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How do you clean with vinegar


18 Places You Should Be Cleaning with Vinegar in Your Kitchen

The best all-purpose cleaner is probably in your cupboard right now. News flash: You should be cleaning everything in your kitchen with white vinegar. When diluted with water, it is a "miracle cleaner" that our test kitchen uses for almost everything. Vinegar is made of acetic acid, which is a natural disinfectant for killing some common germs like salmonella and E. coli, but is best when used in tandem with antibacterial soap and water to guarantee all germs are killed.

A huge gallon jug of distilled white vinegar from our favorite brand, Heinz, will run you $13 on Amazon, and the vinegar smell will evaporate more quickly than you think. But if you're worried about it, you can always add some citrus peels or essential oils. Most applications call for a 1:1 ratio of water to vinegar so the strength of the acid isn't too intense or damaging, and it can be stored in a jar or a spray bottle for easy access. Here's how we use white vinegar to clean 18 things in our kitchens.

1. Kitchen Sink

Use a 1:1 ratio of diluted vinegar and water and store it in a spray bottle. Then you can spritz and disinfect your kitchen sink, counters, or any other spots that you'd normally use bleach but want to be food-safe. To counteract the vinegar smell, you can use soapy water to rinse the sink afterward.

2. Floors

Don't use expensive cleaners—mix 1:1 vinegar to water and mop the floor with it! This will protect your floor from too strong a concentration of acidic vinegar, and will help lift off any grease or dirt.

3. Greasy Stovetop

Vinegar's acidity helps cut through grease easily. Spray some vinegar and water mix onto a splattered stovetop, let it sit for 10 minutes, and then scrub down with soapy water. It should wipe right off. If not, leave it to sit a bit longer.

4. Sheet Pans

Clean your dirty sheet pans by mixing ½ cup baking soda and ½ cup white vinegar with hot water in the sink. It will bubble up like a school science project, but that reaction is what helps loosen the residue. Make sure your sink is plugged so they stay submerged, and let it soak for 30 minutes to an hour before scrubbing away with a scouring pad, the scrubby side of your sponge, or steel wool.

5. Stainless Steel Pots and Pans

If you have a particularly gnarly-looking stainless steel pan that won't get clean, boil together water and vinegar for a few minutes. It will dissolve grease and get rid of any weird stains or water spots. If it's really dirty, you can go longer. The more vinegar you use here, the more quickly the cleaning happens. Then dump the vinegar mixture and wash as normal with soap and water!

6. Enamel Pots and Pans

The same works for enamel or enamed cast iron (like your Dutch oven): boil water and vinegar together to help dissolve stains, and scrub off any remaining spots with soap and water.

7. Microwave

We tried using a vinegar and water mixture in Angry Mama, a funny-looking microwave cleaner, but you could get the same results by combining equal parts water and vinegar in a large microwave-safe bowl. Microwave it for about five minutes to loosen any gunk with the steam, then wipe clean. Make sure to put a chopstick or toothpick inside the bowl—if not, the water can superheat and make the bowl explode! (Something proven by the Mythbusters.)

8. Coffee Makers and Tea Kettles

Whether you use an electric tea kettle, standard coffee maker, or Keurig, they can all be cleaned in the same way to get rid of mineral build-up. (This process is also known as descaling.) Pour a 1:1 ratio of water to vinegar into the water reservoir or directly into the kettle. Run it through the coffee maker or simply boil the water in the kettle, then rinse thoroughly with water. For automatic coffee makers (including those that use pods), you may have to run plain water through a few times to get the smell and taste of vinegar out. You can also use vinegar and water to clean stained tea or coffee cups.

9. Blender or Food Processor

Stuck on food, stains, or weird smells? Again, 1:1 water to vinegar and blitz it in the blender or food processor, then wash as normal.

10. Instant Pot (or Pressure Cooker) Sealing Ring

If your Instant Pot sealing ring smells or is stained, soak it in with a mixture of vinegar and water in your sink, a sheet pan, or any other vessel in your kitchen. Let it soak for as long as you want (an hour is great if you can spare the time), wash it with dish soap, and leave it out to dry and air out. You can also fill the whole pot with white vinegar, water, and lemon rind, then run the steam cycle for a few minutes.

11. Cloudy Wine Glasses

If minerals in hard water are causing your wine or drinking glasses to get cloudy, soak them in the sink with some non-diluted vinegar for a few minutes and wash as normal. The vinegar should dissolve the minerals.

12. Plastic Cutting Board

After cutting raw meat, it's good to not only wash your cutting board, but also disinfect it with a mixture of water and vinegar. Wipe it down thoroughly with a mixture of vinegar and water—this is a great time to store the 1:1 mixture in a spray bottle for easy cleaning. It's always best to use plastic cutting boards with meat, but if you use wood, make sure to follow these wooden cutting board cleaning rules.

15 things you can clean with vinegar |

It’s surprising the things you can clean with vinegar around the home. It’s white vinegar that can help keep everything hygienically clean – the key is to dilute it with water and any other natural extracts or essential oils to add a lovely scent.

'Vinegar is made from acetic acid,' says Lucy Searle, Global Editor in Chief for Homes & Gardens. 'So this makes it a natural disinfectant for so many germs including salmonella and E Coli. It can be great for some kitchen surfaces and appliances, as well as in the bathroom. It’s a brilliant product to have in the store cupboard and avoids using store-bought abrasive cleaners. A word of warning, though – undiluted vinegar can damage natural stone and wood, so always check – or dilute really well – before using vinegar for cleaning.'

Here are our top cleaning tips for using vinegar to get a sparkle back in your home.

Cleaning with vinegar

If you use store-bought household cleaners, you are probably already cleaning with vinegar, since it's made with acetic acid, an ingredient in some cleaning products. Vinegar is very effective at cleaning precisely because of the acid, which will break down grease, grime and dirt easily. Be warned though, it can damage some surfaces so always check – or test patch – before you use vinegar, especially neat vinegar, for cleaning. 

1. Clean windows with vinegar

(Image credit: Future / James Balston)

Our windows can look really dirty really quickly but all they need is a homemade vinegar and water solution to get them sparkling in no time. 

Mix equal parts of white vinegar and hot water and add a splash of liquid soap to help remove any streaks. Martha Stewart says that the best time of day to clean is when the sun isn’t shining directly on the windows:

'Using a sponge, wet (but don’t drench) the window with the DIY window cleaner solution and rub the dirt away, being sure to keep the solution from touching the window frames,' she advises. 'Next, wet the squeegee and starting at an upper corner, draw it down in a straight stroke. Return to the top and repeat, slightly overlapping the first stroke. After each stroke, wipe the rubber edge of the squeegee with a sponge or lint-free cloth. Finish by pulling the squeegee across the bottom of the window, and dry the sill with a sponge or cloth.'

Cleaning a front door fitted with glass panels? You can tackle these in the same way as windows.

2. Clean a microwave with vinegar

(Image credit: Mowlem & Co)

Looking for kitchen cleaning tips? Many of us forget to give the microwave a good clean every now and then and it can quickly become a bit stinky if we don’t. Again, combine equal parts water and vinegar – this time in a large microwaveable bowl. Pop the bowl into the microwave and set it for about five minutes. The steam created will loosen any food debris, which you can simply wipe away.

3. Clean floors with vinegar

(Image credit: Future/Emma Lee)

Floor cleaning products can be pricey and strong smelling, so you might want to clean tile floors using vinegar – although do test this first if you are cleaning encaustic tiles or cleaning stone floors.  

Take your equal parts vinegar and water solution and mop. It not only lifts off grease and dirt but the diluted solution stops the floor from being damaged by the acid of the vinegar. For her go-to kitchen cleaner, TV presenter Denise Wild fills a spray bottle with about 50 per cent vinegar, 30 per cent water and 20 per cent lemon juice. 'Then I add eucalyptus oil (for the smell) and tea tree oil (because it’s antibacterial),' she says.

4. Clean a stove with vinegar

(Image credit: Maestri Studio Photograph: Jenifer McNeil Baker)

These can become so greasy and sticky, especially when you’re cooking for the family once or twice a day. Vinegar is great for this, as its acidity cuts through grease in an instant. Simply spray your vinegar and water mix onto the cooktop, leave it for about 10 minutes then scrub with soapy water using a non-abrasive scouring pad.

5. Clean a kitchen sink with vinegar

(Image credit: DeVOL)

Your 1:1 diluted vinegar and water solution is ideal for the kitchen sink, too. Simply spritz it onto all areas of the sink and rinse with soapy water afterwards.

6. Clean kettles and coffee makers with vinegar

(Image credit: Lundhs)

To get rid of that horrible limescale inside your tea kettle or coffee maker, pour the water and vinegar solution directly into the appliance or water reservoir. Boil the kettle or run it through the coffee maker, followed by a few water-only run-throughs to rinse the taste and odor away. If you’re cleaning a humidifier, a vinegar solution can get rid of buildup in the tank in the same way.

A word of warning: check the manufacturer's instructions before cleaning a coffee maker with vinegar – they may advise against it, in which case, take heed.

7. Clean pots and pans with vinegar

(Image credit: Future)

Vinegar is an option when you want to get rid of burnt-on marks on pots and pans. Again, use a vinegar and water solution, adding enough to the pan to cover the stain completely.  

Bring the solution in the pan to the boil and continue boiling for about 5 minutes. Allow the liquid to cool in the pan, before tipping it out and using a sponge suitable for the material the pan is made from to remove any remaining marks.

Note that vinegar could also be used for cleaning cast iron that‘s become rusty. If that’s the case, soaking it in a vinegar and water solution can help to remove the rust.

8. Clean food processors and blenders with vinegar

(Image credit: Vitamix)

Want to clean a blender? Blitz your diluted vinegar and water solution in the food processor or blender then wash as normal.

A word of warning: check the manufacturer's instructions before cleaning a food processor or blender with vinegar – they may advise against it, in which case, take heed.

9. Clean plastic chopping boards with vinegar

(Image credit: Alamy)

This is one area where you really need to be ultra-hygienic to prevent cross-contamination of raw meats. Once you’re finished prepping the evening meal, disinfect it in your water and vinegar solution then wash in soapy hot water.

10. Clean wine glasses with vinegar

(Image credit: Getty Images)

It’s so annoying when the glassware gets all cloudy. This is often caused by hard water, so to combat this, soak them in the sink with some non-diluted white vinegar for a few minutes then wash as normal.

11. Clean a dishwasher with vinegar

(Image credit: Future / David Parmiter)

A great cleaning hack is to pour a cup of vinegar onto the base of the dishwasher inside the main cavity then run an empty cycle without any dishes or detergent in, to free-up any mineral deposits. 

A caveat, though: a dishwasher can be one of the things not to clean with vinegar as it can damage some rubbers used for parts of the dishwasher. Check your manual.

12. Clean a refrigerator and freezer with vinegar

(Image credit: Smeg)

Have a good sort out by using up any food that’s near its use-by date and give the refrigerator and freezer a thorough clean with your diluted water and vinegar solution.

13. Clean a showerhead with vinegar

(Image credit: Future)

Vinegar can also be used as a cleaning product in the bathroom too. Clean a showerhead by pouring some white vinegar into a plastic bag and secure it around the showerhead with an elastic band. Leave overnight and wake up to a sparkling shower!

14. Clean a bathtub with vinegar

(Image credit: JL Design)

To clean a bathtub with vinegar, simply mix it with warm water and begin scrubbing the surface of your problem area. If the stain persists, mix vinegar and baking soda and let sit for a few minutes before vigorously scrubbing.

15. Clean a toilet with vinegar

(Image credit: James Balston)

No-one likes cleaning the loo but for great results, pour a cup of undiluted vinegar into the bowl and leave overnight. The next day, sprinkle with baking soda and scrub. Finally, flush the toilet and you’re all done.

What should you never clean with vinegar?

You should never clean natural stone, especially granite and marble, with vinegar. This means being extremely cautious with kitchen countertops and stone floors. Be careful, too, with wood, whether countertops or when cleaning hardwood floors – undiluted vinegar can damage all these.

Shop for your white vinegar for cleaning here...

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How to properly clean your washing machine with vinegar

Cleanliness of your washing machine should come first when it comes to maintenance. The main problem of CMA is hard water, which provokes the appearance of scale, leading to breakdown of mechanisms. You can fix the problem by using special products or citric acid.

But there is another great method that will prevent damage to the heating element and eliminate scale. In this article, you will learn how to clean the washing machine with vinegar without spending a lot of money, time and effort.

Why scale builds up

There are only three factors that affect the formation of scale and plaque on the internal parts of the washer:

It is very common for scale to form in areas with limited access. After considering the question of how to descale a washing machine with vinegar, you will realize that the cleaning process is accessible and understandable.

Why washing your washer is important

Many CMA owners don't realize the harm that buildup on parts can cause. Let's consider several factors that are dangerous not only for the machine, but also for the health of its owners:

  1. With prolonged accumulation of plaque inside the machine, fungal infections and mold form. This can lead to unpleasant consequences.
  2. Scale puts a load on the heating element, which can subsequently lead to breakage of the heating element. Its replacement is an expensive process.
  3. Hard plaque on the heating element leads to a large consumption of electricity. In this case, the heating of water slows down significantly.

In order for the appliance to work properly, it is recommended to resort to such an effective method as cleaning the washing machine with vinegar.

Advantages and disadvantages of using

Before we start cleaning, let's see if it is possible to add vinegar to the washing machine, whether this method is safe for appliances.

Five factors stand out from the advantages of this cleaning method:

  1. Security . Subject to the proportions and recommendations, this method will not affect the functionality and performance of the CM in any way.
  2. High efficiency . Vinegar is an aggressive substance with a lot of acid. Cleaning the machine with vinegar will cause scale to break down into small particles that will be washed out when the washer is running.
  3. Odor removal . Processing the machine with vinegar completely neutralizes "swampy", "rotten" and other odors formed in the filtration system and water drain.
  4. Sanitation . The liquid perfectly disinfects, therefore it is used to corrode scale, remove mold. Eliminates fungal microorganisms and bacteria.
  5. Economy . Vinegar is much cheaper than various cleaners designed to clean the car, and is always on hand.

There are only two drawbacks:

If you use vinegar on your washing machine, the negative effects are minimal!

Instructions for cleaning the washer

So, we have come to the important procedure for cleaning the washer. To be safe, follow the instructions and follow the steps in the correct order:

  1. Open the drum to ventilate. Washing with vinegar in the washing machine is prohibited, so if there are things in it, they must be removed so as not to spoil them.
  2. How much vinegar to add to the washing machine? It is enough to pour 200-250 ml of 9% liquid into the powder tray.

Important! Before cleaning the machine, be sure to wear rubber gloves to prevent liquid from getting on your skin - this will lead to dry hands!

  1. Turn on the machine and select the longest mode by setting the temperature to 60-90 degrees. Run.
  2. When heating the water in the drum, stop the washing process for 1-1.5 hours by pressing "pause".
  3. After the required time, turn on the machine to end the washing cycle.
  4. Clean the drain filter from limescale residues.
  5. Dilute vinegar and water 0.5:1. Dampen a cloth in the solution and wipe the drum and rubber seal.
  6. Start the shortest program to rinse out the residue.
  7. Wipe all internal parts of the CM with a dry cloth.

Important! If you have 70% vinegar, for 200 ml 9-% liquid, take 5 teaspoons of vinegar and add 12 tablespoons of water (24 ml and 176 ml) to it.

We suggest using another method such as cleaning the washing machine with vinegar and soda. It is often used for preventive purposes. This technique guarantees an easy and effective removal of scale and the removal of rotten smell from the washing drum.

Add a glass of vinegar and a pinch of baking soda. Follow the same guidelines as for cleaning with vinegar.

Knowing how to rinse the washing machine and remove scale from the heating element, you can forget about the failure of the heating element.

Keep an eye on your washing machine and don't forget to take care of it.

We figured out how to wash your car with vinegar. Follow the rules and take care of the washer so that it will serve you for many years.

Cleaning the washing machine with vinegar

Household appliances such as a microwave oven, stove, refrigerator, washing machine need to be cleaned and taken care of in a timely manner.

There are a lot of special products that line the shelves of household chemical stores. However, experienced housewives do not recommend rushing, buying something, but first trying vinegar - a handy tool that is available in almost every home.

How to use it correctly to clean the washing machine, let's figure it out.

Cleaning the machine: step-by-step instructions

Attention! Some visitors to our site report that acetic acid can harm the washing machine! Responsibility for any use of it lies entirely with you. You can find feedback on the use of this tool in the comments at the bottom of the page.

In order to be safe, we recommend using alternative cleaning methods.

To clean the inside of the washing machine with vinegar, proceed as follows:

  1. First, you need to check the drum for things in it and remove everything, if any. From vinegar, some things can become unusable.
  2. Take 9% table vinegar and pour 200-250 ml into the compartment of the powder tray where the powder is poured.

    Before cleaning the machine, wear rubber gloves, this will prevent accidental contact of vinegar on the skin, which dries it very much.

  3. Turn on the machine, select the longest washing cycle at high temperature (from 60 to 90 0 C) and start.
  4. After a while, when the water in the drum is heated, press the pause button on the washing machine and leave it for an hour and a half.
  5. Turn on the machine to complete the cycle.
  6. Now be sure to clean the drain filter from scale residues.
  7. Wet a cloth (50 ml of vinegar per liter of water) in a weak solution of vinegar and wipe the drum and rubber cuff.
  8. We run a short wash cycle without detergents and cleaners to ensure that all residues of limescale and vinegar are washed out.
  9. Wipe the inside of the machine, including the powder tray, with a dry cloth.

To get 200 ml from 70% vinegar 9%, you need to take 24 ml of vinegar (5 tsp) and add 176 ml (12 tablespoons) of water to it.

You can also use vinegar to clean the powder container from limescale and stone deposits. To do this, pour hot water (90 0 C) into the container and add 250 ml of 9% vinegar. A tray is placed in this solution and left overnight. Choose a container that fits well and the water completely covers the tray compartments. After soaking, the container can be cleaned with a sponge, then rinsed and dried with a dry cloth.

You can use a paste of baking soda and vinegar to clean the container. It is necessary to apply the gruel for a long time, and then, using an old toothbrush, remove the plaque and rinse the tray. After wiping it dry, install it in place.

Cleaning with vinegar: pros and cons

Cleaning the washing machine with vinegar has its pros and cons. Vinegar is a powerful remedy. Its advantages are that:

The main disadvantage of using vinegar is its strong smell. Therefore, for better rinsing out of the machine, you can install an additional rinse. And the room in which the washing machine is installed must be well ventilated. In addition, when using vinegar, you must follow the dosage. After all, vinegar of high concentration can adversely affect the sealing gum. From him gum roughen, and then torn.

Alternative methods of cleaning

Cleaning the automatic washing machine from scale and limescale can be done not only with vinegar. A good alternative is citric acid. Housewives even prefer lemon rather than vinegar. Cleaning your car with lemon is just as easy as cleaning it with vinegar. Only lemon can be poured not only into the powder receiver, but also into the drum itself, the whole process is described in detail in the article on how to clean the washing machine with citric acid.

Another effective and inexpensive product that helps clean the tray, drum and cuff of the washing machine is baking soda. It helps to kill mold and mildew. In addition, cleaning with soda eliminates unpleasant odors.

From specialized products, to clean the washing machine, you can use: