The secret of vinegar’s potency lies in its acidity. The acetic acid present in vinegar has a pH of 2.4, making it effective but still completely safe for many (many!) surfaces and finishes. From helping clean stuck-on messes in the kitchen to solving laundry dilemmas and more, vinegar is the most unassuming yet simultaneously essential cleaning product you own.
Here’s a list of 15 of the best things you can do or clean with a bit of vinegar.
1. Prevent hard water stains on your dishes.
Put a small bowl of white vinegar in the top rack of your dishwasher before you run it. The vinegar combats hard water spots, and putting it on the top rack of the dishwasher rather than in the rinse aid compartment is safer for the rubber gaskets of your machine.
2. Make windows sparkle.
Make a solution of one part distilled white vinegar to one part water. Pour the mixture into a spray bottle, mist it lightly over your windows, and let it sit on the glass for a bit before wiping it down it with a microfiber cloth.
3. Clean your oven without harsh chemicals.
To clean your oven without the noxious fumes, use a baking soda paste, elbow grease, and vinegar spray. After letting the baking soda paste sit on oven grime overnight, wipe it out and then spray any excess with vinegar. Wipe the inside of the oven out with a damp cloth.
4. Shine stainless steel appliances.
Spray your stainless appliances with a mist of white vinegar. Wipe the vinegar off (following the grain) using a microfiber cloth. Dip your cloth into a small amount of oil (a very small amount) and use it to make your stainless steel shine.
5. Fix tarnished silver.
To clean tarnished silver with little effort, combine baking soda and salt in an aluminum pan. Add vinegar and boiling water, along with your silver. The tarnish should begin to lift right away. Follow up with a buff and polish.
6. Clean the dishwasher.
Vinegar can be used to keep hard water stains from settling on your dishes, and it can also be used to clean the dishwasher itself. After cleaning dishwasher components, add two cups of white vinegar to the bottom of the dishwasher and run an empty cycle.
7. Clean the freezer.
The next time you clean out your freezer, spray the inside with a solution of white vinegar and hot water. The mixture is food-safe and effective at dissolving stuck-on messes in the freezer.
8. Freshen up the coffee maker.
You don’t exactly want to use chemical cleaners on your coffee maker. To clean it safely and effectively, run a half-vinegar-half-water mixture through a brew cycle. Pause the cycle halfway through and allow the solution to sit in the coffee maker.
9. Make butcher-block countertops squeaky-clean.
Butcher blocks are beautiful, but they’re porous. This means cleanliness is imperative — luckily vinegar can help. Scrape the countertop clean and scrub gently with a dish soap and water solution. Rinse this off and follow up with a spray of undiluted white vinegar. Let it sit for a while and then wipe clean with a damp cloth.
10. Make your blender container look new.
With time, your blender container could end up looking cloudy and grubby, in part due to hard water stains. To address them, fill your blender container halfway with warm water, a few drops of dish soap, and some white vinegar. Run the blender for about a minute before rinsing the container.
11. Mix your own all-purpose cleaning spray.
Combine equal parts of water and white vinegar for a general cleaning spray that can be used all over the kitchen and rest of the house. Use it to shine faucets, sinks, and stainless steel, and cut through grease on the stovetop. Add a few drops of essential oil to add create your favorite scent. (Note: Do not use vinegar on soft stone surfaces, such as marble, or on aluminum, cast iron, and a few other surfaces. Read more here.)
12. Clean the inside of your microwave.
Cleaning the microwave is one of the most loathed chores. Take the sting and elbow grease out of it by filling a bowl with two cups of water and about two tablespoons of vinegar. Microwave the mixture for about five minutes or until the water begins to boil. Don’t open the microwave after it beeps. Instead, let the steam soften the mess in the microwave. Open and use a sponge to wipe the interior clean.
13. Descale your shower head.
Hard water can clog your shower head over time, and unscrewing it every time you need to clean it is annoying. Pour a 1:1 water-and-vinegar solution into a bag and tie the bag around your shower head. Let it sit for at least half an hour before removing the bag and running water through the showerhead.
14. Repel spiders.
Spray a solution of vinegar and water around the outside of your windows if arachnoids like to make themselves at home in yours.
15. Clean your washing machine.
It’s easy to forget that the machines that clean our things also need a good cleaning themselves every now and then. To clean your washing machine, add two cups of vinegar to an empty cycle and run with the hottest water.
16. Get your copper pots gleaming.
Put the tarnished pot in the sink, sprinkle the copper with salt, pour vinegar on top of the salt, and then add more salt. Let it sit for 15 seconds or so and then begin scrubbing, adding more salt and vinegar as necessary.
17. Clean hardwood floors.
After vacuuming or sweeping, mix a solution of half a cup of white vinegar per gallon of warm water. Mop, make sure to wring your mop very well, especially if you’re cleaning hardwood floors.
Credit: Joe Lingeman
18. Soften and clean paint brushes with vinegar.
Paintbrushes seemingly ruined with sticky or dried-on paint? It happens to the best of us. Try this: Place your brush or brushes in an aluminum pan and heat some white vinegar on the stove, almost to boiling. Then, let the brushes soak for at least 10 minutes. Loosen the paint with a wire brush and then wash the bristles with warm water and soap. Rinse and let drip dry.
