Using vinegar for a natural spring clean
Many of us will be thinking about a spring clean. Some of us will actually get around to doing one 😀
If you walk into any store, you’ll see aisles full of the latest products that claim to save you time and energy, whilst getting your home sparkling clean.
Unfortunately, many of these products contain toxic chemicals which can adversely affect your health and the environment.
Until World War II, we made do with regular kitchen ingredients to clean with, such as lemons, salt, vinegar and bicarbonate of soda.
In addition, advertising will have us believe that we need a huge array of products – several for each room. A sink cleaner, separate bath cleaner, floor cleaner, limescale remover……..the list is endless
I have two main cleaning products at Chez Green. Both of them are safe if ingested and
they get the house clean. They are easy to get hold of and are found in most people’s kitchen cupboards
Today I want to focus on white vinegar.
What an amazing product this is!
Your windows and mirrors will sparkle with the minimum of effort, leaving a streak-free finish.
Kettles, taps, shower heads and the toilet bowl will be free from limescale.
Smells will be deodorised naturally.
Mildew will be kept at bay if you get in the habit of spraying the tiles and shower curtain after a shower with vinegar.
Hard floors will be free from grease and marks with a shiny finish
And if that’s not enough, you can clean chopping boards with it, deter ants with it and you can add it to the rinse cycle to soften your clothes.
All you need to do is half fill a spray bottle with white vinegar, top it up with water and away you go. Use a microfibre cloth and your house will sparkle in no time.
Many people are worried about the smell, but it dissipates as it dries and doesn’t linger for too long.
If you want to learn more about household uses for vinegar, click on the books below to buy!
Vinegar: Over 400 Various, Versatile, and Very Good Uses You’ve Probably Never Thought Of
Vinegar: A Guide to the Many Types and Their Uses Around the Home
What a fantastic and interesting blog! Many thanks and with much admiration.
Peter.
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Hi Peter,
Thank you for dropping by and for your lovely comment. There are so many good blogs out there sharing lots of information and experience. It’s one of the great things about modern life I guess 🙂
Keep up the great work with your blog as well; you have some interesting information on GM over there and I’m looking forward to spending some time reading your DIY blog too.
Namaste
Mrs G
I agree with you on all the different types of cleaners to be found in a retail store..you can almost follow the smell that brings you to the aisle where these cleaners are located! But why do we believe in smell and why do we associate smell with clean?
I have been trying to find out the scoop on vinegar? I have even asked the manufacturer for claims that vinegar works on killing bacteria…still waiting! Does anyone know of any studies on vinegar and claims that when used on cutting boards especially (e.coli) it actually does kill it and decontaminate the surfaces? Humm..salad dressing anyone?
Hi Adriana,
How is this beautiful sunny day treating you?
I haven’t figured out the smell thing yet – lots to do with advertising (we believe that washing powder and bleach smell = clean rather than the truth which is ‘toxic chemicals’ polluting our lungs and the planet!) and, if you think about it, smell is really our most primary sense. It goes very deep – you might remember an old memory, say, of your Grandmother, just by the smell of something that passes you like a rose or a woman wearing talc or a certain perfume. We pick up those smells out of thousands of others in the air. How many times can you say ‘Ahhh, that smell reminds me of……….’ it’s totally amazing when you stop to think about it!
I don’t know about any research on killing bacteria using vinegar, I guess my searches would be on acetic acid, which is the main acid found in vinegar. According to this site (http://ohioline.osu.edu/vme-fact/0008.html) vinegar will kill the foot and mouth virus, but not other bacterias.
Interesting stuff, do report back if you find anything!
Mrs G x
I use brown vinegar. Does it matter?
Hi Jenny, welcome to the site – I love your blog by the way; the photos are beautiful and I love how you share your life with your readers.
Brown vinegar is ok, it just smells a little stronger and, over time, it might stain light surfaces. Windows and glass should be ok but if, for example, you used it on white cupboard doors, some discolouration over time might occur.
we’re currently using bicarb, vinegar & essential oils for everything, it’s fantastic, so much cheaper and so much cleaner feeling than using lots of nasty cleaning products.
after doing the cleaning you actually feel it’s ok to use stuff straight away (including your hands if you find you have a hole in your glove (as i seem to every time…)) no more nasty tastes after cleaning the oven and no more cloying cleaner smells. just a bit vinagery which disappears in no time!
came here via the ‘green parent’ forums and thought i’d check out green cleaning as I’m about to embark on a borax trial on account of living on farmland and having outdoor issues with rodents… and indoor issues with beetles!
@barbara: Hi Barbara, thank you for sharing your experienes. I’m with you on the bicarb, vinegar and essential oils. I agree with you; it just feels so much better to be using eco friendly products which are safe for you too.
Do let me know how you get on with borax. I have some in the cupboard, but rarely use it. I find the gentler products are ok for us.
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