A little vinegar goes a LONG way! Part 1

Since having Miss E around I have been a LOT more conscious of what I am using in my house, more specifically the chemicals I am choosing to clean with.

I have been trying to be more environmentally friendly for some time now. I recycle, I don’t litter, I try to buy organically when I can (especially animal byproducts), I use a steam only mop on all of my tile- and so it seemed natural (pun intended) that cleaning products make its way onto the list.

The problem I found is that if I choose to be green I end up paying a LOT of green to do it. Which just stinks! I don’t want to have to sacrifice a safe environment for E and the pups to be in because of the cost. So after a little research I have discovered VINEGAR! I realize that cleaning with vinegar is probably not news to many of you. But since my discovery, I have been trying to clean just about everything with vinegar and to my surprise- it works, it is natural, it is safe, and it kills things! Heinz company spokesperson Michael Mullen references numerous studies to show that a straight 5 percent solution of vinegar—the kind you can buy in the supermarket—kills 99 percent of bacteria, 82 percent of mold, and 80 percent of germs!

This is what I have done. I have two spray bottles- one with 1/2 vinegar and 1/2 water, one with pure vinegar. Vinegar is cheap ladies! At Costco I bought 2 gallons for less that $4.00!

I use it to:

• Wipe off my granite counter-tops every night.
• Wipe off my glass cooktop (no streaks).
• Wipe down my stainless refrigerator.
• Clean out the microwave- you can also put a bowl full of 1 cup vinegar – 1/2 cup water in the microwave and boil it to losen any stuck on foods.
• Clean mirrors.
• I soaked the plastic tray in the water/ice dispenser part of the fridge and all of the hard-water gunk just wiped right off! 
• Cleaning E’s toys.

Future uses:

• Soaking the shower head in vinegar overnight to remove corrosion.
• Spray toilet bowl with 100% vinegar to remove stains.
• Add 1 cup to the wash cycle from brighter cloth diapers, apparently it helps break down the uric acid.
• Removing stains from carpet and laundry. 
• Fruit and Vegetable wash. 

My next project is going to be adding a scent to some of the vinegar I am using, in small amounts. I have read that you can add herbs or oils to the vinegar and let it steep to give you vinegar a more pleasant smell. Honestly, the smell hasn’t bothered me that much- although there are times when I think I must’ve left E’s dirty diaper out somewhere only to find out it was a paper towel I had used with the vinegar instead! So, that is going to be my next experiment with lavendar and citrus! Blog post on that to come.

So, are you using vinegar? Share please!