Post by Indilwen on Jul 27, 2010 14:13:19 GMT 12
What can I say that hasn't already been said about vinegar? Nothing. It's great. It's green, and it can clean the heck out of your house. Check out these tips.
Vinegar makes a wonderful cleanser. Plain distilled vinegar added to a cloth can clean the following things.
a. Faucets
b. Cutting Boards
c. Bathtub Ring
d. Shower Doors
e. Stainless Steel
f. Countertops
g. Soap Dish
h. Soap Residue Anywhere
i. Fridge
A Vinegar-Based
Carpet Rinse
This treatment will help keep your carpet fresh and clean longer between shampoos:
Combine 1/4 cup vinegar and 1 gallon water. Then use the solution in a steam-cleaning vacuum after shampooing your carpet to remove any shampoo residue.
2. Once a month, add vinegar to your dishwasher to clean the inner workings of the appliance.
3. Clean food jars with vinegar to make them into cups.
4. Polish kitchen supplies with vinegar.
5. Make a scouring scrub.
6. Use vinegar as an ingredient in multiple green cleaners.
7. Neutralize pet odor.
8. Clean your kitchen appliances with vinegar.
9. Remove clogs from showerheads.
From How Stuff Works:
Showerheads can get clogged with mineral deposits from your water. Remove the deposits by mixing ½ cup vinegar and 1 quart water in a large bowl or bucket. Remove the showerhead and soak it in vinegar solution for 15 minutes. For plastic showerheads, soak for 1 hour in a mixture of 1 pint vinegar and 1 pint hot water.
Equal parts vinegar and water will clean most carpets. Vinegar can also be implemented to remove exotic stains.
10. Unclog Drains by mixing equal parts baking soda and vinegar.
11. Vinegar and baking soda can also unstink your garbage disposal if you pour it in there.
12. Remove price tags.
13. Clean linoleum with baking soda and vinegar. Pour vinegar on stain. Let it soak for ten minutes. Add baking soda. Scrub. This also works to remove urine stains and smells from a mattress.
14. Remove paint from windows.
15. Apply vinegar to concrete. The paint will take better.
Cleaning Your Carpets and Floors
In addition to working wonders in the bathroom, vinegar is ideal for cleaning carpets and hard-surface floors.
Carpets
For general cleanup of problem areas on carpets or rugs, use equal parts vinegar and water. Lightly sponge the solution into carpet, rinse, and blot dry. Let the carpet dry before using the area again.
For carpet stains, vinegar sometimes is your best bet. Here's how to remove some specific types of carpet stains with vinegar:
Ketchup: Remove ketchup from a rug by sponging a mixture of 1 cup vinegar and 2 cups water into the rug. Frequently wring out the sponge until the stain is gone.
Chewing gum: To dissolve chewing gum stuck in carpet or any cloth, saturate the area with vinegar and let it sit briefly. (For faster results, heat the vinegar first.) Carefully tug at the gum to remove it.
Chocolate: Chocolate stains can be cleaned with 1 part vinegar and 2 parts water. Sponge on the mixture, and blot the stain with lots of clean cloths until it is gone.
Coffee: Coffee spilled on a rug should come out easily with plain water if you attack it immediately. If not, mix 1 part vinegar to 2 parts water, and sponge the solution into the rug. Blot up any excess, and rinse until the brown color is gone.
Cola: Immediately blot a cola spill with paper towels, then clean the area with 1 part vinegar to 2 parts water.
Crayon: Remove crayon stains from the carpet or any other fabric or surface by scrubbing the area with a toothbrush dipped in vinegar.
Glue: A well-dried spot of white school glue can be taken out of a carpet with 1 part vinegar to 2 parts water. Just sponge on the mixture and blot. If spot is stubborn, cover it with warm vinegar and let it sit for 10 to 15 minutes. When glue has softened, either scrape it up by using a dull knife or blot it with paper towels.
Ink: An ink stain on a carpet or rug should be treated immediately by blotting and spraying the stained area with hair spray. Once the ink spot is gone, work a solution of half vinegar, half water into the area to remove the sticky spray.
Mildew: Once mildew gets into a rug, it lives and grows. Kill it with a 50/50 mixture of vinegar and water. Make sure the rug dries completely. You may want to use a hair dryer set on low to speed the drying time.
Red wine: Immediately blot up all moisture from the spill, then sprinkle the area with salt. Let sit 15 minutes. The salt should absorb any remaining wine in the carpet (turning pink as a result). Then clean the entire area with a mixture of 1/3 cup vinegar and 2/3 cup water.
Hard-Surface Floors
Whether it's ceramic tile, lineoleum and vinyl, or wood, vinegar can make your hard-surface floors sparkle. Here's how:
Ceramic tile: Mop with a mixture of 1 cup vinegar and 1 gallon warm water to make ceramic tile floors sparkle.
Linoleum and vinyl: Scrub a linoleum floor with a mixture of 1 gallon water and 1 cup vinegar. If floor needs a polish after this, use club soda.
Wood: Add a cup of plain vinegar to a gallon bucket of water, and mop lightly onto hardwood floors (do not saturate). There's no need to rinse. This will keep the floors shiny and remove any greasy buildup.
As you've seen, vinegar does a great job throughout the house. Give it a try. You'll be pleasantly surprised.
Vinegar makes a wonderful cleanser. Plain distilled vinegar added to a cloth can clean the following things.
a. Faucets
b. Cutting Boards
c. Bathtub Ring
d. Shower Doors
e. Stainless Steel
f. Countertops
g. Soap Dish
h. Soap Residue Anywhere
i. Fridge
A Vinegar-Based
Carpet Rinse
This treatment will help keep your carpet fresh and clean longer between shampoos:
Combine 1/4 cup vinegar and 1 gallon water. Then use the solution in a steam-cleaning vacuum after shampooing your carpet to remove any shampoo residue.
2. Once a month, add vinegar to your dishwasher to clean the inner workings of the appliance.
3. Clean food jars with vinegar to make them into cups.
4. Polish kitchen supplies with vinegar.
5. Make a scouring scrub.
6. Use vinegar as an ingredient in multiple green cleaners.
7. Neutralize pet odor.
8. Clean your kitchen appliances with vinegar.
9. Remove clogs from showerheads.
From How Stuff Works:
Showerheads can get clogged with mineral deposits from your water. Remove the deposits by mixing ½ cup vinegar and 1 quart water in a large bowl or bucket. Remove the showerhead and soak it in vinegar solution for 15 minutes. For plastic showerheads, soak for 1 hour in a mixture of 1 pint vinegar and 1 pint hot water.
Equal parts vinegar and water will clean most carpets. Vinegar can also be implemented to remove exotic stains.
10. Unclog Drains by mixing equal parts baking soda and vinegar.
11. Vinegar and baking soda can also unstink your garbage disposal if you pour it in there.
12. Remove price tags.
13. Clean linoleum with baking soda and vinegar. Pour vinegar on stain. Let it soak for ten minutes. Add baking soda. Scrub. This also works to remove urine stains and smells from a mattress.
14. Remove paint from windows.
15. Apply vinegar to concrete. The paint will take better.
Cleaning Your Carpets and Floors
In addition to working wonders in the bathroom, vinegar is ideal for cleaning carpets and hard-surface floors.
Carpets
For general cleanup of problem areas on carpets or rugs, use equal parts vinegar and water. Lightly sponge the solution into carpet, rinse, and blot dry. Let the carpet dry before using the area again.
For carpet stains, vinegar sometimes is your best bet. Here's how to remove some specific types of carpet stains with vinegar:
Ketchup: Remove ketchup from a rug by sponging a mixture of 1 cup vinegar and 2 cups water into the rug. Frequently wring out the sponge until the stain is gone.
Chewing gum: To dissolve chewing gum stuck in carpet or any cloth, saturate the area with vinegar and let it sit briefly. (For faster results, heat the vinegar first.) Carefully tug at the gum to remove it.
Chocolate: Chocolate stains can be cleaned with 1 part vinegar and 2 parts water. Sponge on the mixture, and blot the stain with lots of clean cloths until it is gone.
Coffee: Coffee spilled on a rug should come out easily with plain water if you attack it immediately. If not, mix 1 part vinegar to 2 parts water, and sponge the solution into the rug. Blot up any excess, and rinse until the brown color is gone.
Cola: Immediately blot a cola spill with paper towels, then clean the area with 1 part vinegar to 2 parts water.
Crayon: Remove crayon stains from the carpet or any other fabric or surface by scrubbing the area with a toothbrush dipped in vinegar.
Glue: A well-dried spot of white school glue can be taken out of a carpet with 1 part vinegar to 2 parts water. Just sponge on the mixture and blot. If spot is stubborn, cover it with warm vinegar and let it sit for 10 to 15 minutes. When glue has softened, either scrape it up by using a dull knife or blot it with paper towels.
Ink: An ink stain on a carpet or rug should be treated immediately by blotting and spraying the stained area with hair spray. Once the ink spot is gone, work a solution of half vinegar, half water into the area to remove the sticky spray.
Mildew: Once mildew gets into a rug, it lives and grows. Kill it with a 50/50 mixture of vinegar and water. Make sure the rug dries completely. You may want to use a hair dryer set on low to speed the drying time.
Red wine: Immediately blot up all moisture from the spill, then sprinkle the area with salt. Let sit 15 minutes. The salt should absorb any remaining wine in the carpet (turning pink as a result). Then clean the entire area with a mixture of 1/3 cup vinegar and 2/3 cup water.
Hard-Surface Floors
Whether it's ceramic tile, lineoleum and vinyl, or wood, vinegar can make your hard-surface floors sparkle. Here's how:
Ceramic tile: Mop with a mixture of 1 cup vinegar and 1 gallon warm water to make ceramic tile floors sparkle.
Linoleum and vinyl: Scrub a linoleum floor with a mixture of 1 gallon water and 1 cup vinegar. If floor needs a polish after this, use club soda.
Wood: Add a cup of plain vinegar to a gallon bucket of water, and mop lightly onto hardwood floors (do not saturate). There's no need to rinse. This will keep the floors shiny and remove any greasy buildup.
As you've seen, vinegar does a great job throughout the house. Give it a try. You'll be pleasantly surprised.