How to Use Cleaning Vinegar to Clean (Almost) Anything (2023)

FAQs

How to Use Cleaning Vinegar to Clean (Almost) Anything? ›

To create an all-purpose cleaner for windows, counters, and kitchen fixtures: Combine 1/4 cup cleaning vinegar and 2 1/2 cups water in a spray bottle. Add 1/2 teaspoon dishwashing liquid. Shake well to mix and label the bottle. To use, lightly spray the soiled surfaces and wipe away grime with a lint-free cloth.

Vinegar, on the other hand, is nontoxic and eco-friendly, making it the ultimate multipurpose cleaning solution. And the best part, it's super cheap. Keep reading to learn what types of vinegar to use, along with nine ways vinegar can be used to clean and disinfect your home.

Do You Have to Rinse after Cleaning with Vinegar? Rinsing is not necessary! If you're simply using a vinegar and water solution to wipe and disinfect, you won't need to rinse. However, if there's also plenty of dirt and grime you're wiping away, you may also want to rinse with some extra water.

The only difference between cleaning vinegar and the distilled white vinegar is their levels of acidity. White vinegar is usually 95 percent water and 5 percent acid. By contrast, cleaning vinegar contains up to six percent acid and is around 20 percent stronger than regular white vinegar.

Cleaning with vinegar

Vinegar is very effective at cleaning precisely because of the acid, which will break down grease, grime and dirt easily. Be warned though, it can damage some surfaces so always check – or test patch – before you use vinegar, especially neat vinegar, for cleaning.

They're both excellent at breaking down tough grease and grime, but vinegar alone will simply run off of most surfaces, and dish soap is too thick to use on its own. But when you combine the two, you get an effective, sprayable miracle cleaner that clings to surfaces.

The reason cleaning vinegar is more effective than white vinegar comes down to acidity level. The acid in vinegar is what cuts through grease and grime, removes sticky residue and fights soap scum. White vinegar has 5 percent acidity; while cleaning vinegar, on the other hand, has 6 percent.

“Vinegar is a good cleaner because it's acidic, but when you add dishwashing liquid/dish soap to it (which is a base or neutral) - you neutralise the vinegar. You take away the very thing that makes it work well. “The dishwashing liquid works that well on its own.

'Avoid using vinegar on natural stones like granite and marble as the acid in the vinegar could not only dull the stone, but also cause spills to penetrate the surface of the stone leaving permanent stains and etching, since vinegar can easily damage any sealers applied to the stone surface,' explains Janice Stewart.

How do you clean mildew with vinegar? ›

Pour the undiluted vinegar into a spray bottle. Spray it directly onto the moldy surface. Let the vinegar sit for at least an hour. Using a brush with soft bristles, scrub the moldy surface until the mold comes off.

Additionally, vinegar's acidic nature can be irritating to the skin. For safety's sake, wear non-porous gloves, goggles or safety glasses, and a mask that covers your mouth and nose.

“Also, vinegar needs to sit on a surface for up to 30 minutes in order to reduce bacteria. You can't just spray it and wipe.”

“Set time,” or the time a disinfectant must rest on a surface in order to work effectively, is also important. The set time for vinegar can be up to 30 minutes.

When baking soda is mixed with vinegar, the acid breaks down baking soda, releasing carbon dioxide gas that can help lift dirt from the surfaces being cleaned. Here are some recipes to try. Freshen your sink by mixing one part of baking soda with two parts of vinegar.

Vinegar is an effective natural solution for cleaning a coffee maker. This solution removes calcium deposits and coffee bean oil residue from the interior of the device as well as add acidity to the hot water to disinfect. Turn the coffee maker to the brew cycle and allow the cycle to brew halfway.

You can wash your laundry with distilled, white vinegar as well as apple cider vinegar. Vinegar has a number of benefits, both as a food and as a cleaning aid. Vinegar works by loosening zinc salts or aluminum chloride, which means that dirt won't stick to your clothing.

Most of the time, a mixture of vinegar and water in a 50/50 solution will suffice, but not always. Shower heads only require white vinegar, add sprinkles of baking soda when cleaning a toilet or a bath, water it down to clean tiles.

The Science: Baking soda is a bicarbonate (made of carbon) and vinegar is an acid. When the two combine, they react and create carbon dioxide, which causes the bubbles. With the addition of dish soap, even more bubbles are created as the reaction occurs.

The reason? Dawn contains petroleum. It sounds counterintuitive, but it works. Vinegar removes residue and imparts shine.

Can you mix hydrogen peroxide and vinegar? ›

Don't mix hydrogen peroxide and vinegar together in the same mixture. This can create peracetic acid, which may be toxic and can irritate your throat and lungs, eyes and skin. You can, however, alternate spraying hydrogen peroxide and vinegar on a surface. Just make sure to wipe the surface between sprays.

Yes, it's true…vinegar does kill weeds, especially when used along with dish soap. Dish soap, vinegar and a spray bottle are all you need for making your own weed killer. The acetic acid in vinegar “sucks out the water” from the weed, which dries it up.

Cleaning vinegar, which contains 6% acetic acid, is the best type for killing mold. White vinegar containing 5% acidity will also work just fine. If you don't already have some at home, white vinegar can be inexpensively purchased at most grocery stores.

Vinegar just doesn't work on removing grease from surfaces because it is an acid. Use an alkaline soap, such as dish soap, for oil spills and messes.

Dish soap and vinegar work wonders for that extra smudge-cutting and cleaning mixture. Mix in a spray bottle 1/4 cup of white vinegar with 2 1/2 cups of water, plus 1/2 teaspoon of dish soap. Rinse windows and mirrors with clean water to clear off any suds.

Dawn dish soap and vinegar – Mix equal parts of vinegar and blue Dawn dish soap into a spray bottle. Run the shower for a few minutes on hot to heat up the shower space. Spray to coat the surface of the shower walls evenly with the mixture. Let sit for 5 minutes then use a damp cleaning rag to wipe away.

Vinegar. If you feel your sheets need a little something extra, vinegar makes a great natural pre-wash. Soak your sheets in a bucket of warm water and half a cup of vinegar for about an hour before you put them in the wash. This helps to whiten the sheet and also works as an incredible fabric softener.

The acidity of vinegar is potent enough to disrupt the insect's nervous system and kill it. Vinegar is often used as a contact type insecticide, which means that you need to spray it directly unto the spotted bed bug to make it effective. Vinegar offers short term and limited effects on your fight against bed bugs.

Vinegar is an excellent urine stain remover; it breaks down the uric acid in urine and makes the stain easier to remove. When the cycle is complete, run the load again (this time adding detergent) and wash at the hottest water temperature recommended for the fabric.

Cloudiness – Once opened and exposed to air, harmless “vinegar bacteria” may start to grow. This bacteria causes the vinegar to cloud. Cloudiness does not affect the quality of the vinegar or its flavor. Straining cloudy vinegar through a coffee filter may clear it.

How do you mop with vinegar? ›

Create a mopping solution of ½ cup of vinegar and one gallon of warm water. Proper dilution is important, since vinegar's acidic, abrasive properties can have a stronger effect on some materials than others—tile being one of those. When mopping, less is more; make sure to wring out your mop thoroughly after each dip.

Distilled white vinegar is the one most often used in cleaning, for its antibacterial properties. It's made from feeding oxygen to a vodka-like grain alcohol, causing bacteria to grow and acetic acid to form.

'Bleach will kill mold spores growing across a hard surface, but if the mold has extended below the surface, then white vinegar is the best choice,' she says. 'The vinegar will penetrate to kill the mold and mildew at the root, preventing it from regrowing.

Vinegar successfully kills mold on drywall and leather.

This means that the mold is likely to grow back. When bleach is used on porous surfaces, the mold will move deeper into the material to avoid it.

Bleach kills virtually every species of indoor mold that it comes into contact with including mold spores which leaves a sanitized surface making it resistant to future mold growth.

While vinegar is a magical cleaner that you can use on almost any surface, its strong odor can make cleaning a little bit of a challenge. Of course, over time, the smell will dissipate, but you shouldn't have to wait around for the smell to fade.

If it's on a soft surface, it may take a day or so. Air circulation can make the vinegar aroma dissipate more quickly. The vinegar aroma will go away when it's dry.

White vinegar also has antibacterial properties, and it works really well to kill smells. To use it, put straight white vinegar—not white wine vinegar—in a spray bottle and mist the couch with it. As the vinegar dries, the smell will dissipate, but you should also spritz from about a foot away and try not to overdo it.

Pour a generous amount of white vinegar into a spray bottle. Spray the white vinegar onto the carpet. Don't worry – the smell will disappear (and it will actually absorb any other bad odors you're trying to eliminate). Let it dry completely, and then repeat the process over again, as needed.

Do I need to rinse after mopping with vinegar? ›

There's no need to rinse your vinegar-mopping solution from your floors. Keep in mind that your floors should be drying very quickly if you've wrung out your mop sufficiently.

Rinse through wet hair after shampooing. Rinse it out with fresh water or, for extra conditioning benefits, just leave it in and towel dry your hair. The vinegar scent will disappear as your hair dries.

Using vinegar in laundry will whiten, brighten, reduce odors, and soften clothes without harsh chemicals. Vinegar is inexpensive, and it's safe to use in both standard and high-efficiency washers. When buying vinegar for laundry, choose distilled white vinegar.

This match made in heaven has been a household staple for a long time and I make sure to keep it handy. To make the solution is simple and easy on the wallet! Pour equal parts of vinegar and Dawn into a spray bottle. Gently shake, then spray liberally onto the surface to be cleaned.

Dish soap and vinegar work wonders for that extra smudge-cutting and cleaning mixture. Mix in a spray bottle 1/4 cup of white vinegar with 2 1/2 cups of water, plus 1/2 teaspoon of dish soap.

Tired of stinky, retail cleaners? Try this: Vinegar Cleaner: 1 tsp baking soda 1 tsp Dawn dish soap 1 tbsp white vinegar Directions: Fill spray bottle with water. Add Dawn. Add baking soda.

Vinegar seems to neutralize odors, leaving your clothing smelling clean. It can reduce odors from smoke, pets, and sweat. Add 1/2 to 1 cup of vinegar to your laundry to deodorize smelly clothes.

The Benefits of Using Vinegar in Laundry

There are many uses for vinegar in laundry, including stain removal, odor elimination, and mold and mildew eradication. Vinegar can also be used as an alternative to commercial fabric softeners.

To clean your toilet with vinegar, pour a cup of vinegar in the toilet bowl and let sit overnight. The next morning, sprinkle a little baking soda into the bowl, scrub, and then flush clean.