My Favorite Uses for Vinegar

Vinegar is a great product for a thrifty, frugal household to have on hand. There are literally hundreds of ways to use vinegar in a home but here are my top 5 uses for vinegar that I actually use all of the time. I keep a jug of vinegar in each bathroom, the laundry room, and the kitchen at all times. It is safe for kids too. In case they want to drink it. Which is gross. But at least it doesn't look like apple juice (pine-sol) or Kool-aid (Windex). Did you know that poison control gets hundreds of calls each month from frantic parents of kids who drank or got burned by cleaning products? Ask me how I know! I'll have to tell you the story of Ciarra and Mr. Clean at another time.

Use vinegar instead. It is cheap and safe. Okay, here are my tips:

1. I add vinegar to the steam cleaner/carpet cleaner in addition to the regular carpet cleaning solution. I use 1/3 of the recommended carpet cleaning solution and add 2/3 parts of vinegar to the machine. This leaves my carpets clean, semi-sterilized, and soft. The vinegar smell disappears as the carpet dries. A professional carpet cleaner gave me that tip and I'm forever grateful!

2. I add vinegar to the "dishwasher rinse" cup in the dishwasher. I don't buy Jet Dry anymore, although it works very well. I just add plain vinegar. My dishes don't have spots and they are sparkly clean. Much cleaner than by just using my almost free Electrosol tabs.

3. I add vinegar to the rinse cycle of my washing machine or to the fabric softener cup built in to the washer. Again, it leaves my clothes clean and soft.

4. When the kids or I get new, bright-colored clothes I first wash them in cold water with a 1/4 cup vinegar added to the wash cycle. This helps keep the colors bright and fresh, something people call color-fasting. Of course, this wouldn't be good for all fabrics so I just use it on cotton or cotton-blends.

5. I keep a container of citrus peels and vinegar on the top shelf of my refrigerator for cleaning projects. I love the smell of citrus cleaners! The combination of citrus oil and vinegar clean my countertops, microwave, cooktop, and even kitchen floors. Everytime we eat an orange or if I use lemon in a recipe, I just add the peels to the container. It works wonderfully and costs very little.

6. I know I said top 5 but really I have 6! So my 6th tip is to use a vinegar and baking soda combo to clean out the bottom of the dishwasher and sinks around the house. I sprinkle the baking soda and let it soak into the wet sink or dishwasher and then eventually I let a kid or two pour the vinegar on it. We love to watch it bubble up and work its wonder. This keeps everything flowing smoothly around here. We do this every month or so.

Do you have some favorite uses for vinegar? Please share them. I can always pick up another jug of vinegar to use in more projects.