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12 Vinegar Hacks From a Cleaning Expert That Can Save You Money

vinegar
Photo by New Africa From Shutterstock

3. Eliminate bad odors

Do you have some friends who smoke over for the weekend? You are probably thinking that after they leave, your house will smell horrible. Don’t worry! You can wash every possible surface with pure vinegar and spray it on couches or rugs if they look and feel dirty. Do your clothes still feel strange after being washed so many times? Wash them again with vinegar only and then with detergent. I guarantee that the smell will be dead and gone.

If your room smells bad, cleaning experts recommend leaving bowls of vinegar sitting out. It will have a strong smell in the beginning, but after it is gone, it will take the nasty odors with it.

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Tracey

Content Writer

29 Comments

  • Sandra Plate

    I wish there was some concise way to print out the basics! They are very helpful

    • Darla

      I screen spotted the ones I wanted to remember

  • Penny T

    Back in the 1970s when I lived in Stuttgart, I hired a window washer who used white vinegar to clean the windows and old newspapers to wipe. I’ve done that myself ever since. My windows sparkle.

  • SHERI H.

    HI EVERYONE,
    I WAS TOLD BY MY LATE MOM WHO I LOST TRAGICALLY ON VALENTINES DAY TO COVID, THAT YOU CAN USE VINEGAR (NOT SURE IF IT’S CIDER, OR WHITE) TO CLEAN NATURAL OAK WOOD FLOORS, AND HOW OFTEN? IS THIS CORRECT? ANY HELP IS APPRECIATED!

  • Polly Bailey

    Vinegar to get rid of moles. poke a hole in center of mole hill pour 1/2 c of vinegar it takes couple of weeks and they move out of your yard

  • Scuba Girl

    I scuba dive, and vinegar is great cleaning the salt water off my dive gear.

  • Kate

    I use Vinegar on EVERYTHING…my kids think it’s a scream. Every time we are looking for a solution to any problem, they’ll say: “Mom would use vinegar”, Where’s the Vinegar”! One great way to unclog drains is to pour about a half box of baking soda down the drain and follow with about 1/3 to 1/2 gallon of Vinegar and let it set for about 20 minutes. It will bubble up like a science experiment. I use a teapot full of boiling water to wash it down the drain, and drain is totally clean and fresh. AND it’s safe for your pipes!
    Also put some in your laundry rinse cycle ~~ it takes aways any odor, especially with dish towels and washcloths.

  • Pollu Malcolm

    I pour a little vinegar on the weeds that grow between the bricks on my front walk. It does a great job of killing them .

  • Cil

    I use a little white vinegar in my water when I clean collard greens. The grime and dirt comes right off.

  • Ben Dover

    Works great for everythinv

  • Drink a small amount of vinegar mixed with warm water and honey before and after exercise and it can help you recover faster

    • Vesna

      When washing your hair add a tablespoon of white vinegar to a pint of warm water for a final rinse. Your hair will be soft and shiny and it will also restore PH balanse to your scalp and hair.

    • Laura

      Don’t drink white vinegar. Drink apple cider vinegar with honey and water–helps with many things including regulating blood sugar levels, weight loss, etc

      • Carol

        Thank you for posting. Apple cider vinegar for consumption . . . not white vinegar!

  • Gerry

    Yes, I have a Kenmore dishwasher I bought in 1994 and it still runs and cleans excellent. I only ever used Finish ( formerly Electrasol) from day one!! Periodically, I bought commercial dishwasher cleaner, which really cleaned the white plastic interior. I cant verify that it cleans the drain pipes. I can only trust that the product is doing what it promises. Vinegar also removes the grease, food stains, mineral buildup, that commonly affect dishwashers over time. You will smell the vinegar while running the washer and even after for a few days. Be careful if you have stainless steel tub and interior baskets. The metal can rust over time . Remove the filters as directed by the manufacturer. You can manually soak the filters and descale the
    filters if needed. The spinning sprayers are sealed, so you can’t disassemble them, you must trust that the cleaner and or vinegar is doing the job. This maintenance will increase the life of your dishwasher, I’m still using mine after 28 years!! I hear that the newer models cheat to get the energy star rating. The element for heat drying is not as strong. As a result, your dishes come out wet. Im dreading the day
    I have to replace this awesomely performing and superior longevity no longer in existence today!

    • Oma

      The new Bosch dishwasher. It has no heating element. A lot safer and more economical. And dishes dry within an hour.

      • Bobby Chapman

        We have a Bosch (Silence Plus) dishwasher. On occasion, the dried load of dishes & stuff smells like a wet dog!
        I use white vinegar to spray everything, run a rinse and hope for a less offensive odor. Is odor coming from the hot water heater? Manufacturer suggest “Finish” and Jet Dry. I ready to try a dif. soap brand. Any thoughts?

        • Jean

          I have. Bosch dishwasher. Check your food filter trap and clean it regularly.

  • Steve Bayard

    I use vinegar for several purposes, one as a poutise with paper towels on rust stains on my driveway and another to clean the aerators on my faucets. A little white vinegar in a plastic bag over the aerator or kitchen faucet sprayer overnight loosens the calcium deposits so they can easily be removed with a old toothbrush

  • Chica

    YES, the DYI gnat trap works Great!! I tried this towards the end of summer & SOOO pleased!!

    • Carmine Pecoraro

      Add a few drops of liquid dishwasher soap to apple cidar vinegar in a small dish to kill fruit flies. They can’t resist

  • Maureen

    I’ve heard vinegar is great for cleaning out the dishwasher of grease and left on food any truth to it?

  • Abby

    I use vinegar and baking soda to clean my stainless steel sink. I sprinkle baking soda in the sink and pour vinegar over it, allowing the combination to bubble and foam and and use a paper towel to wipe it down. Then I rinse with water. The sink shines and it helps keep the drain clean and odorless.

  • Larry Russell

    I have for years used vinegar as a cleaner, one of my favorite uses is for cleaning baseboards prior to painting, especially if there are pets in the house I use a mixture of 1/3 vinegar 1/3 ammonia and 1/3 water it cuts grease, dirt, and just about anything else plus you don’t have to rinse it off before painting. It is also excellent for cleaning greasy ceiling fan blades (if you have one in the kitchen you know what I mean about greasy) plus the walls or cabinets around the stove area.

    • Bobbi G.

      I recently had a severe itching on my hands. A friend suggested wiping white vinegar on them. I did, about 2-3 times, and it really removed the itch.

      • Gary

        Totally agree, takes the itch away.
        Use for severe itching, place towel with vinegar on itch. Stings but works.
        .

        • Capt_Jim

          I thought that I was going to be the only one to post a tip other than a household tip, but here’s a health/medical tip that I can personally vouch for. I once burned the right side of the small of my back against the asbestos wrapped muffler on a fishing vessel. You can’t imagine how hot that muffler can be after running for days. I immediately went down to the galley, where one of my crew-members suggested apply vinegar to the quickly reddening burn patch on my back!
          It was amazing, in a matter of minutes, the burn stopped hurting, did not even blister, & crazily enough, I was able to sit in the sun without a shirt on!

      • Suzan

        While in a museum in Antwerp, Belgium 🇧🇪 i was the only one in the place and a gentleman was dusting the beautiful wood furniture. I asked him what he was using and he said white vinegar and water. That is all they had used for many years to keep the antiques in beautiful condition.
        Vinegar is the go to for dusting your furniture. Half water, half white vinegar. Use a soft rag wrung out well. Dust and go. You can follow up with a dry rag if you feel there is too much moisture on the wood or glass tops. Try it, you will be amazed! I only dust about every two weeks. It helps keep the dust away!

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