10 Thing You May Not Know Vinegar Can Do
9:50 AM
For a while now I have known about the cleaning power of vinegar. In fact, a bottle of it, is the only thing that can actually get a toilet clean in a bathroom that is shared by four boys in my home, but did you know that vinegar actually has a lot of handy dandy other uses around the home? Check out these 10 super powers you may not have known vinegar has.
#1 - Clean Your Bath with Baking Soda and Vinegar: The bath can get quite dirty after much use and a lot of neglect. That doesn’t matter though, because you can clean your bath quick and easy with both baking soda and vinegar. Just give dirty areas a good dusting of baking soda, follow with vinegar, and scrub vigorously with a sponge while the mixture fizzes away. Clean away any leftovers with water. Just a word of warning, you should probably have a window open so those fumes can go somewhere.
#2 - Clear up and Prevent Bruises: All of us have suffered a nasty spill of some kind (and I'm not talking about the kind where someone drops a drink) and those bruises can become extremely sore after a while. However, you can make all those nasty black-and-blues go away, just soak some cotton gauze in a little bit of vinegar, apply it to the bruised area, and let it sit for around an hour.
#3 - Brighten Your Laundry: You have a choice, spend a pretty penny on some fancy "all-color, stain-fighting, super-effective" bleach, or you can spend a couple of bucks on some plain, white vinegar. Just add 1/2 a cup of that stuff to your wash cycle to reinvigorate and brighten all the colors in all of your laundry loads; reds, blues, greens, yellows, blacks, and whites!
#4 - Hot Vinegar Drain Cleaner: Is the sink not draining as quick as usual? Chances are it's probably a little clogged up by grime and such. This isn't a problem though, all you need to do is pour roughly a quarter of a cup of vinegar and a quarter of a cup of baking soda down your drain, wait a little more than 15 minutes, and then follow it all down the drain with hot (preferably boiling) water.
#5 - Frost-Proof Your Windows: We've all had to wait that dreaded 5 minutes every winter morning; the windows are slowly-but-surely clearing up and you're already 10 minutes late for work. You can keep Jack Frost off your windows by spraying a solution that's 3 parts vinegar and 1 part water on your car windows every few weeks.
#6 - Deodorizer: Hate having to hold your breath when open your trunk to put the groceries way, or maybe that musty old closet is getting to be a little too unbearable? You can freshen up the smell of these places quite easily! All you need to do is give a slice of white bread a soak in some white vinegar, place the soggy piece of bread on a plate, and keep it in that closet or trunk for a night. Things will start smelling good again in no time!
#7 - Clean Fresh Produce: Whether you are the gardening type or you just took a stroll through the produce section at your local supermarket, you never know what's clinging to the surface of your fresh fruits and vegetables. If you're not feeling safe about your food, you can always wash them with 1 tablespoon of white vinegar mixed with 1 1/2 quarts of plain water for a nice, bacteria-cleansing wash.
#8 - Clean Rust Off of Old Tools: So, you've finally gotten grandpa's old tool box open, expecting gold and treasure, and just got some rusty old Depression-era hammers and screwdrivers. You can clean up granddad's old tools real easy; just submerge them in some plain white vinegar for a couple of days until the rust is all gone.
#9 – Streak-less window cleaner: If you have some vinegar, water, and dish soap lying around, you can make a window cleaner that outperforms most others. Put 2 cups of water, 1/4 of a cup of plain white vinegar, and 1/2 a teaspoon of your favorite dish soap/detergent all into a spray bottle and have clean, clear windows in no time at all.
#10 - Keep Pests off your Pets: Is Fido biting and scratching away at himself because flea season has started in your state)? You can keep those bugs away by filling a spray bottle with equal parts vinegar and water and applying it to your dog or cat's coat before rubbing it in. Be careful with cats though, they've been known to get a little resistant and violent when vinegar and its "horrific" scent get involved.
Do you know another vinegar super power? Share it with us in the comments below!
22 comments
I know vinegar can practically be used for anything, but I didn't know it could clear up and prevent bruises. Since I'm an anemic, I bruise so easily! So I'm going to definitely try this.
ReplyDeleteIt's definitely a wonder ingredient. I've been making sipping vinegar to serve with dinner. It does wonders to aid with digestion.
ReplyDeleteI've tried vinegar to clean, and I like it OK, but I think I'm going to stick with brands like Method and Seventh Generation.
ReplyDeleteTotally trying that on my bath! I hate using harsh chemicals in there but it just gets so dirty in there. I've never tried the natural route!
ReplyDeleteI had heard of quite a few of these, but not "Frost-Proof Your Windows" ... learned something new today :)
ReplyDeleteI think I've heard of most of these. We use vinegar and baking soda to clean hard to clean surfaces.
ReplyDeleteVinegar is like one of those miracle products!
ReplyDeleteI think I can honestly say I didn't know most of these and am surprised about the bruising.
ReplyDeleteI knew most of these but I had no idea that vinegar could clean the rust off of old tools. That's good to know.
ReplyDeleteI didn't know it could be used to prevent bruises!
ReplyDeleteI mix vinegar with Dawn and some water to spray my shower stall. It seems to be the ONLY thing that actually works.
ReplyDeleteI use vinegar when I mop and clean out our humidifiers. The only thing is how stinky it is. :) Lots of great uses!
ReplyDeleteI had no idea that it helps with bruises!
ReplyDeleteI love vinegar and have so many kinds all over the house. It's so nice for for cleaning laundry and getting out odors!
ReplyDeleteWe use vinegar for everything, hahahah!! I didn't know that about bruises so thanks!! I am off to do some laundry and gonna try that too!!!
ReplyDeleteWow I certainly did not know some of these! I'm going to bookmark this post to look back on while cleaning.
ReplyDeleteWow who knew you could do so much with vinegar.
ReplyDeleteWow. I didn't know about 8 of those. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteI didn't know about #5. I love vinegar and always have it on hand!
ReplyDeleteI think vinegar is pretty versatile, just like baking soda :) So many uses around the house.
ReplyDeleteHeating vinegar can clean off the chalk build-up in water cookers and coffee makers :)
ReplyDeleteI knew about using vinegar for cleaning most things, but... bruises?!? I have to try this now! I need to bump into something just to provide a test subject. :)
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