My family considers me a vinegar maniac! There
always has to be fermented or distilled vinegar in the house and I do use it
very often. The latest addition to the list of vinegar uses was the car
windscreen use.
When I sit in someone's car (I have never owned a
car myself, which makes me somewhat proud), and get the pleasure of inhaling
the over-perfumed soapy and truly toxic windscreen washer, I enter a state of
panic. Thus, I have been looking for alternatives.
If you are looking for a less toxic ride, pour 1:2
white vinegar /water solution into the windscreen washer bottle. The result is
equally efficient. You get most of the dirt away from your windscreen. As a
bonus you pollute less and save yourself from inhaling yet another toxic
solution. Plus its dirt cheap!
My other vinegar uses:
BEAUTY (apple vinegar)
• Apply half a spoon of naturally fermented vinegar instead of a hair
conditioner. Mix with water and rinse your hair.
• Pour a glass of 1:3 vinegar/ water solution over your washed hair to
manage natural curls instead of using a non-natural fixing hair gel.
• Soften your hands by dipping them into the vinegar
and drying them afterwards.
HEATH (apple vinegar)
•Drink two tablespoonfuls of diluted apple vinegar a day, or add to
salads to rid your body of Candida and treat urinary tract infections.
•Add two cups of apple vinegar into your bath to balance your
skin PH, sun damaged skin or attack yeast infection.
•Sooth insect’s stinks and small cuts by applying undiluted
vinegar.
BATHROOM (distilled white vinegar)
•Clean, disinfect and shine your porcelain basin and bathtub with
undiluted vinegar and avoid buying toxic bathroom cleaners.
•Remove scum and polish your shower door with 100% vinegar
solution.
•Get rid of bathroom mold by spraying 100% vinegar solution.
Ventilate your bathroom.
•Disinfect and clean your porcelain toilet by sprinkling
baking soda and spraying vinegar over it. Leave for a while before scrubbing
with a toilet brush and rinsing.
•Leave half a cup of vinegar in the toilet bowl to remove odor.
•Unblock a clogged drain or remove drain odor by
pouring 1 liter of hot vinegar into it. Leave overnight.
CAR
•Remove stains from car carpet with a 1:1 solution of water/
distilled vinegar.
•Remove odor by placing bowl of distilled vinegar on
the car floor and leave overnight.
•Polish car chrome with undiluted white distilled vinegar on
a soft cloth.
GARDEN
•Discourage ants and other pests by spraying undiluted
vinegar.
•Get rid of fruit flies by placing a bowl of distilled
vinegar in the affected area.
•Kill weed and unwanted grass by pouring undiluted vinegar
onto walkways (avoid pesticides).
KITCHEN
•Clean your kitchen sink and counters with 100% vinegar
solution on a soft cloth.
•Deodorize and clean your garbage can with undiluted
vinegar.
•Remove mineral deposits from your kettle by placing vinegar
overnight or boiling it before rinsing with water.
•Soak the tips of your wooden spoons overnight
in vinegar solutions to brighten and disinfect them (avoid plastic or silicon
utensils which may release toxins). Never place your wooden spoons into a
dishwasher if you use conventional toxic dishwasher detergents.
•Disinfect your wooden cutting boards after washing and leave to
dry in the sun.
•Clean your dishwasher with vinegar ice cubes added to the
bottom prior to the cycle and avoid heavy chemical cleaners.
•Alternatively, pour 1 liter of vinegar and run in an empty dishwasher
using hot but short cycle (can use just the first wash and then rinse not to
abuse water).
•Remove film in (baby) glass bottles with 1:1 hot water/
vinegar solution, leave for an hour+, before scrubbing with a brush.
•Clean and freshen the refrigerator with undiluted vinegar.
OTHER CLEANING
•Create an all-purpose window cleaner 1:3 vinegar/water.
For best results use microfiber cloth. The same applies to mirrors too.
•Wash wooden/ linoleum/ ceramic floors with
warm bucket of water and a cup of vinegar.
•Clean and disinfect children’s toys with vinegar.
•Sanitize pet homes and beds with vinegar/ water solution.
•Add to the washing machine last cycle instead
of a softener and get softer towels.
•Clean your iron with 1:1 water/vinegar solution and let it
steam out.
•Make your eye-glasses shine by cleaning them with 1:2
vinegar/ water solution.
BEWARE
•Never use vinegar on marble surfaces; it can damage them.
•There are more than two dozens types of vinegar. Use
only white distilled vinegar for cleaning. Balsamic vinegar and other vinegar
deriving from wine and apples are not suitable for cleaning.
•Check the label before purchasing vinegar, some have been made from
petroleum and fossil fuel products, since synthetic ethyl alcohol can
be created from the liquefaction of coal or the hydration of ethylene,
which is a product of the petrochemical industry. This is why you should ensure
your vinegar comes from fermentation (e.g. corn or barley), by oxidizing alcohol in
wine, beer or any other fermented liquid. The active component of vinegar is
acetic acid and most vinegars will contain around 5% of this acid.
•Use apple cider vinegar for internal use only in a diluted form as it
is highly acidic.
Although vinegar is not bleach, it is a powerful
disinfectant that kills the majority of bacteria, best working in an undiluted
form. Some people regard vinegar as inefficient in households with children and
pets. However, precisely there one should beware of the abuse of toxic disinfectants. Disinfectants overkill.
By the way, I heard that some
people use vinegar as a natural deodorant. So who is the vinegar maniac here?!
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