Twenty Household Uses for Vinegar

Forget the high priced cleaners with harsh chemicals. Instead, keep a gallon of plain white vinegar in your pantry and prepare yourself to be amazed. A gallon of vinegar costs under a dollar and serves many purposes around the house from laundry duty, deodorizing, cooking, home remedies, general cleaning, gardening and even pest control. There are literally hundreds of uses, here are twenty good ones to get you hooked on vinegar.

One of the best uses for vinegar is cleaning the microwave oven. We’ve all seen the nasty splatters that accumulate on every surface inside the microwave. Simply put about a half cup of vinegar inside the oven and microwave it for about 30 seconds. Take a paper towel and wipe the surfaces clean. Fresh and clean in under a minute!

Mop the floor with a bucket filled with warm water, about a cup of vinegar and a tablespoon of salt. The floors come out sparkling clean with no streaks and best of all, no rinsing required.

Vinegar can be used to dissolve gum. Simply saturate the gummed area with hot vinegar and let it work its magic.

Your maid doesn’t do windows? Vinegar to the rescue! Mix a quarter cup vinegar with a quart of water. Spray or sponge on windows and wipe down with crumpled newspapers.

Vinegar is a miracle worker in the laundry room. For tough stains such as grass stains, coffee stains, tea stains or berry stains, soak the item in full strength vinegar before washing. For sweat stains, especially in the armpit area, apply a 4 to 1 solution of water and vinegar (four parts water, one part vinegar) before washing.

Afraid that new, bright red shirt will bleed in the laundry? Soak it in vinegar for ten minutes before washing to prevent bleeding. Adding vinegar to the wash cycle also helps prevent fading.

Adding ½ cup of vinegar to the rinse cycle will remove lint from clothes and brighten their colors.

Vinegar also acts as a fabric softener and static cling reducer. Add a cup full of vinegar to the load as you would any liquid fabric softener.

Occasionally brew a pot of vinegar in the coffee maker to clean and flush it out.

Ever have a dog prone to ear infections? Check with your vet about using a vinegar solution to clean the ears or treat an active infection.

Rub full strength vinegar into a pet’s fur to remove skunk odor.

Vinegar added to the water bowl will help your pet deter fleas and ticks.

Take the sting or itch away with a dab of vinegar on bee or jellyfish stings, mosquito and other insect bites. Better yet, deter bugs such as ants by spraying vinegar around windows, doors, cracks and ant trails.

Vinegar is an effective weed killer. Pour or spray full strength on unwanted grass or weeds in the garden.

Vinegar can increase acidity in soil. Acid loving plants like gardenias and azaleas can be watered with a solution of a cup of vinegar mixed in a gallon of water. The vinegar will also release iron in the soil for the plants.

Vinegar removes lime, so use it to clean old pots before replanting. After working with garden lime, rinse your hands with vinegar to remove the lime and avoid rough, flaky skin.

Add two tablespoons vinegar, one teaspoon sugar to a quart of water to prolong the life of cut flowers in a vase.

Clean the bathroom with full strength vinegar. The vinegar removes soap scum, mildew and other grime. Simply wipe on and rinse off.

Unclog shower heads, aerators and other plumbing with vinegar by placing in a boiling solution of equal parts water to vinegar. Bring to a boil and then simmer for five minutes.

Need wine vinegar for a recipe? Simply add one teaspoon of red wine to two tablespoons of vinegar.