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Things to 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 |

(Image credit: Getty Images)

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.

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Hayley is an interiors journalist, content provider and copywriter with 26 years experience who has contributed to a wide range of consumer magazines, trade titles, newspapers, blogs and online content. Specialising in kitchens and bathrooms, she has twice won the CEDIA Award for Best Technology feature. Hayley writes for H&G about kitchens, bathrooms, cleaning, DIY and organizing.

8 Things You Can Clean With Vinegar (Spoiler: You Can Refresh Tile Grouts)

8 Benefits Of Vinegar You Probably Didn't Know.

Resourceful housewives know how to impress household members with practical solutions. Craftswomen do needlework, chefs prepare gourmet dishes from simple ingredients, and cleaners maintain an exemplary cleanliness of the house without buying expensive detergents. Some tricks in the economy can really save.

Who would have thought that a liquid with a disgusting smell is on a par with the best household chemicals! Vinegar is one of the oldest remedies that is popular all over the world. In ancient times, magical properties were attributed to this wonderful liquid.

Vinegar is the result of leaky corked wine that turned sour during storage. So how does wine that survives death gain eternal life?

Experienced housewives know for sure that if you mix ordinary white vinegar in equal proportions with water, you get a monster to fight dirt, soot and grease. This cleansing tool will defeat stains, dust, plaque in secluded corners of the house. Vinegar also serves as an interior decoration in decorative bottles.

Let's take a journey through the house with vinegar in hand and see what magic this kitchen resident can do:

1. Let's start in the bathroom

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: pour into a spray bottle, spray on dirty areas of the apartment, including in the toilet, then wipe.

Famous American businesswoman, writer and television host of popular home economics programs offers simple instructions for cleaning the toilet bowl with vinegar:

The dressing room looks immaculate.

2. Descaling the coffee maker (descaling)

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Rinse the removable parts of the coffee maker with soapy water. Hard minerals build up over time in the deep dark insides of the invigorating coffee sorceress. What about those hidden parts that are difficult to reach with your hands? It is recommended to thoroughly clean the coffee maker with vinegar every month.

Good Housekeeping shares recipe:

“Fill the water tank with vinegar and water in equal proportions and replace. Place the paper filter in the empty basket of the machine. "Brew" the solution in half. Turn off the machine, let it sit for 30 minutes. Then turn the coffee maker back on, complete the brew, and empty the solution reservoir. Rinse all parts by inserting a new paper filter and fill the tank completely with clean water. Repeat once."

The American magazine House Beautiful writes that this method of cleaning dirt is also suitable for a washing machine. Pour two or four cups of white vinegar into the machine and run a wash cycle with hot water.

Vinegar will help in the process of cleaning and deodorizing the dishwasher. To do this, place a cup of white distilled vinegar upright on the top shelf, then run a heat cycle leaving the dishwasher empty. Finally, sprinkle the bottom with baking soda and repeat the hot, empty cycle.

Appliances in your home will last a long time with proper care.

3. Interior cleanliness of kitchen cabinets

zhu difeng / Shutterstock

Housewives usually clean the fronts of kitchen furniture. How to organize cleaning inside?

A simple tip: take a bottle of white vinegar and dilute it equally with water in a spray bottle. Remove dishes from the cabinet, remove crumbs, dust, grease and debris, then spray the solution. Wipe cabinets with a soft cloth and enjoy a renewed sense of cleanliness and self-respect.

4. Microwave Care

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Not all housewives are careful about cleaning their microwave every day. A large amount of spatter and residue from heated food remains on the inside walls of the microwave oven, and odors tend to linger inside. Reheating soup in a device that still smells like coffee is not for everyone.

The solution to the problem is to steam vinegar in the microwave.

Better Homes & Gardens, an American magazine for household and healthy living, writes about this method:

“Take a bowl suitable for microwave use, fill it halfway with water, then add a few tablespoons of white or apple cider vinegar. You can also add a couple of lemon or lime slices for a pleasant scent. Heat the vinegar and water for four minutes until boiling on high power. The water heating time depends on the power of the microwave oven. Look at the stickers inside the microwave oven door - often it will indicate the power of the microwave oven.

Below is a handy list of microwave cleaning times:

  • 1200 W = 1.5 minutes;
  • 1000 W = 2 minutes;
  • 800 W = 2. 5 minutes;
  • 700 W = 3 minutes;
  • 600 W = 4 minutes.

Although the risk of hot water bubbles is minimal, good housewives recommend dipping a wooden skewer or wooden spoon into the water to create bubbles all around, allowing trapped air to escape. Leave the bowl of hot solution for 5-10 minutes after turning off the microwave. Then remove the bowl, turntable and other removable parts of the microwave. Wipe the inside with a damp cloth and wash the removable parts separately.

A microwave oven will thank you with many years of service and make life easier.

5. Window blinds: cleaning dust

Lolostock / Shutterstock

Among diligent housewives, it is difficult to find such a housewife who loves to clean the blinds. Window blinds are great for a comfortable indoor privacy. However, they attract and collect a large amount of dust and dirt. Fortunately, vinegar will save this attribute of the house.

Recommended by window covering company SelectBlinds.com, there are a few steps to take:

The main thing is not to overdo it with humidity, especially if it is wooden blinds. The moisture should dry fairly quickly without causing any damage. You can also add some water to the vinegar.

This way of washing saves strength and patience and maintains coziness with perfect blinds.

6. Cleaning tile grout

Rhonda Roth / Shutterstock

Tile grout accumulates dirt over time and darkened tile grout looks unattractive. US home improvement TV host Bob Vila explains that vinegar in small doses will not cope with the dirty surface of the seam. Therefore, it is necessary to take a spray bottle with vinegar and water diluted in half, moisten the seam, let it stand for five minutes, and then remove the dirt with a stiff brush.

If the grout is deeply ingrained in the joint, then the grout line should be covered with a paste of a solution of soda and water to enhance the cleaning properties. Leave the paste on for a few minutes, then spray the vinegar solution again. After the mixture stops foaming, brush and rinse with clean water.

Renovation of seams is a mandatory process, since the formation of fungus and mold is dangerous to health.

7. Foot baths

Daria Kulkova / Shutterstock

It is known that our legs are the conductor of body energy. Therefore, to charge and nourish the body, it is necessary to take care of the legs.

Vinegar baths are one of the effective ways to care for your feet. This process will soften the skin of the feet, protect against fungus and sweating, and eliminate germs. It is advisable to do baths weekly.

Vinegar has deodorizing properties. According to the advice of a major American medical website, Healthline, the following steps are recommended for making a foot deodorant solution:

“Wash your feet with soap. Vinegar diluted with water in a ratio of 1 part vinegar and 2 parts water. Wet feet with vinegar, especially in places with warts, calluses and cracked skin.

Pumice stone is recommended for extra care. Such care is useful, effective and contributes to the rapid achievement of the desired result.

8. Neutralizing odors

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We've already talked about how to neutralize bad odors that fill your home. Vinegar fights unpleasant odors in the corners of your home if you follow these simple steps:

At first there will be a strong smell of vinegar in the air, but after a while this smell will dissipate as the vinegar absorbs any bad smell.

Use the above tips and let vinegar take its place of honor as a faithful helper in the house.

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Article Source: 8 Things You Probably Didn't Know You Can Clean With Vinegar

, and what should never be cleaned with vinegar

March 9 Life

Check this list before you start cleaning.

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Can be cleaned with vinegar

1. Windows

To make your own window cleaner, dilute half a tablespoon of vinegar in a liter of water (ordinary table 6 or 9% will do). Pour some into a spray bottle. Wash the glass as usual, and finally wipe it with a dry cloth. There is no need to rinse this mixture.

2. Dishwasher

Vinegar will help remove accumulated dirt and grease. Pour two cups of vinegar into a large glass bowl and place on the top rack. Run a normal cycle, but without detergent and without drying. The vinegar will mix with the water and clean the car.

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3. Towels

If the towels get hard, put them in the washing machine and pour half a cup of white vinegar into the powder compartment - don't add the powder itself . Vinegar will remove detergent residue and mineral deposits from the fabric that make it rough.

4. Carpets

To remove stains from carpets such as wine, mix a tablespoon of liquid soap, a tablespoon of white vinegar and two cups of warm water. Dampen a clean sponge in the mixture and apply a little at a time to the stain, blotting occasionally with a dry cloth. Continue the process until the stain is gone.

Vinegar can also remove stains and odors from pet urine. Mix a quarter cup of vinegar with a liter of warm water and wet the stain with the mixture. Leave for a few minutes to absorb the liquid and then pat dry. Repeat as needed.

5. Supermarket vegetables and fruits

Vinegar will help remove bacteria and pesticide residues used in stores to prolong shelf life. Mix three parts water with one part vinegar and pour into a spray bottle. Treat vegetables and fruits with this mixture, and then rinse in water.

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6. Adhesive marks

Vinegar will come to the rescue if you can't get the adhesive residue off the label or if you accidentally stuck something in the wrong place.

Do not clean with vinegar

1. Granite and marble countertops

Vinegar can damage the surface of the stone. To clean these countertops, use a mild dish detergent and warm water.

2. Stone floors

They can also be damaged by acid cleaners like vinegar and lemon. Wash these floors with special stone soap or mild dishwashing detergent.

3. Remains of a broken egg

If you drop a raw egg on the floor, don't reach for the vinegar to collect the egg white. The acid in the vinegar can cause the egg to curdle and make it harder to peel. It is because of the protein reaction that vinegar is added when poached eggs are boiled.

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4. Iron

Vinegar can damage internal parts, so do not pour it into the water container in an attempt to clean the iron. To prevent clogging of the steam holes, empty the iron after use and clean according to the manufacturer's instructions.

5. Hardwood parquet

Better play it safe and use a special cleaner. If you really want to try vinegar for cleaning, be sure to dilute it with water (half a glass of vinegar per four liters of water) and first check in an inconspicuous area.

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