31 Ways To Use Vinegar For Home, Garden and Car

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Vinegar is one of best natural and safe cleaning products.  It’s also extremely versatile. Here are 31 ways to use vinegar around your home, in your garden, and for your car!

I know probably all of you have heard that vinegar is a great cleaning agent.  It’s effective, non-toxic and safe and has been used as a cleaning agent for a zillion years (or thereabouts).  Some of you use it.  And many of you probably don’t because of the smell – you don’t want your home smelling like a jar of pickles.  But there are ways around that, whether you’re using a store-bought vinegar cleaner like Four Monks that comes in difference scents (used in some of the pictures below) or if you make your vinegar cleaning solution.

How to Make Vinegar Cleaning Solution

Simply 8 ounces of stilled white vinegar with 8 ounces of water.  You can use it as is or you can add 10 drops of your favorite essential oils to add a nice fragrance.

I love cleaning with vinegar because it’s non-toxic, environmentally friendly, does a great job cleaning, and is extremely versatile.  Another reason I like cleaning with vinegar is that it’s safe to use around young kids.  When our kids were young, using safe, non-toxic cleaning products that I don’t have to worry about them being around, touching, inhaling or ingesting, was especially important to us, and it still is.  When my kids were young they loved to “help” around the house and I could equip them each with a bottle of cleaning vinegar and send them on their happy way without worrying about their safety.

Ways to Use Vinegar Around the Home

1.  Use vinegar to clean fruit and vegetables.  You can either spray them directly, scrub and rinse or you can give them a deeper, longer soak in a solution of 1 1/2 quarts water mixed with a tablespoon of vinegar.

2.  For smelly or stained plastic food containers and lunch boxes, dampen a cloth with vinegar and wipe them out.

3.  Wipe your stovetop down with vinegar.  If it’s really greasy and in need of a thorough cleaning, you can make a great cleaning scrub by mixing some baking soda and vinegar together into a paste.  Rub it on the stovetop, let it sit for a while, then wipe it down.

4.  Wipe down countertops and cabinets with vinegar.  (Not recommended for granite, marble or natural stone countertops.)

You can also take the grime off wooden cabinets by making a cleaning solution as follows:  Mix 1/2 cup vinegar with 1 cup ammonia, 1/4 cup  baking soda, and one gallon of water.  Make kitchen cabinets sparkle by wiping them down with Four Monks Cleaning Vinegar.  mixing 1/2 cup of distilled white vinegar, 1 cup of ammonia, 1/4 cup of baking soda and a gallon of water makes a cleaning solution perfect for taking grime off woodwork.

5.  Renew and refresh your dishrags and sponges by placing them in the sink or a non-reactive bowl with just enough water to cover them, add 1/4 cup of vinegar and let them soak overnight.

6.  Dull silverware?  Soak them in vinegar to make them shiny again.

7.  For that pesky water line that develops over time in flower vases, soak a paper towel in vinegar and press it against the water line to sit for a while.  Then scrub and rinse.

8.  Glassware can become etched by minerals.  You can prevent that by given them a wash, spraying them directly with vinegar, rinsing them with hot water and letting them dry.

9.  Windows and vinegar were meant for each other.  Make a solution with 50% vinegar and 50% water.  Spray it on the windows, wipe it off with a clean cloth followed by newspaper to make your windows shine.  You can follow the same procedure for mirrors and glass tops.

10.  Got droopy cut flowers like these sad tulips of mine?  Preserve and liven them up by adding 2 tablespoons of vinegar along with 1 teaspoon of sugar to the water in the vase.

11.  Give your sheets a wonderful brightening and freshening up by first giving them a soak in vinegar and then washing them with baking soda.

12.  Restore yellowed clothing by soaking them overnight in a solution of 12 parts water to 1 part vinegar and washing them the next morning.

13.  Instead of throwing your jeans in the washer, soak them in cold water and vinegar to prevent them from fading prematurely.

14.  If your clothing has become musty from sitting unworn for a long time or if it isn’t dirty but smells bad, give it a spritz with a solution of one part vinegar and two parts water to get rid of the musty odor.

15.  Stained or mudding clothing:  Apply vinegar on the areas and rub gently, then wash as usual.  For more moderate stains apply a paste of vinegar and baking soda and rub it in, then wash.  You can add some extra vinegar to the load if needed.

Ways to Use Vinegar in the Bathroom

16.  Shower heads with buildup:  Combine 1 cup vinegar with 1/2 cup baking soda into a small plastic bag and wrap it around the shower head to soak for an hour.  Remove and rinse off.

17.  Clean countertops and sinks with a cloth soaked in vinegar.

18.   Scrub tile walls  with a solution of half water and half vinegar.  Do that a couple of times a week to maintain clean walls.  You can also make a tile cleaner by mixing 1 cup vinegar, 1/2 cup baking soda and 1 cup ammonia in a gallon of warm water.  If there’s buildup on the walls scrub them with a paste of baking soda and vinegar and leave it for an hour or several hours depending on the extent of the buildup, then rinse.

19.  To clean the toilet bowl, shake in some baking soda and let it sit for a couple of minutes.  Then spray it with vinegar and scour with the toilet brush (you may need to repeat a couple or more times depending on how stained it is).  For both cleaning and deodorizing the toilet you can also pour a couple or more cups vinegar into the toilet bowl and let it sit overnight, then scrub with the brush.

20.  Wash the bathtub with a cloth soaked in vinegar.  For buildup, scrub with a paste made with vinegar and baking soda, then rinse.

21.  To remove soap buildup and give chrome sink and bathtub fixtures a shine, make a paste with 2 tablespoons salt and 1 teaspoon vinegar and scrub with a toothbrush.

22.  For lime deposits on faucets pour 1/2 cup vinegar into a small plastic bag and tie it around the faucet, letting it soak for a few hours.  Then give it a scrub and rinse.

Ways to Use Vinegar for Your Car

23.  Clean leather upholstery by wiping it down with vinegar.

24.  Remove the hazy film inside the car windows by spraying them with vinegar and then wiping.  Follow with newspaper if you want them to really shine.

25.  Winter time?  Prevent frost in the morning by wiping the windows down with vinegar the night before.

26.  Remove road grime from the windshield wipers so they have a better window grip by wiping them with a cloth soaked in vinegar.

Ways to Use Vinegar in the Garden

27.  You can test the pH level of your soil by putting some dirt in a container, pouring about 1/2 cup vinegar onto it and then observing it:  If it starts to fizzle and becomes bubbly your soil is too alkaline.  (You can add sulfur or peat moss to neutralize the soil.)

28.  Plants like rhododendrons, hydrangeas, azaleas and gardenias love acid.  Give them a boost by watering them occasionally with a solution of one cup vinegar per gallon of water.

You can also increase the acidity of your soil by adding vinegar to your watering can.

29.  For plastic pots that are stained or clay pots with white mineral crusts, soak them for at least an hour in vinegar, then wash them.

30.  I have to wait and observe the results, but several sources say that certain seeds will germinate faster and with more success if you soak them overnight in a solution of 2 cups water and 1/2 cup vinegar.

31.  To fight off weeds, douse them with vinegar.  It won’t kill the roots but it will eliminate the top growth.

Plus, it’s a great outdoor project for keeping your kids entertained.  It kept ours going for a very long time – they were totally into it!

What other tips and tricks do you know for using cleaning vinegar?  Leave a comment below!