and tested on my wood floors: I use one part vineger to a gallon of water. Remember to apply the liquid sparingly and dry with a clean towel. .....it gets rid of residue and Pledge buildup like magic ! Give it a little buff with a soft cloth and you get really shiny clean wooden floors! So much better than using Wax/floor polishers, etc

Maybe this guy doesn't get the whole concept of ratios :p
 
you know what else you can do with vineger

Shoot up Crack.(IV)
;-)

just some more useful vineger information for ya
 
^^^ lol i knew that. ;)
to the poster above you :p ; one- half CUP of vinegar to a gallon of water is just fine , satisfied? If im using a spritzer or a smaller basin i reduce accordingly. Use your common sense
 
/\ A little anecdote. My chemistry teacher always drops the occasional remark about how we can use the chemicals that we're using in the lab around the house instead of branded cleaning products. She used to go on about the uses of vinegar at least once a week.

Maybe this thread could develop into an index of household uses of different household chemicals in place of expensive branded products.

I'm an undomesticated student, I have nothing to offer!
 
I saw the title of this thread and I KNEW it was you!!!

I use vinegar to clean my bathroom, or lemon juice. I mix it with some water, and then sometimes baking soda to do that cool bubbling up thing, and for some scrubbing power.

I use olive oil for wood, and it's always gorgeous.
 
I have a friend that swears by doing an apple cider vinegar rinse on her hair after she washes it. I've never been keen on the smell of vinegar so I've never had the urge to actually try it. I got curious and read up on it a bit. It's apparently pretty good for your skin and hair.
 
Olive oil and a little vinegar and lemon juice does WONDERS for my wooden floor.
Apple cider vinegar is another topic altogether lol.....it works for dandruff, removes excess build up and residue from hair, soothes and heals burns really quickly (once i scalded my finger on the stove and I immediately dipped it into a cup of pure apple cider vinegar...in 30 minutes it stoped hurting, and it did not even blister!) ; it is also good for yeast infections, arthritis and gout .

I drink it 3x a day, 2 tbsps in a glass of hot water with some honey. I've lost 4 pounds in a week!
 
^ This works, to some degree. I've used it to kill small patches of "crabgrass" (a weed in the southern US). It kills a lot of stuff in the immediate vicinity though, leaving a little brown patch on your lawn.

I used to use it as the acid to mix with a base to make a ghetto CO2 generator to gas mice with. I'd catch them in the no-kill traps (I hated coming home to find a mouse with 2 broken legs squeaking because the trap didn't break its neck), put them in a container with cotten ball soaked in ether, and flood it with CO2. That sounds kind of evil, but its the most humane way of killing them I could think of.
 
Fizzacyst, you ever thoughts of letting the mice loose outside, far kinder, there is no need to kill them at all.
 
64tf said:
I'll never understand people that won't step on rodents.
Neither will I. Having your brains squashed out in 0 seconds flat is mighty effective at ceasing the living.
____________
Fizzacyst, you ever thoughts of letting the mice loose outside, far kinder, there is no need to kill them at all.

Then the mice come back INSIDE, because they started outside in the first place. Food, shelter, and warmth are inside. Mice seek these things. Either get some cats, or kill the fuckin' things.
 
edit for the mousey
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^^i dont wanna step on em , cos then I'd have to clean and disinfect the underside of my SHOES :p
 
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