Tip Tuesday: How to Clean Green with White Vinegar

Jenny from Clever Cleaning Tips is guest blogging today with her tips on how to clean green with white vinegar. If you have checked out some of my more recent Tip Tuesday's you have seen some of my recipes on homemade cleaning supplies and white vinegar is a stable for cleaning green. Hope everyone enjoys this article and hops over and checks out Jenny's new blog. :)

 

 

How To Clean Green With White Vinegar

 

 

Not only is vinegar inexpensive and very effective, but it is also far better for the environment than most of your traditional household cleaners. White vinegar is also surprisingly versatile and can be used for a wide variety of household chores. So read on for how to put vinegar to use in your home! I highly recommend you start making it a staple in your cleaning routine.

1. Removing limescale. To clean limescale on chrome bathroom fittings, use a paste of 1 teaspoon of vinegar and 2 tablespoons of salt. To clean the lime deposits in a kettle, add half a cup of vinegar to the water and leave it to stand overnight. For more stubborn lime deposits, use neat vinegar (with no water) and boil in the kettle.
2. Cleaning metals. Clean tarnished copper, pewter or brass with a paste made up of equal amounts of white vinegar and table salt. Polish copper and brass with a mix of 2 tablespoons of ketchup and 1 tablespoon of white vinegar. Make a general metal cleanser with 2 tablespoons of cream of tartar and enough vinegar to form a paste.
3. Getting rid of smells. If your refrigerator has lingering odors of rotten food, clean it out by spraying the surfaces with neat vinegar and wiping them down. Then leave a couple of containers of baking soda in the fridge for a couple of days. Soak a slice of bread in vinegar and leave it in a smelly lunch box overnight. And deodorize a garbage disposal by pouring half a cup of hot vinegar and half a cup of baking soda into it. Leave for five minutes and then run hot water down it.
4. Cleaning surfaces and appliances. Cut through grime with vinegar on a soft cloth. Use a half and half solution for larger areas with less grime. Clean the microwave by mixing half a cup of vinegar and half a cup of water in a bowl and microwaving for a couple minutes. The steam will loosen baked-on food and any other smells will be neutralized. Clean the soap deposits from a dishwasher by running a cup of white vinegar through the full cycle each month.
5. Decorating. Use equal parts hot water and vinegar on a roller to soak old wallpaper before removing it. Clean old concrete with full strength vinegar and let dry before painting. Soak hardened paint brushes in vinegar for a few hours before boiling to remove the dried-on paint.

As you can see, the applications for white vinegar in your home are virtually limitless. It’s also one of the cheapest, greenest, most effective cleaners you can use. Pretty hard to beat that.  

About the Author: Jenny Wilson is a full time mom and blogger who loves keeping her home clean and green. Jenny draws on her former cleaning services experience to share expert cleaning advice on her blog, CleverCleaningTips. She is also a firm believer that, with the right mindset, cleaning can be both easy and fun. :)