Home maintenance hacks - Common household uses for vinegar

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As every homeowner knows there are a number of home maintenance hacks that are effective. Some are easy to remember and cheap. None more so than domestic vinegar which can be used in a remarkable variety of ways. Here we offer a list of common household uses for vinegar. Vinegar is easy on the pocket and helps you keep your home clean and sanitary.

Common household uses for vinegar

There is no reason why you can’t enjoy a spotless home without much effort.

Home cleaning and organisation

As people around the world are becoming more environmentally conscious, natural products for household cleaning are becoming popular. Some of those natural products are sitting right at home in your kitchen cupboards like vinegar or baking soda.

Harking back to traditional methods, we are moving away from products with a host of chemicals. For example, distilled white vinegar is a popular and natural way to clean around the home. It is not just natural, it is safer, versatile and quite inexpensive. It is a cleaning product that is safe for your children and fido.

Home maintenance hacks: Bathroom cleaning

Vinegar can be used a multitude of different ways around the bathroom. Having a clean bathroom is important to help fight off grime, dirt and mould. Diluted to a suitable strength, vinegar is a great non-abrasive cleaner that will not leave chemicals on surfaces.

The Bath

Wipe your bath with distilled vinegar, and then with baking soda, can remove that film that often collects around the bathtub. Then just wash it away with clean water afterwards.

The Taps

With many tap fittings and various fixtures around the bathroom being made of copper, brass or pewter, vinegar can also be used to clean and remove any grime that collects.

Use a mixture of one teaspoon salt, half a cup of white distilled vinegar and enough flour to form a paste. Simply apply the paste to the metal and allow to sit for around fifteen minutes. Then wipe off and rinse.

Rinse with clean water and then polish with a dry cloth. Your fixtures and fittings will shine as good as new. Shower doors can also be cleaned with vinegar. Soak a sponge in vinegar to wipe away any soap and dirt build up on the doors.

The Shower head

Another way that may not have considered using vinegar around the bathroom is to unclog shower heads. Add a cup of vinegar to a plastic bag, then apply it to the shower head so it is sitting over the head. Leave it on for half or day, or overnight.

The vinegar breaks down the mineral build-up. This unclogs the shower head and gets it working efficiently again. It is also a great surface and floor cleaner, add vinegar instead of cleaning product to water when you are mopping to get that shine back into your bathroom floor.

Home maintenance hacks: Carpets and floors

Speaking of floors, it does not just apply for bathroom tiles. Just add half a cup of distilled white vinegar to a couple of litres of water and you will get a great floor cleaner that does not need to be rinsed afterwards.

There are few things harder to tackle in the home than stained carpets. Vinegar makes a great stain remover and stain repellent.

Pet urine

Pet urine can be an absolute nightmare on carpet’s. But vinegar can rescue your carpet. Using paper towels, soak up as much of the pet urine as possible. Stand on them to apply extra pressure as this helps the absorption process. Then saturate the stain with a solution made of equal parts distilled white vinegar and water. Ten minutes is long enough. Then use paper towels to soak up the vinegar in the same way you did by standing on them.

Once the carpet is, use a bit of baking soda to help absorb any odours. Leave it for another hour and then just vacuum up the baking soda. Wine stains can also be prevented by vinegar, just like the pet urine though, the quicker you get the vinegar solution on the less chance of staining of the carpet. This can also be used for wine in clothes too. Just blot the area with a cotton bud soaked in vinegar until the stain disappears then launder as normal.

Home maintenance hacks: Kitchen equipment & appliances

Crockery and stem ware

Dishes and glasses can also benefit from a little help of vinegar. Giving a little bit of a hand to the regular dish-washing detergent, by adding 1 ½ – 2 cups of vinegar to the bottom of the dishwasher, your glasses and dishes will have that extra sparkle.

Kitchen appliances

Appliances with metal and plastic components will also benefit as well, just like with the shower head. Vinegar can be used to unclog and clean them. For example, take the coffee maker. By adding vinegar to the reservoir of your coffee maker and running it through a normal brewing cycle, it can help remove any residue, minerals and oily build-ups.

The microwave

By boiling a ¼ of a cup of vinegar mixed with a cup of water in a microwave until the window gets all steamed up can help remove food residue.

The kitchen sink

If you notice your kitchen drain is starting to get a little clogged and maybe starting to smell, then pour a cup of vinegar down the drain and wait thirty minutes. This will will also help to deodorise the drain and move along any stubborn residue. After thirty minutes, flush it down with some cold water.

Vinegar has a diverse range of uses, from being a versatile household cleaner to even removing bumper stickers from cars. Using vinegar can even help with diverse applications like setting colours in the fabric to removing stains from hands. The options are almost endless.

For an edible product it has almost infinite practical applications. This natural product is not just great on chips, it can be a safe and effective way to ensure that your house is clean. Moreover, by using a natural product like vinegar you are limiting your family’s exposure to strong chemicals in manufactured cleaning agents. It is great for the environment too. A win win for everybody.’

Home maintenance hacks – Common household uses for vinegar