My 5 fave white vinegar cleaning hacks (so far)featured
Today’s vinegar-happy post should be subtitled “We’re not reinventing the wheel, here, so why are some of these so surprising?”
But these really do fall into the trifecta of my very favorite kinds of cleaning tips: Chemical-Free, Crazy Effective, and Probably Already In Your Household.
So without further delay, may I present:
My 5 fave white vinegar cleaning hacks (so far)
(…Because there are so, so many cleaning tips out there and I’m on a mission to cheerfully pin them all. We love Signature Kitchens’ distilled white vinegar– which we get at our neighborhood Jewel Osco- but you can also find ’em at Safeway, Alberstons’, etc., etc… I believe in you on this one.)
Disinfecting cutting boards
You can’t exactly send wooden cutting boards through the dishwasher, but you can make sure they’re food-ready when you are. Place the boards in the sink and pour a generous amount of white vinegar over each surface and let sit (I generally leave ’em there for about half an hour). Using a clean cloth or unused sponge, scrub the vinegar into the board, wipe off excess, and then stand on their sides on the counter to fully drip dry. E coli begone! (Can we get that on a sign somewhere?)
Freshening mattresses
Hey there, Spring Cleaning, I see you (…in the distance). Next time you go to make the beds, strip everything off and spritz straight-up vinegar onto the mattresses- Feel free to add a few drops of your fave essential oil! (Pro tip: Lemongrass makes things smell like happiness.) The mattress is gonna need to dry before you remake the beds, so you don’t want to go full-on douse with the vinegar, just somewhere between a light mist and a squirt gun.
And yes, I am available to write copy for scientific studies.
Sanitizing water bottles
I’m pretty much in love with this time-saving hack for my kids’ grosser-than-gross backpack water bottles (and yes, sure, my occasionally used gym ones): Fill the bottles 1/3 of the way with white vinegar and a handful of uncooked rice. Seal tightly, shake vigorously, empty out, let dry, and let’s never speak of what was removed from these bottles ever, ever again.
De-gunking drains
Hey, how’d you do on your fifth grade science fair project? No big deal, but I totally aced mine. Recreate the academic glory of yesteryear by cleaning your drains with a little volcano action. Pour half a cup of baking soda down the drain, follow it with a cup of white vinegar and, when the bubbling slows, run the tap to hot water for a minute or so…and sit back and wait for that blue ribbon. (Any day now.)
Cleaning coffee pots
Listen, all it takes is one soapy cup of coffee to see the error in your cleaning ways. Half a cup of white vinegar poured through your coffee maker’s water reservoir is a simple (non-toxic) way to keep this from ever happening again! After the vinegar, add water to the fill line and brew a (coffee-less) pot of coffee- the vinegar will make the filter basket sparkle, too, and add a nice rinse to the coffee pot itself. After it’s done? Empty the reservoir and repeat with plain ol’ water. You may need to do this about three times to get out all remaining traces of vinegar. (This works with Keurig machines, too! And while the Keurig is getting all shiny, soak your reusable K-cups in a bowl full of hot water and vinegar.) Ready for a celebratory cup of coffee?
Hahahahahahahaha always.
Any vinegar faves I missed?
Comment below!
