[azmomtoone]

We do 90% of our household cleaning with vinegar, sometimes a little baking soda(abrasive), lemon juice (degreaser), or tea tree oil (disinfectant) depending what we're cleaning.
I have a spray bottle of 50% vinegar, 50% water and another with some TTO in it, and usually just grab one of them to clean about anything.
Also use vinegar instead of fabric softener. (everything except dress clothes, nylons seem to be very staticky w/ just vinegar).

Saves a lot of money over buying cleaners, saves space over all those different bottles (more room for stockpiles!), and no worries if the kid happens to drink some. (of course we still keep it out of his reach, but stuff happens, and I'd much rather it be vinegar than Lysol).

[jessl]

I haven't used just vinigar but I use a mixture of tide, vinigar and water to clean the bathroom from a tip I got on another board. I use it for the sink, tub, shower walls outside of the toilet, and floor. I put one load worth of Tide in a spray bottle, add some vinigar and finish off with water. I don't know how necesary the tide is, I don't buy it but there always seems to be a free sample around so thats what I've been using.

[Nerthy]

I don't for some reason I feel like it's not clean And I just don't like the smell and the idea of my house smelling like vinegar is just not appealing!

It's probably a misconception and ignorance on my part

[Omar329]

We use vinegar to clean our coffee pot! Works better than any cleaner!

[bgpgirl]

Originally Posted by Omar329

We use vinegar to clean our coffee pot! Works better than any cleaner!

I clean our coffee maker with straight vinegar also...you just have to run a couple pots of water thru it afterwards.

Vinegar mixed with water also is great for cleaning windows and mirrors...I use it with newspaper instead of paper towels...it never leaves anything streaky.

[uniqueusername]

I just filled a container of vinegar/water this morning.. It was a tip to get rid of the pet urine smell in my carpet.. Once I got past the vinegar smell it seems the smell isnt nearly as bad in the room.. That makes me very happy...

Im going to use some of it in my carpet shampooer and see if that gets rid of the smell in all the carpets..

Potty training a Chi is proving difficult

[bclarkcaldwell]

I use a lot of peroxide.

Cleaning with Hydrogen Peroxide
click here!

[HappyGal]

when I was younger I remember my dad would go over the accidents the dog would make if he went potty in the house.

[azmomtoone]

Originally Posted by Nerthy

I don't for some reason I feel like it's not clean And I just don't like the smell and the idea of my house smelling like vinegar is just not appealing!

It's probably a misconception and ignorance on my part

LOL. Try it. The vinegar smell only lasts as long as it's wet. And seriously, you can do a better job of cleaning w/ it than with many artificial cleaners. When I first started I figured it'd mean more elbow-grease on my part..... but I was wrong, many things are much quicker with old-fashioned cleaning methods than all the stuff on the grocery store shelf!

Especially the stove, I thought that would be really hard to do.... not at all....spray it with the vinegar-water and then use a lemon peel to scrub with and the grease comes right off. (then have to rub with a rag).

And if you're worried about germs the TTO is great tea tree oil

you can google for more links, that site sells the stuff so not exactly unbiased, but a good sum of general info about it.

[azmomtoone]

Originally Posted by jessl

I haven't used just vinigar but I use a mixture of tide, vinigar and water to clean the bathroom from a tip I got on another board. I use it for the sink, tub, shower walls outside of the toilet, and floor. I put one load worth of Tide in a spray bottle, add some vinigar and finish off with water. I don't know how necesary the tide is, I don't buy it but there always seems to be a free sample around so thats what I've been using.

Huh, never heard of using it mixed with a cleaner.....something new everyday

[tryingtosave23]

I found a shark steamer... you know with the hose on the end.... and clean with that! LOVE it!!! I had no idea that thing could clean soooo well!!! It doesn't matter what it is, it will come off and it is so hot that it kills any germ that was there. (found it at cvs for 6 bucks!!)

[cheryllsm]

azmomtoone, I do about the same that you do. i use lavander to help with the vinegar smell & have another bottlew/TTO & vinegar for thingsi want sanitized.
Only thing i have to use traditional cleaners for is the toilets & bathtub; for the life of me i can't get them clean with anything green. & DH was complaining about some really greasy burnt on stuffin our roaster that baking soda, vinegar etc didn't touch well i put some dr bronners salsuds in there & let it sit over night & it practically rinsed off

[azmomtoone]

never heard of a shark steamer, I have no idea what that is.

For the tub, try pumice stone. (That DOES take longer than regular shower cleaners though but it'll work) Works for hard water stains too. (we use scrubbin bubbles there though, tub & toilet...... and toddler power, ) (not at the same time of course - he gets a scrubbrush in the bath and thinks it's the greatest thing ever to scrub the sides of the tub, LOL)

[pumpkin seed mama]

We use it a lot in our washing machine.

[luvumom]

I use it to clean everything from the kitchen counters, kitchen floor, everywhere in the bathroom, steaming carpets, getting rid of any odor, killing weeds in my yard, cleaning hairbrushes and so much more. I also use real lemons, baking soda and Borax. I think these items work so much better than cleaning products with nasty chemicals.

[azmomtoone]

Originally Posted by luvumom

I use it to clean everything from the kitchen counters, kitchen floor, everywhere in the bathroom, steaming carpets, getting rid of any odor, killing weeds in my yard, cleaning hairbrushes and so much more. I also use real lemons, baking soda and Borax. I think these items work so much better than cleaning products with nasty chemicals.

same here except we can't use borax, my son's allergic to it

[tryingtosave23]

Originally Posted by azmomtoone

never heard of a shark steamer, I have no idea what that is.

It is one of those as seen on tv deals and it actually works

[cheryllsm]

I would love a shark steamer; there is one i've seen on tv the H2O mop or steamer; it has a triangle head that I think would work better than the rectangle one

......says the mom who always has food left in the corners

[newmommy]

Originally Posted by uniqueusername

I just filled a container of vinegar/water this morning.. It was a tip to get rid of the pet urine smell in my carpet.. Once I got past the vinegar smell it seems the smell isnt nearly as bad in the room.. That makes me very happy...

Im going to use some of it in my carpet shampooer and see if that gets rid of the smell in all the carpets..

Potty training a Chi is proving difficult

How long does the smell stay in your carpet before it "settles down"?

[uniqueusername]

I turned on the fan and let it dry... I dont notice the vinegar smell at all anymore.. I actually didnt smell it anymore after about 30 mins or so.

[The $mall Change]

We love vinegar around here - use it for nearly everything! Bathrooms, mirrors, counters and more

Even my brand new laminate floors: 1 cup vinegar, 1 cup water, 1 cup rubbing alcohol mixed in a spray bottle. Just lightly spray the floor, then wipe it up with a dust mop.

Stainless steel sinks: clean with straight vinegar, dry the sink, then a light coat of olive oil - makes it look brand new and the OO helps repel dirt, too.

[marbear]

I mix orange oil in my vinegar/water/teatree oil because it helps mask the odor BUT the odor is gone when the vinegar is dry.

Pumice: this works MIRACLES on toilets with bad hard water stains. We bought our house after it sat on the market for 1 year. The hard water lines in the toilet were not budged by any traditional cleaners. It came right off with pumice...it is harder than limescale and softer than porcelain. It's great.

[foggy]

I use white vinegar with a mixture of baking soda, salt and a lemon juice to clean our bathtubs because we have hard water and the soap scum is icky. I did however recently get two cans of the Scrubbing bubbles Mega Shower Foam for next to nothing and boy did that stuff clean the tubs quick and perty!

[KayTay01]

I soak my shower curtains in it. It removes the hard water stains off of them.

You can also mix it with hot water and remove wall paper. My DD ripped part of my wallpaper off when she was little, and I didn't want her to breathe in the chemical wallpaper remover. Heck I didn't want to breathe it in either. It still takes a little work, but if you get it on you or the floor it doesn't matter. Plus it is a lot cheaper than the chemicals.

[HappyGal]

Fohrenburger posted this link in the section In the News

254 uses for Vinegar. And counting. | Wise Bread