The Cleaning Power of Vinegar

For many years, I kept a few small bottles of vinegar in my kitchen cabinet. I had the balsamic, apple cider, rice wine, and regular varieties. My collection only existed as a result of my experimentations with various recipes for salad dressings or sauces that required a particular type of vinegar as an ingredient. For the most part, the bottles collected dust and remained mostly unused.

Fast forward a bit, and I now have larger bottles of various vinegars in my cabinet (I’ve become much better in the kitchen…) as well as gallon jugs of regular vinegar in my basement, bathrooms and pantry. Why so much vinegar, you may ask? Well, I have found so many wonderful uses for it in recent months that I now store it everywhere to keep it handy. As a mother to two young children, I’ve put a lot of effort into ridding my home of toxic chemicals, especially those used for cleaning. Much to my surprise, vinegar has been a great replacement for many harsh cleaning products that I used to use. Even better, it saves me money. Vinegar is much cheaper than most of the things I have replaced with it. Also, for the environmentally conscious (as we should all be), vinegar is a “green” product. It is non-toxic and friendly to the earth. So what are these great uses for vinegar, you wonder? Read on, and I’ll share some of my favorites with you.

Vinegar removes soap scum. This is probably my favorite application for vinegar, mainly because I’ve struggled to find a good soap scum remover for many years. I’ve tried so many cleaning products in my tub, and I’ve never really been pleased with the results. When someone suggested vinegar to me, I tried it right way. I filled my tub with enough water to cover the ring of soap scum around the bottom edge, and added about a half cup of vinegar. I let it soak for a while, and then returned with a sponge. The soap scum actually came off with ease. I was an immediate fan!

Vinegar is a great substitute for window cleaner. You’ve probably heard of this use, but that’s because it really works. I keep a spray bottle filled with a solution of one part vinegar mixed with three parts water. I use it to clean my windows of dog nose grime and little kid handprints. It does a wonderful job. I also spray the solution on my glass-top coffee table and mirrors. It does a great job of cleaning the surfaces of my kitchen appliances and counters, too. Vinegar cuts right through the grease. I can also keep my spray bottle of vinegar solution in a handy place on my counter, since it poses no danger to my children.

Vinegar removes stains on cookware. Do you ever spend a great deal of time trying to scrub cooked-on stains from the bottoms of your stainless steel pans, crock pots, and baking dishes? Well, scrub no more! Just cover the stains with warm water and add a little vinegar. I almost always use a one to three or one to four part ratio of vinegar to water. Let it soak for a while, sometimes overnight, and the stains should come right off with minimal labor on your part.

Vinegar can be used as a fruit and veggie wash. Remember the spray bottle of vinegar solution that I mentioned earlier? Well, bring it over by the sink and use it the next time you are going to wash your produce. If you spray some on an apple to wash it and then give it a good rinse, it will remove many more germs than rinsing with water alone. (The September/October 2007 issue of Cook’s Illustrated magazine gives more details on the science behind this application on page 30, or visit www.cooksillustrated.com.)

You can wash your floors with vinegar. I love my house to look squeaky clean, but I don’t love that “pine fresh” scent, or any other cleaning product smell for that matter. When I wash my floors with a mixture of vinegar and water, I get cleanliness with no odor at all. If you are a fan of scented cleaning supplies, you can always add some citrus, lavender, or other natural extract to your cleaning solution.

You can clean your toilets with vinegar. I usually dump about half a cup of vinegar in my bowl, let it sit for about ten minutes, and then use my toilet brush to scrub away. I get a clean toilet, and my dog can still drink the water without my having to fear that he is ingesting left over chemicals.

You can clean your children’s bath toys with vinegar. This is one of my favorites. From time to time, bath toys get a bit slimy and can really benefit from a good cleaning. Since soap scum is usually the main culprit here, soaking them in a vinegar solution really does the trick. Afterwards, just give them a rinse, and you need not worry that the kids are going to come into contact with any nasty cleaning product residue.

I could go on and on, but I think you get the picture. Vinegar can replace a great number of the cleaning supplies in your home, saving you money and helping to protect the environment at the same time. Think of vinegar outside of the realm of cooking, and I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised!