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Simple Homemaking » cleaning » Vinegar Cleaning Tips

By Wendy O'Neal 15 Comments

Vinegar Cleaning Tips

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure.

I’ve been using only natural cleaners to clean my house since Hubbyman and I bought our house 14 years ago. Everyone is always asking me for my best household Vinegar Cleaning Tips…I think you’ll find a bunch of useful tips below. I’ve shared my love for using vinegar before and how versatile it is. Grab my free vinegar printable 9 Uses for Vinegar and some ideas for keeping your kitchen tidy with my Kitchen Cleaning Checklist.

The Best Household Vinegar Cleaning Tips

Vinegar is a great and effective way to keep things clean and looking their best. I use it to clean everything in my kitchen because it is safe, non-toxic, and bio-degradable. (However, if you truly need to sanitize something you’ll need add in another product.)  For day to day kitchen cleaning, vinegar is my favorite option. It’s able to handle dirty messes, hard water stains on my stainless steel sink and faucet, safely cleans my granite counter tops, and even cleans up the floor with little effort.

When we first moved into our home we quickly realized that the previous owners were smokers. Everything just had an odd odor, so we would fill up little bowls of vinegar and place them around the house to help absorb odors. We’d change out the bowls every week until there were no more cigarette odors. What I’ve noticed that when I consistently clean with vinegar, the pet odors and just random kid stickiness are much less. I use vinegar all throughout the house on a regular basis, so after that “vinegar smell” dissipates so do the other odors. I use it in the bathrooms, on my hardwood floors, on the walls, and more.

 

 

The Best Household Vinegar Cleaning Tips

 Vinegar Cleaning Tips

Basic Vinegar Household Cleaning Tips

  • Fill the rinse-agent dispenser of dishwasher with plain white vinegar, run normally.
  • Deodorize the toilet: pour 1/2 cup of white vinegar into the bowl. Let sit 15 minutes and then flush.
  • Remove hard-water deposits on the tub and glass shower doors: Heat 1 cup of white vinegar in a pot and then, spray warm vinegar onto surface, let sit 15 minutes and wipe clean.
  • Soak shower heads in a bucket of vinegar to remove hard water.
  • Remove stickers on furniture and other surfaces, moisten with vinegar. Let sit for at least ten minutes, then remove.

Vinegar for Kitchen

  • Remove odors from the sink or garbage disposal, pour in 1 cup of vinegar, let sit for an hour before rinsing.
  • Spray hands with vinegar after chopping garlic or onions to remove the smell.
  • To clean wooden cutting boards, spray with vinegar.
  • Clean all kitchen surfaces with vinegar, like counters, refrigerators, stovetops. It’s an excellent cleaner.
  • Clean microwave by putting a microwave-safe bowl with 1/2 cup vinegar and 1 cup water and cook long enough to boil (just a minute or two). It will remove odors and will loosen any baked-on food from the microwave’s walls. Just wipe clean with a damp cloth.
  • Remove coffee or tea stains from china by cleaning with a mixture of vinegar and salt.

Vinegar for Laundry

  • Combat “pit stains” on white T-shirts: soak clothing in about 4 tablespoons of white vinegar and enough water to cover the stain. Leave overnight and then wash.
  • To keep colors from running in the wash, soak in vinegar before washing.
  • To decrease lint on clothing and make your brights brighter, add 1/2 cup vinegar to the rinse cycle.
  • Remove persistent stains such as coffee, chocolate, ketchup, jam, cola, wine by gently rubbing stain with vinegar, then wash.
  • Remove soap residue from the washing machine, run an empty (no laundry) cycle with one cup vinegar added.
  • Remove the smell of smoke from clothes  by adding 1 cup of vinegar to a tub full of hot water. Let clothing hang in the same room for several hours.

Gardening with Vinegar

  • Clean rusty tools: soak in a pail of white vinegar and brush to clean. Or let them sit overnight.
  • Freshen up cut flowers by adding 2 tablespoons vinegar and 1 teaspoon sugar for each quart of water.
  • Deter ants by spraying vinegar around doors and windows and also along ant trails.
  • Eliminate calcium buildup on brick or on limestone with half vinegar and half water. Spray on and then just let it set.
  • Remove skunk odor from a dog by rubbing down fur with full strength vinegar and then rinse clean.
  • Keep cats away from garden or play areas (think sandboxes) by sprinkling vinegar in those areas.

 

Vinegar Recipes

  • Check out this delicious Vinegar BBQ Sauce Recipe
  • Love this Vinegar Pie Crust Recipe from Happy Food Healthy Life.

Filed Under: cleaning

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Comments

  1. Heather says

    August 9, 2017 at 7:29 am

    Vinegar has a strong smell, but once it fades, you’ll notice just how clean everything is with just one simple ingredient. Thanks for sharing!

    Reply
  2. Corinne says

    January 27, 2017 at 1:56 pm

    Vinegar, one of the best kept secrets of a professional cleaner! So many uses for this wonderful product! Thanks for sharing.

    Reply
  3. Vivian says

    January 11, 2017 at 3:07 pm

    I also love using vinegar for so many things throughout my home, especially removing odors. I use mine in my garbage disposal once a week and it keeps it smelling neutral. Great tips!

    Reply
  4. Ally Day says

    January 3, 2017 at 6:39 am

    So simple and so healthy. I really appreciate the insight here in this post. Thanks for sharing all the information and tips.

    Reply
  5. Max says

    December 23, 2016 at 5:27 am

    Vinegar is one of my favorite household cleaners. We have hard water in our area so I keep plenty of vinegar on hand.

    Reply
  6. Jason says

    May 31, 2016 at 12:01 pm

    Yay! I tried cleaning with vinegar and hated it. Thanks for sharing this alternative!

    Reply
    • Drew says

      November 17, 2016 at 12:06 pm

      This doesn’t mention anything about alternatives to cleaning with vinegar so I’m curious to hear what you learned from it. In fact, this is ONLY about vinegar.

      Reply
  7. Drew says

    May 19, 2016 at 11:43 am

    I had no idea that vinegar could be used for so many things around the house. If it really works for all these things it may be my new go to cleaning solution.

    Reply
  8. Hazel Adams says

    May 9, 2016 at 2:25 pm

    It is interesting for me to learn a little bit about vinegar and how useful it is for cleaning. I did not realize that it could clean so many things. This article has tons of cleaning advice with vinegar. Thanks for the great ideas.

    Reply
  9. Jackie Oliver says

    March 31, 2016 at 6:02 am

    Wow, where have I been?! I had no idea that vinegar could do much around the house! I am going to remember that is helps get rid of tough stains on clothes. With 4 kids, you can imagine how many stains I combat everyday. I also really like the idea of using vinegar to get rid of hard water deposits on shower heads.

    Reply
    • Wendy O'Neal says

      March 31, 2016 at 2:24 pm

      Oh Jackie…You haven’t lived until you clean your shower heads with a bucket of vinegar….it’s amazing!!!!! w-

      Reply
  10. Dothea says

    March 28, 2016 at 12:33 pm

    Maybe this will help remove my coffee spots on my carpet.

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Simple Changes to Clean Your Home Naturally - Around My Family Table says:
    March 22, 2019 at 5:00 am

    […] Vinegar Cleaning Tips […]

    Reply
  2. How to Clean Your Stainless Steel Sink - Around My Family Table says:
    January 3, 2019 at 5:00 am

    […] Steer clear of harsh chemicals and use a mixture of baking soda, vinegar (check out my vinegar cleaning tips), and Mrs. Meyer’s multi-surface cleaner.  I love to use natural items to clean my house […]

    Reply
  3. Patriotic Party Ideas - Around My Family Table says:
    June 13, 2018 at 10:40 am

    […] always use plan out my parties and make sure everything is perfectly cleaned ahead of time. I love cleaning with vinegar and big roll of Bounty.  A good cleaning before any party will make after-party clean up […]

    Reply

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