Vinegar is always on my grocery list… and I buy it by the gallon. Today, in fact, I will be using it to help clear our extremely slow-draining bathroom sink. I’ve also talked about ways to put vinegar to work in household cleaning and laundry, but there are even more ways to substitute vinegar for other remedies and, in some cases, it helps you stay green and avoid chemicals.
Think about this list:
- Acne remedy and skin conditioner – dilute 50/50 with water to use as a toner or dab, full strength, on the problem areas.
- Clean lime deposits and calcium – we’ve all had build-up in our coffee makers and washing machines. Fill the coffee maker with
vinegar and brew it, or add a cup to your washing machine and run a cycle without clothes to give it a good cleaning.
- Condition dry hair – shampoo your hair then rinse it with a mix of one cup of apple cider vinegar and two cups of water. (Feel free to wash the vinegar out after that initial rinse!)
- Deodorize a smelly lunchbox – soak a cloth in vinegar and close it up in the lunchbox overnight to eliminate nasty odors.
- Get rid of unwanted weeds – pour in the cracks or crevices or spray directly on the culprits!
- Heal a bruise – apply white vinegar for an hour and it will reduce the discoloration and aid healing (time consuming, but it works!).
- Prevent cracked hard boiled eggs – add two tablespoons per quart of water before boiling the eggs.
- Remove skunk smells – (let’s hope this has happened to your pet and not YOU!) but apply, full strength to your pet’s fur,
rinse with cold water, and it will reduce the smell dramatically.
- Repel pesky ants – mix equal parts vinegar and water and spray in the problem areas.
- Stop bug bite itching – dab on the area of the bite and it will relieve the itch.
Undoubtedly vinegar isn’t always the most aromatic and pleasant smell on the planet but given the choice of vinegar over harsh chemicals, I’ll pick the vinegar any time!
Do you have more uses? Share them!
Vinegar kills weeds too. 🙂
.-= Lisa @ Retro Housewife Goes Green´s last blog ..Lowering Your Bills By Going Green =-.
Lisa – That was #5, but thanks! … it DOES work! 🙂
Just found out yet another great use for vinegar this weekend – get rid of fruit flies. If pesky fruit flies have invaded your kitchen, use apple cider vinegar to attract and kill them. Put at least an inch of vinegar in the bottom of a glass or bowl, then add a couple drops of dish soap. Stir and leave out. The smell will attract them and when they land, the soap has reduced the surface tension of the vinegar so they drown. They are especially attracted in the dark. My husband did the research to find this solution (even though he despises the smell of vinegar) he was amazed at how well it works!
.-= dana´s last blog ..Blowin’ in the wind =-.
dana – another great idea! Thanks for sharing that one!
Great post! A few ideas there I hadn’t heard before!
Karla
.-= Living A Whole Life´s last blog ..Natural Cough Remedies =-.
Thanks for sharing all the neat ideas.
JA
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Living – Well, thanks!
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