Vinegar is the “superfood” of household cleaning supplies; it seems like every problem can be solved with an equation that involves this liquid, best known for comprising half of a good Italian salad dressing. If you trawl the internet, there are literally a hundred different ways to use vinegar to great effect and, as it’s nontoxic, cheap and you probably already have it in your house, vinegar is a safe choice in a pinch or even as a go-to solution! We compiled our favorite uses for vinegar in your household, that’ll have you scurrying out to your nearest supermarket for a bottle of apple cider or white.
- On electronic devices. For grime in sensitive places that water alone won’t dissolve, vinegar will act as a low-level solvent that won’t accidentally cause damage to a surface, unlike harsher cleaning chemicals. That makes it the perfect cleaner for electronic devices, such as laptop keyboards and mice, when mixed with water and applied to the end of a cotton swab. Use the swab to clean built-up oils and dirt from the tiny, hard-to-reach places without worry of rubbing off paint or plastic coating.
- For window blinds. Buy cheap cotton gloves, put them on and dip in a solution of hot water and vinegar. Trace each window blind with the fingers of your glove (removing, rinsing and re-dipping as you go) to very quickly remove dust and dirt from the tops of each blind.
- To remove water stains on wood. Vinegar dissolves while oil conditions, making this salad-dressing concoction perfect to remove water stains from wooden furniture; rub it into a stain with a clean cloth, then use a different cloth to remove any excess.
- To unclog drains. Everyone’s made a baking-soda-and-vinegar volcano in elementary school; it turns out that same combination is perfect for resolving some drain issues! An affordable and effective solution, all you need to do is pour a half cup of baking soda down your drain and follow it with a full cup of vinegar, which will foam and remove the offending substance. Be sure to follow this with hot water to break the clogging material down even further.
- Remove bad smells. Leaving a bowl of vinegar out in a particularly stinky room – whether from unpleasant cooking smells, cigarette smoke or other recently-developed scents – will help lessen the impact of the smell, as vinegar cuts through scent (though it may temporarily replace the offending scent with its own aroma).
- Clean a coffee pot, tea kettle or hot water boiler. Buildup from hard water is harmless to your body, but it can look fairly gross when it builds up to noticeable levels in vessels that are frequently used to boil water. Try boiling three cups of vinegar for five minutes, or running a solution of 2 cups vinegar and 1 cup water through a machine, to remove lime and mineral buildup.
- Trap fruit flies. Fruit flies love sweet stuff, like rotting fruit and open cups of sangria, but who wants spoiled food lingering in their home – or to waste wine? Fill a cup with vinegar, cover with saran wrap, poke a few holes in the plastic, and your problem should disappear.
We hope these tips can help you out next time you find yourself in a cleaning pinch! Make sure to keep up with our blog for more tips from the #1 provider of building cleaning services in Princeton and Philadelphia.
