40+ Ways to Use White Vinegar

White vinegar is a great way to clean your home naturally and cheaply. It has so many uses it may surprise you! Read on to learn some fascinating ways that you can use white vinegar around your home.

Ways to Use White Vinegar

White vinegar is a versatile product that doesn’t cost the earth. It can literally be used almost anywhere, and surprisingly, you will get the same results as most of the expensive cleaning products that are available.

Just remember, white vinegar is acidic, so to avoid reactions or staining, please wear gloves when using vinegar and do a spot check on different materials when using in your home.

In The Kitchen

Disinfect Your Kitchen

Studies have shown that white vinegar has almost as many disinfecting properties as bleach making it an amazingly cheap, natural and effective disinfectant. Bleach however can be quite harsh to clean your home with while vinegar is far milder. 

To make a quick and cheap disinfectant spray, fill a spray bottle with ½ vinegar and ½ water. Add a few drops of your favorite essential oils for scent, shake and use like normal.

Disinfect Your Cutting Boards

You can also use white vinegar to disinfect your cutting boards after washing.

Clean the Fridge

Freshen up and clean the fridge with a mixture of  vinegar, water and essential oils.

Clean The Oven  

When was the last time you cleaned your oven? Skip the harsh can of Easy Off and instead use white vinegar with baking soda. To clean your oven naturally, mix baking soda with just enough water to make a paste. Spread the paste on your dirty oven and allow it to try. In the meantime, add vinegar to a spray bottle. Spray the oven in small areas and clean as you go.

Clean the Microwave

You can easily clean and freshen up the microwave by placing equal parts water and vinegar in a bowl. Microwave for 3- 5 minutes. If you use essential oils, you could also add 1-2 drops of lemon essential oil to the mixture before heating. When done, give the microwave a wipe out with a damp cloth.

Garbage Disposal

If your garbage disposal is starting to smell, freeze some white vinegar in ice cubes, then feed them through the disposal to help remove any unwanted smells. Rinse with cold water when done.

Perk Up Vegetables

Soak wilted vegetables in a sink of cold water with a splash of vinegar and your vegetables should freshen up nicely.

Remove Mug Stains

Swish a couple of tablespoons of vinegar in around in your coffee or tea mug to help remove stains. Then wash as normal. For hard stains, mix equal parts white vinegar and bicarb soda and gently scrub.

Clean the Dishwasher

Every month or so, throw a cup of vinegar into the bottom of your dishwasher and run an empty cycle to help reduce the buildup of residue. 

If you happen to run out of rinse aid, try pouring vinegar straight into the little drawer and using it instead.

Dye Easter Eggs

Use vinegar to dye your Easter eggs – check out how to dye your eggs here.

Make Buttermilk

Don’t have buttermilk on hand. Why not make some? Add 1 TSBP of  vinegar to 1 cup of milk, mix and let stand for 5 minutes.

Lemon Substitute

No lemons handy? Use ¼ TBSP of  vinegar to replace 1 TBSP of lemon juice.

Egg Substitute

If you have no eggs, you can replace one egg in a recipe that already contains baking powder, yeast or self-raising flour with 1 TBSP of  vinegar.

Keep Cheese Longer

Cheese can be kept longer by wrapping it in a cloth dipped in  vinegar. Place this in a container and in the fridge.

Remove Wine Stains

Vinegar can be used to remove wine stains by directly applying to a sponge, blotting the area until the stain disappears. Then clean as normal. The sooner you treat the wine stain, the better the result.

In the Bathroom

Have a Sparkling Toilet

Because white vinegar is so great at disinfecting and baking soda is great at removing stains and other build ups, they make a perfect toilet cleaner. 

Flush your toilet before you begin. As the bowl is filling, pour in white vinegar. Once you’ve added the white vinegar, shake in baking soda. The chemical reaction of the two will cause it to foam up so be sure not to add too much. 

Once the foaming has dried down, allow it to sit for 10 minutes to disinfect then use a toilet bowl brush to clean as you normally would.

Clean and Unclog your Shower Head

Fill the plastic bag with water and vinegar, and secure the plastic bag over your shower head with a rubber band or twist-tie so that the shower head is submerged in the mixture inside the bag. Leave it overnight, take the bag off  in the morning and rinse. 

Sparkling Shower Glass

A quick and easy way to clean glass shower screens is to add white vinegar to a spray bottle with a squirt of dish soap. Spray on the glass screens, leave for 5 minutes, then rinse off with water. You may need to repeat if you have hard stains. Spraying the walls and shower curtains with vinegar can help with preventing mildew.

Dirty Faucets

Dry faucets with lime build-ups are hard to clean. Make a paste with 1 tsp vinegar and 2 TBSP salt. Rub over your faucets and rinse when gone.

Unclog Drains

For clogged drains, pour ½ cup of bicarb soda down the drain, then pour over ½ cup of vinegar. When the mixture has stopped bubbling, pour some warm water down the drain to rinse. Repeat if necessary.

In the Laundry

Have Soft and Static Free Laundry

One of the most well known uses for vinegar is as a fabric softener. It both softens your clothing and helps to reduce static cling. Instead of using expensive commercial fabric softeners, add ½ cup white vinegar to your washers softener cycle. For smaller loads, use less vinegar. 

This will also help decrease lint on your clothing and brighten your whites.

Fluffy Towels

To help keep your towels fluffy, run a load with ½ cup of white vinegar add to your washers softener cycle. For smaller loads, use less vinegar. 

Stop Clothes from Running

When you purchase new clothes, you can help to prevent them from running by soaking them in white vinegar for a couple of minutes before washing.

Freshen up Stinky, Smelly Clothes

To help get stains and smells out of clothes such as socks and gym wear as well as underarm or deodorant stains, soak them for an hour or two in 1 cup of vinegar added to a bucket of water. When done, wash as usual. For small stains, rub them gently with white vinegar and a clean cloth. Let it sit before washing. Repeat if necessary.

In the House

Remove Odours

White vinegar may have a bad smell itself but believe it or not, it is fantastic at removing odours. Make a spray for softer items such as furniture, laundry or bedding or sit a bowl of  vinegar in a room where you need it to smell better. The vinegar smell itself will evaporate leaving your home smelling clean and fresh.

Glass Cleaner

Fill a spray bottle with vinegar, water and essential oils to make a lovely, easy to use glass cleaner.

Clean Bath Toys With Vinegar

To clean bath toys with vinegar, spread the bath toys out in a single layer in the bathtub. Spray with a mixture of  vinegar and water, let sit and rinse.

Clean floors

Add a cup of  vinegar to your mop water to clean the floors of your house. Add some essential oils for a lovely smell as well.

Carpet Spills and Stains

It is important to test this before using. For fresh stains, make a spray with equal amounts of water and vinegar. Spray on the stain, let stand for a couple of minutes, then dab with a towel. Repeat if needed.

This will also work for pet urine in carpets, just blot up as much as you can with paper towel and then spray, let it sit for 5 to 10 minutes, then blot until almost dry. Then sprinkle with bicarb soda, leave for an hour and vacuum.

To help eliminate more persistent stains on your carpet or rugs, make a paste by mixing 2 TBSP of vinegar with ¼ cup of bicarb soda or salt or 2 TBSP of borax. Rub the mixture gently into the stain and let it dry, then vacuum the residue.

Kitty Litter

To clean up and refresh smelly kitty litter boxes, empty the box and pour around ½ inch of vinegar into it. Let it stand for around 20 minutes, then rinse. Let it dry completely before adding clean kitty litter.

You could also just spray an empty box with vinegar, let it dry and then add clean kitty litter.

Clean Paintbrushes

To remove paint from paintbrushes (not plastic ones), place the brushes in a pot of vinegar, soaking for an hour. For dried-on paint, heat the white vinegar after soaking to a simmer, then drain and rinse.

Ballpoint  or Crayon Drawings on Walls

If you have a drawing on your wall from one of your kids using a ballpoint pen or a crayon, wipe the drawing with a sponge dipped in vinegar. Repeat until all gone. Again, spot test on walls before doing this.

Removing Sticky Residue

To remove the sticky residue from stickers or labels, moisten with vinegar. Let it sit for 5-10 minutes, then wipe off.

Clean Blinds

To keep blinds clean and dust-free, mix thoroughly ½ cup vinegar, ¼ cup bicarb soda and 3.7L (4 gallons) warm water. Use a cloth or sponge to wipe the blinds clean with this mixture. Rinse with water.

Keep Bugs Away

Fill a spray bottle with vinegar and spray along doorways, windowsills, and other places that you may see ants. If you see ant trails, you could spray them too.

Repair DVDs

For worn out DVDs, you could try wiping it down with vinegar and a soft cloth. Let dry before using.

Loosen Rusted Screws 

You can easily unstick a rusted screw by pouring some vinegar onto it. A rubber band under the screwdriver will add additional support.

Remove Stains on Furniture

To remove stains on wood, such as the ring stains, mix equal parts of vinegar and olive oil and apply to the stain with a soft cloth, moving in line with the grain of the wood. Shine it up with another, clean soft cloth.

To remove stains on leather furniture, dab a vinegar filled sponge onto the stain. 

To shine up your leather furniture, mix equal parts of white vinegar and boiled linseed oil and pour into a spray bottle. Shake and spray evenly, then wipe around with a soft cloth. Wipe off with another clean cloth.

Remove Wax

To remove melted candle wax off floors or wooden furniture, gently wipe with a soft cloth that has been soaked in equal parts vinegar and water.

Cleaning Scissors

To keep your scissor blades clean, wipe with a cloth that has been dipped in vinegar, the wash as normal. This is great for when your scissor blades become sticky or grimy.

Personal Care

Stop Itching

To stop the itching of mosquito bites, bee stings, jellyfish stings or other insect bites, simply dab a cotton ball that has been soaked in vinegar onto the bite. It will help ease the itching while disinfecting the area.

Longer Lasting Nail Polish

To help your nail polish to last longer, wipe your nails with a cotton ball soaked with vinegar before applying nail polish.

Remove Food Scents from Hands

You can remove strong food scents such as onion and garlic, from your hands by wiping them with vinegar when you have finished. Rinse and the smell should fade.

Remove Gum

You can remove gum from hair or fabric, by heating a small amount of vinegar in a microwavable bowl in the microwave. Soak the gum with the vinegar and the gum should dissolve.

You can grab a printable copy of this list by clicking the link below:

 

Disclaimer: These statements have not been evaluated by the Food & Drug Administration. The information on this site is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay seeking medical treatment because of something you have read on this website.