5 Great Uses for Household White Vinegar
When we think of vinegar, the image that usually comes to mind is cucumbers soaked in the stuff and an odiferous smell. Well, white vinegar is actually great for a multitude of uses. I am a big fan of having anything in my home which serves more than one purpose. Here are some of the great uses for white vinegar. There are hundreds, I’m sure. But I’m listing my top 5:
- Preserving and Canning, of course: I think that just about anything can be preserved with a varying ratio of vinegar, water and sugar. This is something I love to do but need tons of practice to perfect.
- Windows: My grandmother taught me this little trick. Add 25% white vinegar to 75% hot water (not much, a small dessert bowl will go a loooonnngggg way!) Take a balled up piece of newspaper, dip in solution and wipe windows. Use a dry balled up piece of newspaper to dry window and you shouldn’t have streaks!
- Sunburn: Yes, you heard me – Sunburn. The acidity in the vinegar effectively sucks the burn out. If it’s really bad, you might want to do this several times. For a light or patchy sunburn pour a small bit of vinegar to the palm of your hand, place on burnt skin and rub in. (Yes, it smells bad…but it helps…A LOT). For a full-on I-fell-asleep-on-the-beach-for-four-hours burn, hop in the shower, run some cold water over yourself first, then pour (Yes, pour) the vinegar over your burnt bits. Try to rub in or just stand there and let it soak in. Don’t use the whole bottle in one go, but repeat several times. Rinse off, but wait until you feel the burning subside. (You will basically be dry by this point) It’s a desperate measure, but tried and proven.
- To rid your home of odors: It actually works. Just a tad in a small dessert cup set out on the counter will help to get rid of weird food odors and the like. I’ve found that leaving it out for 6-8 hours is enough to completely clear the air and your home won’t smell vinegar-y either.
- Smelly kitchen drains: If you’ve got that ‘ugh, what’s that fucking smell and where’s it coming from?!’ stench, its your drains. Pour a small amount of vinegar down the kitchen drains and let it just be there awhile before you turn on the water. It won’t eliminate it entirely, but it will give you a large degree of relief. Works well if you are in a rural area or have a septic tank and can’t use bleach or lye in your drains.
What are some of your favourite uses for vinegar?
Thanks for reading!
-Mliae
My uses vinegar a lot lately for much of the same uses I will have to share this with her. Thanks
Thank you! 😊
Nice tips. Thanks.
Happy to 😊
I use vinegar for a lot! It works well to break down hair in a drain. Pour baking soda and vinegar in your garbage disposal or tub and watch it bubble up. It will help clear the drain and smells at the same time. I also boil vinegar and water together in a pot to eliminate bad kitchen smells like greasy bacon. I use it on my floors for a natural cleaner and in my laundary to get rid of mildew smells on my towels. Recently, someone told me to use it as a fabric softener for laundry and spot eliminator in your dishwasher instead of jet dry. Amazing!
Awesome! Hey, do you think the drain cleaner is safe for septic tanks? We’ve been looking for something good.
No clue. But at least it is natural. The baking soda breaks down with the vinegar and causes a natural chemical reaction.
Hhhmmmm….think we might have to give this a try then!
True! Vinegar is great.
Actually, I’ll try it for windows. Thanks!
Btw, yogurt also works great for sunburns.
Yogurt? How do you do it, lather it on? Love tips, please let us know!
Yes, just like lotion. Wait until your skin cools down and wash it off. The smell is a bit…like yogurt but it helps 🙂
I’ll give it a try…thanks for the tip!
I find that certain foods leave a whitish “stain” on the inside bottom of my stainless steel cookware that regular washing doesn’t remove. Just put a few drops of vinegar in the pot or pan and rub with your fingers or a cloth and the “stain” disappears. In fact, I keep vinegar in a tiny spray bottle under the kitchen sink just for that purpose. Just misting the vinegar and a little rubbing does the trick. Then, just rinse and dry.
Great tip! I had no idea about that one… thanks so much for sharing! 😃
I have never tried it for sunburn but I do use it on my windows.
I love what it does to my windows 🙂
Thanks.
I love all the tips on here. Thanks everyone 🙂
Thanks for stopping by!
Actually you can pre soak your clothes in a mixture of water,detergent, and vinegar, gets stains out and funky odors that don’t seem to go away after you wash!
Vinegar is a disinfectant agent. You have to let it stand for twenty minutes or so.
Vinegar was the sunburn solution of the day when I was growing up. Real aloe vera leaves split open and rubbed over area works better on the pain.
A welder tip, Vicks vapor rub on burns that do not have open skin. Stings a little more when first applied, but pain subsides and the next day, you cannot even tell where you were burnt!
Visit me @ Life & Faith in Caneyhead. 😉
Exactly!
I’ve never tried vinegar on a sunburn before but I have one very Irish boyfriend who could use the tip! 🙂 Thanks for the post!
Cottonball with vinegar, rub, let dry, finish with coconut oil, let soak in…repeat. It helps prevent the peeling that way!