Cleaning with Vinegar Recipes and Uses - Kitchens, Bathrooms, Laundry, Pets

Cleaning with vinegar is a cheap way of cleaning your windows, bathrooms and homes without resorting to harmful chemicals or expensive, commercial cleaning products. Enjoy these vinegar recipes for homemade cleaners that are cheap and easy to use.

Vinegar can be found in almost every household cupboard and you will be amazed at how many homemade cleaning products that can be made using this product. So, ideal too for those into frugal living.

Use our homemade vinegar cleaning recipes and find lots of cleaning hints and tips just for you. Homemade cleaners just got more interesting!

Houses and Cleaning with Vinegar

Cleaning Windows with Vinegar

Take a cloth and dampen it with a little white vinegar and water. Wipe the windows and finish off with a ball of newspaper. Make sure that the sun is not shining on the windows while cleaning, as it will make them streaky.

Cleaning Floors with Vinegar

Vinegar thumbnail Vinegar to clean ceramic floors and vinyl floors: These can be cleaned with vinegar. Add 1/2 cup of vinegar to a bucketful of hot water. Mop the floors as usual. This will help whiten the grouting and take off the crease.

Vinegar to clean linoleum floors: If you have a no-wax linoleum floor add 1/2 cup white vinegar to a half gallon of warm water.

Vinegar to clean hardwood floors: If you have hardwood floors often you well get a residual build up of dirt and soap that have come from cleaning your floors with commercial products. Cleaning hardwood floors with vinegar breaks down this residual build up and leaves your floors beautiful.

Take 1 gallon of warm water and add 1/2 cup white vinegar. Mix well and use with your mop. You may have to change your water once or twice during the cleaning process.

Cleaning Copperware, Brassware, Pewter and Leather with Vinegar

For this homemade cleaner dissolve 1 teaspoon of salt in 1 cup of vinegar. Add enough flour to make a paste. Apply paste metal and allow to stand for 15 minutes. Wash off with warm water and then polish up with a soft cloth.

More Cleaning with Vinegar Recipes:

How to clean brassware: Clean with either lemon juice and salt or vinegar and salt. Rinse off with warm water Finish off with a metal polish and a soft cloth. Small items can be cleaned by boiling in water, vinegar and salt.
How to clean copperware: By mixing equal parts of vinegar, salt and flour to a paste. Rub copperware and rinse off with warm water. Dry thoroughly and polish with a soft cloth.
How to clean stainless steel and to remove water spots on sinks: Rub well with a cloth dampened with neat vinegar.
How to clean leather items: Clean your leather with equal parts vinegar and linseed oil. Rub into the leather and polish with a clean, soft cloth.

Cleaning Bathrooms with Vinegar

Homemade cleaners for the bathroom are real money savers. You don't need the toilet cleaners, the shower cleaners and the bath liquid cream cleaners. All you need is a little vinegar and not a lot of elblow grease. These simple vinegar recipes will have your bathrooms spic and span in not time!

How to clean the scum off bath tubs and wash basins: Use straight white vinegar on a cloth followed with a little baking soda dabbed onto the cloth. Rinse off with water.
How to clean the discolored waterline in the toilet bowl: Pour in a cup of white vinegar and leave it to soak overnight. The following morning brush with the toilet brush and flush. For stubborn stains, spray vinegar directly onto the stain, and brush vigorously.
How to clean shower doors: They can be sponged down using neat vinegar on a cloth.
How to clean shower curtains: Remove curtain and place in washing machine with a towel. During the rinse cycle add 1 cup of white vinegar. You can also leave the shower curtain on the rod and just wipe down the curtain with a vinegar cloth. Rinse off with clean water.
How to clean the shower rose: Remove the head, soak plastic heads in equal parts of hot water and vinegar. Boil metal heads for 10-20 minutes in 1/2 cup vinegar to 2 liters of water. If you don't want to remove the shower head, soak a cloth in neat vinegar and then wrap around the cloth around the shower head and leave overnight.
How to clean brass and copper taps: Mix equal parts of flour and salt moistened with a little white vinegar. Put on a cloth and apply to taps. Allow to dry and then polish off with a soft cloth.
How to clean chrome and stainless steel taps: Polish by using neat vinegar directly onto any chrome or stainless steel surfaces.

Cleaning with Vinegar in the Kitchen

Use vinegar in your kitchens - not to eat of course, although you can, but to clean those stains, glasses, and kitchen appliances. In these tough economic times having cheap vinegar recipes like these to use, makes a great alternative to expensive commercial products that don't clean any better.

How to remove stains from glassware: Crush eggshells and add to the container with water, vinegar and salt. Allow to stand overnight; shake thoroughly, empty and rinse with warm water.
How to clean vases, and small - necked bottles: Add 1 tablespoon of raw rice with 1/4 cup white vinegar. Shake vigorously.
How to clean crystal glassware: Wash the items in a solution of 1 part vinegar to 3 parts water. Do not put it in the dishwasher.
How to clean a dishwasher: Put in 1/2 cup of white vinegar in your dishwasher just before you do a cycle. This will not only add a sparkle to your dishes, but will also help keep your dishwasher smelling fresh and will keep the drain line clean.
How to clean chalky deposits off dishes and glassware: Place affected articles in dishwasher. Place a cup filled with vinegar in the bottom of the dishwasher on the bottom rack. Run the dishwasher for 5 minutes. Open door and remove the cup from the rack which should now be filled with water. Refill the cup and replace. Complete the cycle. Follow this by a complete cycle using dishwashing powder.
Clean the scale and grunge around kitchen taps by mixing 1 teaspoon salt with 2 teaspoons vinegar.
Clean the washing machine: Over time your washing machine will get a build up of soap sludge in the pipe lines. Place 1 cup of vinegar in the soap dispenser section of your washing machine and run a cycle through with no clothes in the machine.
Cleaning the oven: You can prevent grease build up in your oven by washing the inside of the oven down with using a little bit if water and vinegar.
Brighten colors in Carpets: Mix 1 cup white vinegar mixed in with 1 gallon of water. Brush the carpets with this to bring out the colors.
How to remove rust from baking tins: Fill tin with warm water and vinegar and leave overnight. Rust will wash off easily.
How to clean burned aluminum pots: Burned-on food can be removed quite easily by soaking the burnt pot with vinegar to cover to which a tablespoon of salt has been added. Wash as usual in the morning.
How to get rid of the smell from rubbish bins: Mix equal parts of of vinegar and Condy's crystals and place in a saucer. Now place the saucer in the closed bin until the smell is neutralized.
How to get rid of ants in your kitchen: Wash all counter tops, floors and surfaces with equal parts of vinegar and water.

Cleaning with Vinegar: Laundry Tips

A general stain remover for clothes and carpets: This is a stain remover for non-greasy stains. Mix 1 teaspoon liquid soap with 1 teaspoon white vinegar mixed in 1 pint lukewarm water. Apply to stain with with a soft cloth. Rub gently. Rinse with a clean cloth dipped in warm water. Blot and dry. Repeat again, if necessary.

Removing Stains and Mildew with Vinegar

How to remove mildew from items: Mix 1 tablespoon of white vinegar with 500 ml warm water. Rub the mildew with this solution, wipe off and polish as usual.

How to remove coffee or tea stains: Rub with a paste of vinegar and salt, or vinegar and bicarbonate of soda.

Getting rid of the shine on clothes with Vinegar

How to get rid of the shine on trousers: Take 1 cup of warm water to which 1 dessert spoon of white vinegar has been added. Sponge lightly on the affected area and then steam-press over using a damp cloth. Repeat if necessary.

Getting rid of Cigarette Smoke Smells from Clothes with Vinegar

Run a bath using just the hot water tap. While running the water add 1 cup white vinegar. Hang the clothes over the steaming bath water.

Washing Baby Clothes in Vinegar

Add 1 cup of vinegar to each load of baby clothes and cloth diapers. The vinegar will leave the clothes soft and fresh.

Washing Sheepskins with Vinegar

How to wash sheepskins: Rub brown vinegar into the back of the skin to prevent the skin from hardening in the water. Wring out a rough towel in a warm wool wash solution and scrub the fleece with it. Work on one section at a time and do not saturate the skin.

Cleaning Irons with Vinegar

How to remove plastic film from iron: Heat the iron and then switch off and remove plug from socket. Rub with dry steel wool and a little vinegar. If rust appears, rub with a very fine wet and dry sandpaper.

How to clean the inside of a steam-iron: Take 2 dessert spoons of distilled water with 2 dessert spoons of white vinegar. Pour this mixture into a hot iron. Then set the iron on a cake cooler covered with an old linen rag.

Cleaning with Vinegar: Your Pets

If you have dogs you may well have fleas. To get rid of fleas on your pets give your pets 1 teaspoon of cider vinegar mixed into 1 quart of water and place in their water bowls. The ratio of 1 teaspoon to 1 quart of water is for a 40 lb dog.

Miscellaneous Vinegar Uses for your House

Polishing Furniture, Tiles, Paint and Marble with Vinegar

How to polish furniture, tiles, paint surfaces and marble: Mix together in equal parts white vinegar and kerosene. Apply with a soft cloth.

Removing White Stains on Wood with Vinegar

When you have wet glasses placed on wood they will leave behind ugly white marks on the wood. Mix equal parts of white vinegar and olive oil together and apply with the grain. Polish into the wood.

If you have any cleaning tips of your own, or more homemade cleaner vinegar recipes, please drop us a line and let us know so we can add to the list. We hope you have enjoyed our article and will be keen to try these homemade cleaning products made with just cheap old vinegar.

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