Household uses for vinegar
Kitchen
Soapy film on glassware - Place a cup of white vinegar on the bottom rack of your dishwasher, run for five minutes, then run though the full cycle. A cup of white vinegar run through the entire cycle once a month will also reduce soap scum on the inner workings.
Food-stained pots and pans - Fill the pots and pans with white vinegar and let stand for thirty minutes. Then rinse in hot, soapy water.
Cooking odors in the kitchen - Boil one tablespoon of white vinegar with one cup of water to eliminate unpleasant odors.
China cups - Mix an equal mixture of salt and white vinegar to clean coffee and tea stains from china cups.
Pots and pans - Loosen tough hard-to-clean stains in glass, aluminum or porcelain pots or pans, by boiling one quarter cup of white vinegar with two cups of water in the pans. Wash in hot, soapy water.
Stainless steel - Remove spots on stainless steel kitchen equipment by rubbing with a cloth dampened with white vinegar.
Soaking pots and pans - Normal food-stained pots and pans can be soaked in full strength white vinegar for thirty minutes. Rinse in hot, soapy water.
Fruit stains - To remove fruit stains from your hands, rub with a little white vinegar and then wipe with a cloth.
Oven - When cleaning ovens, dampen your cleaning rag in white vinegar and water and use it to wipe out the oven.
Tea kettles - To remove lime deposits, gently boil a half cup of white vinegar to a pot of water. Then rinse well.
Cooking odors - Boil a teaspoon of white vinegar mixed in a cup of water to eliminate cooking odors.
Cooking
Hard-boiled eggs - Add two tablespoons of white vinegar per quart of water before boiling to prevent the eggs from cracking. The egg shells will also peel off faster and easier.
Meat - Marinating meat in vinegar will kill bacteria and tenderize the meat. Use one-quarter cup vinegar for a two to three pound roast, marinate overnight, then cook without draining or rinsing the meat. Add herbs to the vinegar when marinating as desired.
Cauliflower - Add a spoonful of vinegar to cooking water to make cauliflower white and clean.
Cheese - When storing cheese keep it fresh for longer by wrapping it in a vinegar-soaked cloth in a sealed container.
Onions - Rub a little white vinegar on your fingers before and after slicing onions to remove the odor of onions quickly.
House Plants and Flowers
Azaleas - Occasionally water the plants with a mixture of two tablespoons white vinegar to one quart water. Azaleas and all ericaceous plants will thrive in acidic soil.
Flowers - Prolong your display of cut flowers in a vase by adding two tablespoons of white vinegar, plus three tablespoons of sugar, per quart of warm water. The stems should soak in three to four inches of water.
Paths and walls
Grass - Kill unwanted grass by pouring white vinegar in crevices and between bricks.
Laundry
Washing machine - Clean the hoses and unclog soap scum by pouring one cup of white vinegar into the washing machine and run the machine through a normal cycle, without clothes. Repaet once a month.
Prevent bright colored clothes from fading - Before putting the article in the washing machine, soak it in white vinegar for ten minutes.
Scorch marks on fabrics - Remove light scorch marks by rubbing lightly with white vinegar, then wipe with a clean cloth.
Perspiration stains on clothes - Apply one part white vinegar to four parts water, then rinse.
Lint - Prevent lint from clinging to clothes add one cup vinegar to each wash load.
Sharper creases - For a sharper crease in knit slacks, dampen them with a cloth wrung out from a solution of one-third white vinegar and two-thirds water. Place a brown paper bag over the crease and press.
Colour dyeing - To set the colours, add a cup full of white vinegar to the last rinse water to help set the colour.
Deodorant stains - To remove stains left by deodorants and anti-perspirants on washables, lightly rub with white vinegar and then launder as usual.
Blankets - To help blankets retain the fluffy texture, add two cups of white vinegar to the wash tub of water when rinsing, for both cotton and wool blankets. This leaves them free of soap odor and their nap should remain as soft and fluffy as new.
Clothing
Alterations - After removing a hem or seam, help close the thread holes by dampening a cloth with white vinegar, and placing it under the material before pressing.
Cleaning
Bathroom fixtures - Add one part vinegar to one part water in a spray bottle. Spray the fixtures and floor, then wipe clean. Also use to clean soap scum, mildew, and grime from bathtub, tile, and shower curtains. Wipe the surface with vinegar and rinse with water.
Toilet bowl - Pour in one cup of white vinegar into the bowl, let it stand for five minutes, then flush.
Automatic drip coffee maker - Once a month fill the reservoir with white vinegar and run through the brew cycle to remove lime deposits. Rinse thoroughly with two cycles of cold water.
Dentures - Soak overnight in white vinegar, then brush away tartar with a toothbrush.
Rust - Soak the rusted item in undiluted white vinegar overnight.
Decals and bumper stickers - Break up the surface and then soak a cloth in vinegar and cover the decal or bumper sticker for several minutes until the vinegar soaks in. They should peel off easily.
Mineral deposits in steam iron - Fill the water tank with white vinegar. Turn the iron to the steam setting and steam-iron a soft rag to clean the steam ports.
Repeat the process with water, then thoroughly rinse out the inside of your iron.
Windows - Use undiluted vinegar in a spray bottle to prevent smears. Dry with a soft cloth.
Wax stains - Remove wax from a painted wall or similar surface by first melting the wax with a hairdryer and wipe away the excess. Then remove the greasy mark left by wiping with a weak solution of vinegar.
Plumbing
Drains - Keep clear by pouring one-half box of baking soda down the drain followed by one cup of white vinegar. When the bubbling stops, run the hot water.
Shower head - Unscrew the shower head, remove the rubber washer, place the head in a pot filled with equal parts vinegar and water, bring to a boil, then simmer for five minutes to unclog.
Insects
Ants - Use a spray bottle filled with a solution of equal parts vinegar and water, Spray round door jambs, window sills, water pipes, and foundation cracks.
Deodorize
Air - Vinegar is a natural air freshener when sprayed lightly into a room.
Garbage disposal - Mix one cup of vinegar with enough water to fill an ice cube tray, freeze the mixture, grind the cubes through the disposal unit, and flush with cold water to keep the unit clean and smelling fresh.
Cigarette smoke or paint fumes - Place a small bowl of white vinegar in the room.
Glass jars - Rinse jars with white vinegar to eliminate odors.
Wool sweater - Wash sweater, then rinse in equal parts vinegar and water to remove odors.
Stale plastic box - Soak a paper napkin in vinegar and leave it inside the closed box overnight.
Hair
Dry hair - Shampoo, then rinse hair with a mixture of one cup of apple cider vinegar and two cups water. Vinegar will add highlights to brunette hair, restores the acid mantel, and remove soap film and sebum oil.
Car
Windshield ice - Prevent overnight ice from forming by coating the glass with a solution of three parts white, or apple cider vinegar, to one part water.
Pets
Urine stains on carpets - Blot up urine, flush several times with lukewarm water, then apply a mixture of equal parts white vinegar and cool water. Blot up residue, rinse, and let dry.
Decorating
Wallpaper - To remove wallpaper mix equal parts vinegar and hot water. Use a paint roller to wet the paper thoroughly with the mixture. Repeat and paper should peal off in sheets.
Patching plaster - Retard the plaster from drying by adding one tablespoon of white vinegar to the water when mixing plaster, to slow the drying time.
Odors - Absorb the odor of fresh paint by putting a small dish of white vinegar in the room.
Lighting
Propane lanterns - Prolong and brighten propane lanterns by soaking new wicks for several hours in white vinegar and let them dry before inserting. Propane lanterns will also burn longer and brighter on the same amount of fuel.
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