What do you use vinegar for? If you’re like most people, the answer is food preparation. It’s a great addition to countless recipes including, of course, salad dressings. But vinegar can serve many purposes outside the context of cooking. Keep in mind, also, that there are several varieties of vinegar, and each has its own uses.
Keep reading to learn seven lesser known ways to use vinegar around the house.
What are the different types of vinegar?
Vinegar comes in quite a few different forms. The most popular types of vinegar are:
- Distilled white vinegar
- Apple cider vinegar
- Red wine vinegar
- White wine vinegar
- Balsamic vinegar
- Malt vinegar
- Rice vinegar
- Cleaning vinegar
All of these types of vinegar are widely available in supermarkets. To save time, order online and have a courier Singleton deliver the products to your door within a few hours. Compare freight quotes to ensure you’re getting the best deal.
Interesting household uses for vinegar
All purpose cleaning solution
Vinegar’s cleaning prowess is pretty well known by now. It is truly one of the best substances to spruce up your home with. To make an all purpose cleaning solution, just mix equal parts distilled white vinegar and water in a spray bottle. It’s really that simple. You might also choose to add some essential oil of lemon, orange, or grapefruit to lend the solution a fresh, citrusy aroma.
Use it on your tables, counter tops, refrigerator, cook tops, desks, and pretty much anything else you can think of. Avoid using it on granite, marble, and hardwood surfaces.
That’s right-you can use vinegar to kill pesky weeds around your yard. Why let unsightly weeds ran rampant and mar the beauty of your carefully maintained garden? And why send lots of money on commercial weed killers with their harmful chemical ingredients? Use vinegar instead.
Note that when it comes to killing weeds, you’ll want to use cleaning vinegar, which has 6 per cent acetic acid, compared to the 5 per cent acetic acid in regular distilled vinegar. That extra 1 per cent makes a significant difference.
Say goodbye to Windex. Once you begin using vinegar to clean your windows, glass, and mirrors, you’ll never have to purchase a commercial window cleaner again. To make a vinegar based window cleaner, you’ll need:
1/2 cup distilled white vinegar
Pour these ingredients into a spray bottle and shake well before using. As with the general purpose cleaner, you can add a few drops of your favorite essential oil to the window cleaning mix.
Dealing with an ant infestation can be a maddening experience. You can make things easier on yourself-and harder on the ants-with vinegar. Vinegar is one of only a few substances that effectively removes the pheromone trails ants use to guide each other to food sources. Bleach and other cleaning agents won’t do the trick.
Liberally apply distilled vinegar to the ant trail and watch as they lose their sense of direction. Find their entry point and apply some vinegar there as well. And by using vinegar to clean your tables and counter tops, you’re making an ant problem less likely to occur in the first place.
Hair care products are expensive. More importantly, they’re not always good for your hair; chemicals like dyes and fragrances should be avoided as much as possible. And many commercial products leave behind a film on your hair or scalp that can be difficult to wash out.
For a natural, effective, and very affordable conditioner, pour 1/4 cup of apple cider vinegar and 1 cup of water into a clean shampoo container of spray bottle. Shake well, and then apply it to your hair after shampooing. Leave it in for a few minutes before rinsing it out. You’ll be left with clean, lustrous hair that, oddly enough, does not reek of vinegar.
Vinegar is an effective stain remover. Spray some onto your soiled clothes before running them through the wash. You can also add a cup of vinegar to your washing machine along with your detergent. If you have white clothing that has taken on a greyish hue, soaking it in distilled white vinegar can restore some of its original brightness.
For stains on the carpet and fabric sofa, apply vinegar and baking soda to the affected area. Let it sit for a few minutes, and then brush it off. Of course, the sooner you get to the stain, the better.
Fruits and vegetables are great for your health. Pesticides are not. Unfortunately, much of the produce we purchase in the supermarket has pesticide residue on its surface. Vinegar removes more of this residue than water can. It’s also effective at removing dirt and potentially harmful bacteria.