Five ways to clean with vinegar

Vinegar isn’t just useful for fish and chips! Oh no, that humble bottle of vinegar that’s sitting in your kitchen cupboard is actually one of life’s secret weapons.

So next time you’re stuck with a tough stain or find yourself wondering how you can clean without your trusty bleach, simply turn to your pantry.

Here are five cheap and cheerful ways a bottle of vinegar can be used for cleaning in the home:

Brighten Up Your Rugs

If the rugs in your house are starting to get that dull and faded look from too much foot-traffic, vinegar can help you out. Rather than taking the rug outside and scrubbing it down, simply dilute a cup of white wine vinegar in 3.5 litres of water. You can then use a clean brush or broom to brush them down, and the colours will brighten right up. The best part about this is that you don’t even have to wash the mixture off! So no heavy, soaking wet rugs for you to have to deal with. If you want to prevent your rug from getting that musty smell, you can also use neat white vinegar in a spray bottle to mist the underside of the rug and prevent mildew from forming.

Make Your Glassware Sparkle Again

Glasses that have been stored for a while or which are frequently used can get a cloudy look about them. Once this happens, no amount of ordinary washing seems to clear it, and you might be resigning yourself to throwing away your beautiful wine glasses. Hold your horses! To restore your glasses to their sparkly selves, all you need to do is soak a cloth in vinegar and use it to wipe the inside and outside of your glasses. Let them sit for ten minutes or so, and then rinse them all off with clean water. Any cloudiness should be gone, and your glasses and glass bowls will be bright and clean again.

Get Rid of Stains

Kids getting grass stains on their freshly washed clothes? Or did you spill red wine on the couch? Vinegar can help lift a tough stain – though as with all stain removal tips, it works best when the stain is fresh. Simply cover a tough stain in white vinegar, and then add some liquid washing powder. Rub it in, then wash the dirty item on a hot setting and the stain should disappear. White vinegar is particularly good for red and purple stains as it neutralises the pigments. You can also add a capful of vinegar alongside the washing powder to your washing cycle for stubborn stains.

Freshen up your fridge

Many people are wary of using harsh chemicals on their fridge. After all, the food you eat comes directly from there and you might not want to eat your fresh fruit off a shelf that’s been cleaned with bleach. A solution of one part vinegar to one part water can be used to wipe down the shelves and drawers in your fridge to kill bacteria. Any particularly dirty areas can be cleaned with neat vinegar and then rinsed down. This doesn’t just apply to fridges – you can also use vinegar to clean cutting boards or counter tops!

Get rid of rust

If your kitchen scissors are getting sticky, you don’t want to wash them in water because you run the risk of them rusting. If some of your kitchen (or even garden) tools are looking worse for wear thanks to rust, soak them in vinegar for a couple of hours. The vinegar will help dissolve the rust, and you can then scrub it off. Magic!

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