Ode To Vinegar

It's that time again! Time to get our tip on! Don't forget to head on over to We Are That Family for more great tips!


This week I am declaring my love for vinegar. And this is not a culinary post. Although, don't get me started on some fresh cut fries doused in malt vinegar...mmmmmmm.

I have found so many handy uses for vinegar over time, and I now keep a giant bottle in my house at all times. These ideas are not original to me, of course. People have been using vinegar for, oh, I don't know, around 1,000 years or so, I'm sure.

Here are some of the things I regularly use vinegar for:

1. Our wine glasses will not stay put in our dishwasher. They always end up falling over, and then have a big water ring on them. One swipe with vinegar and they are sparkly and fabulous.

2. Place one cup of vinegar in the microwave and microwave for 1 minute. Take a rag, and use the warm vinegar to clean out the microwave. All the gunky bits will come right off. Not that I have ever have gunky bits in my microwave. Just what I've heard...

3. Fill an ice tray with vinegar and freeze. Put the vinegar cubes in the disposal and run. It will get rid of any skanky smells. Or so I've heard.

4. Ever forget about a load of laundry in your washing machine? No? Me neither. But the next time your "friend" asks what he/she should do about the mildew smell on the clothes, tell him/her to add 1 cup of vinegar to the wash and wash on hot. The smell will be long gone and the clothes will not smell like vinegar.

5. I dabble in cloth diapers. So, I've been stripping diapers to have them ready for Baby Sister just in case I decide to use them again. I refuse to commit. I'm rather loony when I have a tiny baby. I'm going to need some months to make up my mind. Anyway, it takes a while to remove all the soap from diapers when stripping them, but by adding 1 c. of vinegar to one of your last rinses will help remove the detergent residue from the diapers without damaging the dipes.


I found a website that lists 131 uses for Vinegar! Hot dang! Here's the website if you want to check it out: www.angelfire.com/cantina/homemaking/vinegar.html

Here are some of the ideas from there that I plan to try out:


Clean rust from tools, bolts, and spigots. Soak the rusted tool, bolt, or spigot in undiluted vinegar overnight. I'll be using this one because I may have left some tools out in the rain.

Keep car windows frost free. Coat the windows the night before with a solution of three parts vinegar to one part water. I'm a spoiled rotten brat with a double garage for now. But just in case that isn't so one day, I'll keep this one filed away.

Relieve itching by using a cotton ball to dab mosquito and other bug bites with Vinegar straight from the bottle. If this works, this will be the best vinegar tip of all time!!!

Treat sinus infections and chest colds. Add 1/4 cup or more vinegar to the vaporizer. Oh. If only. I'm sure it's only a matter of 5 or 10 minutes before I'm having sinus issues again. If vinegar helps my sinuses, I'm erecting a shrine.

Freshen up the washing machine. Clean the hoses and unclog soap scum. Once a month pour one cup of vinegar into the washing machine and run the machine through a normal cycle, without clothes. This, again, assumes that I might have funky smells in my house. Which I don't. But, IF I did, I'd try this out.

Clean and disinfect wood cutting boards by wiping with full strength vinegar.

Unclog a shower head by unscrewing it, remove the rubber washer, place the head in a pot filled with equal parts Vinegar and water, bring to a boil, then simmer for five minutes. You should see the way the water comes out of our shower head currently. Sigh. In fact, I'd better go do this RIGHT NOW, before somebody loses an eye.