Vinegar is one of nature’s most diverse natural products. I buy white vinegar by the gallon and its uses are many and varied. You may already use it for some of the following but perhaps some will be new to you.
Laundry:
White vinegar makes a good fabric softener and helps prevent colour bleed. It also helps to keep pipes clear. I don’t use fabric softener at all, instead I pour some white vinegar into the softener compartment.
Every so often I pour white vinegar into the drum and put the washing machine on a hot cycle to clean the machine and pipes (I don’t run the full cycle – once it’s heated up I empty). It’s good for dishwashers too.
To remove stiffness from new jeans, turn inside out and add ½ pint of white vinegar to the wash.
To clean the base of an iron make a paste of vinegar and bicarbonate of soda to clean the sole plate.
To remove iron-made creases and shine, spray from a bottle a mixture of ½ vinegar and ½ water.
Cooking:
To make hard boiled eggs easier to peel, add a teaspoon of vinegar and a tablespoon of salt to the water they’re cooked in.
Add a teaspoon of vinegar to the water when poaching an egg in a saucepan: it keeps the white firmer.
When boiling a ham add a little white, cider or wine vinegar to the water: it will draw out some of the salty taste and improve the flavour
When washing leafy vegetables or lettuce add a little vinegar and salt to the water, any bugs will float to the surface, slugs certainly do!
Freshening:
Boil a teaspoon of white vinegar in ½ pint of water to eliminate cooking odours.
Soak a smelly washing up sponge/dishcloth overnight in half and half vinegar and water solution, rinse well and leave to dry.
Rinse out humidifiers every few days, add two tablespoons of vinegar to help prevent mould and bacteria. Running it in the bathroom with the door and window closed should eliminate mould. Rinse and run again with clean water. Renew the water each time rather than topping up.
White vinegar also removes onion odour, fridge smells, stickers (leave to soak for a while) and dust on fans. Silk flower arrangements, when dusty, will look revitalised when lightly sprayed with vinegar and patent shoes will buff up nicely when rubbed with a cloth soaked in vinegar.
I have not tested all of the aforementioned uses but three of my personal favourites are as follows:
Soak a hardened paintbrush in hot vinegar, then wash in warm soapy water to soften – it works.
As an environmentally friendly weed suppressant (not a weed killer) I always use a mix of three parts water to one part white vinegar. Best done so it is in full sun for several hours – this works too.
To clear waste traps pour boiling water into trap, followed by bicarbonate of soda then white vinegar, quickly putting in the plug (it will froth up) leave for a few hours then pour more boiling water down, also works.
My book also states that vinegar is the only ‘weapon’ that can kill the mythical Slitheen in Dr. Who, now there is a very useful fact, who knew?
Image Credits: Jan Hook , Nick Forman .