Vinegar is an incredibly versatile product that can be used to clean hundreds of items around the home.
It’s cheap, available online or from almost any local store, won’t damage the environment or harm your health and doesn’t leave behind any nasty chemicals or deposits.
If you’re concerned about the use of harsh cleaning chemicals around the home, try vinegar for these 12 tasks.
1 – Descale the Kettle
I’ve been using vinegar for years to remove the scale buildup from within my kettle.
Why use harmful chemicals and risk your health when vinegar works just as well?
Vinegar is easy to use, just pour half vinegar and half water into a kettle and leave for at least four hours.
Here are the photos that prove it works:
BEFORE:
AFTER:
2 – Toilet Limescale
If like me, you live in an area with hard water, you’ll probably notice limescale marks inside your toilet bowl.
These marks can be masked with bleach which turns them white.
Unfortunately, it only takes a few flushes and the discolouration on the limescale will return.
There are many commercial products that will dissolve the limescale but these acids can produce strong and harmful odours.
A natural alternative is vinegar.
All you need to do is to pour 1.5 litres of vinegar into the bowl and brush it onto the surfaces. You’ll need to leave it in place overnight and it may take a couple of treatments to fully dissolve hardened limescale.
3 – Window Cleaning
Vinegar is so effective at cleaning windows that many commercial products contain it as a key ingredient.
You can make your own window cleaner by mixing half water and half vinegar.
You’ll find this smear-free mixture is cheaper than off-the-shelf products and is just as effective.
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4 – Clean Copper
You can easily and naturally remove tarnish from copper and brass by using vinegar.
Just add salt and vinegar to a cloth and rub it onto the metal.
Although a little elbow grease is required, you should be able to achieve a shiny clean surface in minutes.
For stubborn tarnish, add flour and salt to the vinegar until you have a paste-like material that you can rub onto the metal.
Just apply this paste and leave for around 15 minutes before rubbing off with a cloth.
5 – Remove Deodorant Stains
Deodorant stains don’t have to ruin your clothes.
Vinegar is an excellent product that’ll dissolve the residue from any clothes, including colours and whites.
You’ll need nothing more than vinegar and a toothbrush, just let the vinegar soak into the fabric and then gently brush away the deodorant residue.
6 – Clogged Showerheads and Taps
Taps and showerheads can become clogged with limescale which reduces the water flow rate.
Rather than replacing a showerhead, you can dip the existing one into a bowl of vinegar and leave overnight.
Taps can be brushed with vinegar or you can tie a vinegar-filled balloon to the tap and leave overnight.
7 – Clogged Steam Irons
Steam irons can be cleaned as easily as kettles.
Just fill the reservoir with half vinegar and half water.
Allow the mixture to rest for a few hours and then switch on the appliance until the liquid has evaporated.
Then rinse with water to finish the cleaning process.
8 – Shower Screens
Glass and plastic screens around showers and baths can be cleaned easily with vinegar.
Just pour the vinegar neat onto a sponge and wipe away the bath residue.
Finish off with a good rinse and you’re done.
9 – Food Blender
Food blenders are easy to clean with vinegar, baking soda and dishwashing liquid.
Just mix the three ingredients together and leave in the blender overnight before flushing with water the next morning.
10 – Clean and Deodorize the Fridge
A great way to clean, freshen and deodorize the fridge is to mix vinegar, lemon oil and water and place into a sprayer.
The acid in the vinegar will cut through any dried food spills while the lemon will freshen up the fridge and remove any unpleasant odours.
11 – Soap Scum
Soap scum and hard water deposits can be removed with ease by mixing vinegar and dishwashing liquid.
Just apply liberally with a sprayer, allow to soak in for at least 15 minutes and wipe away with a sponge.
12 Pet and Dog Urine
Pet urine can cause lingering unpleasant odours and difficult to remove stains.
After mopping up as much as possible with a cloth or absorbent tissue, sprinkle the area with baking soda and spray with vinegar.
The area should then be rinsed with water and a sponge – easy!
Three Places You SHOULDN’T Use Vinegar
Vinegar is very acidic and while it’s a natural product it can erode certain surfaces and substrates.
Stone surfaces such as marble should never be cleaned with vinegar, it will eat into the surface.
Waxed surfaces, such as wooden floors and furniture can be damaged by using too strong a mixture of vinegar.
Cast iron and aluminium pots and pans shouldn’t be cleaned with vinegar as it will lead to rust or oxidation.
