By Diana Saufley

It has long been recognized for pickling foods and healing. Scientifically it is acetic acid derived from ethanol fermentation.  Sounds lovely doesn’t it?  But it is quite the miracle worker around the house.  For our purposes, we are talking about plain white distilled vinegar.    

Due to the acid nature of vinegar it easily cleans mineral deposits.  Having such hard water in our area makes shower doors, coffee pots, and refrigerator ice and water dispensers build up with white, scaly mineral deposits.  Average cleaners cannot remove the deposits without scratching surfaces that we prefer to keep smooth and shiny.  A vinegar solution can be used for various cleaning projects around your house and is economical to make as needed. 

See the recipes and uses below:

Mineral deposit cleaner (shower doors, coffee pot and refrigerator ice/water dispenser drip tray): 

-For coffee pot, pour 2 c. vinegar and 2 c. water into the coffee pot water reservoir and run through a cycle. Discard what is in the pot and run fresh water through again.

-For shower doors, refrigerator drip tray or other areas that have a build up, put full strength vinegar in a spray bottle and spray on the mineralized areas.  Let it sit for at least 10-15  minutes, then wipe clean.

Drain cleaner: 1 c. of baking soda followed with 1 c. of vinegar.  It will fizz and bubble while it cleans the drain.

Window cleaner: ½ c. non-sudsy ammonia with 1 c. vinegar and a few drops of liquid dish soap.  Spray on the window and wipe with clean coffee filters or newspaper.

Other things to clean with full strength vinegar from a spray bottle:

-De-grease kitchen cabinets. Don’t leave this on for long, wipe as you spray as if dusting.

-Shine kitchen countertops and stove hood.

-Remove stains. Spray under toilet rim and along water level stain and let it sit overnight.

-Sanitize knobs, light switches, phone, keyboard, mouse, toilet knob or other surfaces touched frequently. Do NOT spray directly, but on cloth and then wipe down with non-saturated cloth.

-Deodorize the garbage disposal by making vinegar ice cubes in trays and then grinding them in the disposal.

Scouring cleanser:  for hard to remove stains or scum mix ¼ c. baking soda with 1 tsp.  liquid detergent and just enough vinegar to make a paste.

When the house is sparkling and smelling clean from all your hard work, treat yourself to a facial.  A vinegar scrub is a great exfoliant for your face.  To make the scrub mix vinegar with a little salt and essential oil or olive oil and press or gently rub on your face.  Rinse and gently wipe with a warm, moist cloth.  What other product can you use to clean yourself, your house and also consume while going green with fewer bottles and less harsh chemicals to dispose while saving the green in your wallet too?

Wake up and smell the vinegar.  But please don’t attempt a facial while cleaning the house and spritzing a salad.