The many sides of vinegar

Posted on Thu May 8 2008

By: Jessica Taylor-Cassan in Daily Green Tips

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Vinegar is one of the most versatile household products on the market and can be used as an inexpensive alternative to many cleaning substances and other substances. While it is important to read vinegar labels, because some brands of vinegar are derived from petroleum and fossil fuel products, having some natural vinegar around the house can be useful in many situations.

These are just some of the things that you can use vinegar for:

- Vinegar can be used to clean off old paintbrushes instead of turpentine and is much safer and easier to dispose of when finished.

- When mixed with water and used for cleaning vinegar is often more effective than store bought cleaning agents that can often contain many harsh chemicals.

- Vinegar can be useful on all kinds of minor injuries. Use to alleviate pain on minor burns and stings. Also use a cotton ball soaked in vinegar and placed on a bruise to quicken healing process.

- Avoid pet stains and odors by dabbing area with vinegar.

- Spray vinegar on garment stains prior to washing to save on expensive and harmful pre-sprays.

- Use about half the amount you would fabric softener as a replacement for fabric softener.

- Use vinegar to combat mold and get rid of soap scum and stains around the house.

- Mix with water in a spray bottle as an effective and streak free glass cleaner.

- Use to polish stainless steel and chrome finishes.

- Boil white vinegar and pour it down the drain o remove clogs and obstructions without chemicals.

- Vinegar can also be used as a deep facial cleanser and helps prevent dandruff on the scalp.

- Vinegar is a great oven cleaner without all the toxic and dangerous side effects of regular oven cleaners. Let tough baked-on stains soak for a while in vinegar and then scrub off. Also works well with dishes.

- Use around cracks of windows and doors as a very effective ant repellent. Just be careful about what kind of surfaces you are leaving it on as prolonged exposure may eat away at finishes.

- Place frozen vinegar cubes in the bottom of your dish washer before the wash cycle as a replacement of toxic detergents and soaps.

- Place a small bowl of vinegar in a smelly or musty room to deodorize. The smell of the vinegar will dissipate pretty quickly taking the other bad odors with it.

There are countless other ideas for the use of white vinegar and a lot of them are more environmentally friendly and safer for your health than buying an expensive chemical loaded product to do the same job less effectively. Lemons are another great multi-purpose thing to have around the house as a substitute for many commercial products. Products don't have to be toxic and over-packaged to work, regardless of what the marketing companies would like us to believe, they just have to work.

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