Over a year ago I wrote a post about 10 surprising uses for vinegar. I got a handful of comments — nothing spectacular… but over the past year, I have gotten a crazy number of emails and Facebook comments from people listing more and more ways to use vinegar in and around the house.
Then, my parents got me this book for Christmas… and I knew I had to write another blog post with all these additional {and really amazing} uses for vinegar.
I’ve been going crazy with vinegar lately {I had to try out all these great ideas!}, so I’ve been buying 2 or 3 of the huge 128 oz. containers at a time — which really isn’t that big of a deal since I can get them on sale for around $2.00!
I’ve saved SO much money by using vinegar instead of more expensive store-bought items… and I feel like I’m also improving our home environment by not “polluting” it with so many harsh chemicals!
It took me a while to put this entire list together… but here it is: 101 MORE uses for vinegar!
CLEANING:
in the kitchen…
1. Naturally disinfect all surfaces {mix 1 part vinegar with 1 part water in a spray bottle}
2. Scrub stuck on stains {make a paste with vinegar and baking soda and scrub with a sponge}
3. Clean your dishwasher {pour 1 cup into the bottom of the dishwasher and run it with no dishes inside}
4. In place of “Jet Dry” {fill the Jet Dry cup on your dishwasher with vinegar instead}
5. Clean out your coffee maker {pour 2 c. white vinegar and 1 c. water into the coffee maker and run a full brew cycle. Remove and replace the filter and run 2 cycles of just water}
6. Disinfect cutting boards
7. Clean and disinfect pots, pans, utensils, plates, cups, etc.
8. Clean your hands with vinegar to remove strong onion and garlic odors
9. Keep sponges and kitchen rags fresh by soaking in vinegar overnight. {rinse them before using again}
10. Clean “un-washable appliances” {spray white vinegar on electric griddles, George Foreman grills, etc. and then just wipe with a damp cloth or paper towel.}
12. Natural de-greaser {clean with vinegar and then rinse with cold water}
13. Microwave: {pour 1/4 c. vinegar and 1 c water in a glass bowl; microwave on high for 5 minutes; wipe clean}
14. Disinfect ice trays and remove build-up {soak ice trays in vinegar overnight and then rinse with cold water}
15. Mix vinegar with citrus juice to freshen your garbage disposal {citrus peals work great too}
16. Naturally clean your fruits and veggies by soaking them in 1 part vinegar and 1 part water
17. Clean a non-self-cleaning oven by spraying the inside with vinegar and then sprinkling with baking soda. Let sit for 5-10 minute and then scrub with a sponge
19. Remove hard water spots from stainless steel by wiping with a cloth dipped in vinegar
20. Clean the insides of water bottles and coffee thermoses by “swishing” with vinegar — this will naturally kill any bacteria lingering at the bottom where you might no be able to reach
in the bathroom…
21. Clean counters and all surfaces with 1 part vinegar and 1 part water
22. Toilets {pour white vinegar directly in the toilet, let it sit for a few minutes, and then scrub with toilet brush}
23. Mirrors {my recipe for glass cleaner}
24. Showers and bathtubs {my recipe for shower cleaner}
25. Stinky towels {wash towels with 1/2 c. of white vinegar in the rinse cycle}
26. Mold and mildew {mix 3 T. white vinegar, 1 t. Borax, and 2 c. hot water. Shake, spray, and let it soak for a few minutes, then rub the area with a soft brush or cloth}
27. Remove hard water stains from your shower nozzle by pouring 1 part vinegar and 1 part water in a plastic bag. Use a rubber band to attach the bag to the nozzle and let soak for 10-15 minutes.
28. Remove limescale buildup on your shower door or in your tub by heating a small container of vinegar to the boiling point. Pour vinegar over the problem areas and it should loosen the lime.
29. Wash your shower curtain by putting in the washing machine with a few old towels. Use 1/2 c. laundry detergent and 1/2 c. baking soda for the wash cycle, and then 1 c. vinegar for the rinse cycle.
30. Clean the grimy soap build up from your soap dish by soaking it in 1 part vinegar and 1 part warm water
general home cleaning…
31. Wood floors {mix 1 c. vinegar with 1 gal. warm water; clean floors with this mixture and then dry with a clean cloth}
32. Use it in a steam mop to clean most surfaces
33. Leather sofas/chairs {spray white vinegar over surface and “buff” with a soft clean cloth}
34. Walls {wipe down pretty much any wall surface with a cloth dampened with white vinegar}
35. Disinfect kid’s toys, books, etc. using 1 part vinegar and 1 part water.
36. Remove dirt and stains from your mattress by blotting with a clean cloth dipped in vinegar. If the spot is still damp, simply sprinkle a little baking soda over the area and vacuum it up.
37. Clean the filters in your dehumidifier / humidifier by soaking them in vinegar for 1 hour
38. Clean mini blinds by soaking them in a bathtub filled with warm water and a few cups of vinegar
39. Spot clean carpets by spraying a little vinegar on the spot and blotting it with a damp cloth
40. Wipe down the inside of all your refrigerator shelves and drawers for a food-safe alternative to traditional cleaners.
41. Wipe down electronics {computer keys, mouse, phone keypad, etc} by wiping with a rag dipped in vinegar.
42. Clean residue and build-up on the inside of your washing machine by dumping in 2 c. of vinegar and running it on the quick cycle.
43. Remove water rings from wood furniture by mixing 1 part white vinegar and 1 part olive oil. Dip a soft cloth in the mixture and rub on the affected area {going with the grain}. Then wipe with a clean, dry cloth.
LAUNDRY:
simply add about 1/2 c. to your rinse cycle to…
44. Remove built-up soap residue
45. Reduce static cling
46. Naturally soften your clothes, towels, blankets, etc.
47. Stop colors from running
48. Whiten whites
49. Reduce irritation for those with sensitive skin
50. Prolong the life of your tights and nylons
51. Remove lingering odors {cigarette smell, smoke, gas}
52. Eliminate that “moldy” smell from damp towels and work-out clothes
you can also soak/scrub items in white vinegar to…
53. Remove yellow stains from sweat
54. Remove blood stains {let soak for 10 minutes}
55. Remove ink stains {mix 2 parts vinegar and 3 parts cornstarch, rub on stain, let dry, wash}
when ironing, use vinegar to help with…
56. Removing wrinkles {mist clothing with 1 part white vinegar and 3 parts water}
57. Cleaning the inside of your iron {fill the water reservoir with white vinegar}
58. Cleaning the metal plate of your iron {mix 1 part vinegar and 1 part salt and scrub the plate with this paste}
59. Eliminating scorch marks {rub the scorched area with a cloth dipped in white vinegar and then blot with a clean towel}
HEALTH & BEAUTY:
60. Hair rinse {in place of conditioner}. Just pour 1/2 c. or so over your hair and rinse well
61. Clean your children’s retainers or Invisalign braces by soaking them in vinegar for a few minutes
62. Strengthen your nails by regularly dipping them in vinegar
63. Prevent infections by spraying small cuts with vinegar
64. Dry up a cold sore by dabbing it with a cotton ball soaked in vinegar
65. Drink 1 teaspoon of apple cider vinegar to help relieve constipation and/or heartburn
66. Kill lice by spraying warm apple cider vinegar onto the scalp just before the final rinse. This will break down the “glue” the nits/lice use to attach to the hair
67. Soften your cuticles by soaking in a bowl of white vinegar for 5 minutes
68. Get rid of blemishes by mixing 1 part vinegar with 10 parts water and dabbing the solution on your freshly-washed face with a clean cotton ball
69. Soothe sunburned skin by soaking a towel in vinegar and then laying over the burned areas
70. Naturally whiten your teeth by dipping a toothbrush in white vinegar and brushing your teeth {only do this once a week and rinse thoroughly with water after you are finished}
71. Put cider vinegar on the pad of a bandage and cover your warts. Replace with a fresh bandage every night and the warts should be gone within a week
72. Mix a few tablespoons of vinegar in your babies bath water to help with diaper rash
73. Remove the hairspray residue from your flat iron or curling iron by wiping with a rag dipped in vinegar
74. Clean brushes and combs by letting them sit in a 1 gallon of water mixed with 1 c. of vinegar
HOME & GARDEN:
75. Clean your windshield wipers with vinegar to keep them functioning properly
76. Loosen rust — like rusted-on screws or rusty patio furniture by soaking the areas in vinegar
77. Keep flying bugs away from your outdoor parties by putting cider vinegar in a shallow dish away from your food. By the end of the night, your dish will be full of “floating bugs”!
78. Make a fly trap for your kitchen by filling a mason jar half full of cider vinegar. Then punch holes in the lid and put the lid back on. The flies will crawl through, but won’t be able to get out again.
79. Mosquito spray — just pour vinegar in a spray bottle and spritz on your skin. The vinegar smell will go away after a few minutes, but you should be bug-free all night!
80. Clean the grill by scrubbing the grates with vinegar and scrubbing with a grill brush
81. Spray it on your weeds as a natural weed killer
82. Clean all your patio furniture with 1 part vinegar and 1 part water in a spray bottle
83. Clean your lawn mower blades {spray vinegar on the blades and scrub off}
84. Keep cats out of your children’s sand box by pouring vinegar around the outside of the box
85. Put a few drops of vinegar in your dog’s water bowl to neutralize his/her urine and prevent those ugly brown/yellow patches in your grass
86. Keep flies away from your pool by pouring vinegar around the outside edges of the pool
87. Spray ripening melons and pumpkins with vinegar to prevent mold from growing on the skin
88. Quickly clean bird droppings by spraying the area with vinegar and then wiping with a cloth/sponge. This will also disinfect the area.
89. Keep uninvited guests out of your veggie garden by soaking several rags in vinegar and then placing them around your garden. Repeat the process every 7-10 days.
90. Before you start painting, wipe down the surfaces with a cloth dipped in vinegar and let dry. This will assure that all the dirt and grease is removed and the paint will adhere properly.
91. Remove the “skunk smell” from dogs {or anything else} by washing with 1 part vinegar and 1 part water and then rinsing thoroughly with warm water.
MISC:
yes, there are even a few MORE uses for vinegar!
92. Make your favorite vinaigrette or salad dressing
93. Tenderize tough cuts of meat mixing a little vinegar in with your other marinating ingredients.
94. Use it to “pickle” almost anything!
95. Freshen smelly shoes by spraying the insides with vinegar, placing them in a paper bag, and then putting the bag in the freezer overnight.
96. Add 2 tablespoons of vinegar to the water when boiling an egg to prevent the yolks from turning brown
97. Add 2 tablespoons to the water when poaching an egg to stop it from “spreading” out
98. Naturally sanitize baby bottles/nipples by washing with vinegar and warm water and then storing in the freezer
99. Remove sticky residue from labels, stickers, gum, etc. by rubbing the area with a rag dipped in vinegar
100. Use vinegar and baking soda as rising agents in vegan cake {I’ve never tried this, but I’m told it works}
101. Polish sliver by mixing 1/2 c. white vinegar and 2 tablespoons baking soda together. Then letting your silver soak for 2-3 hours, rinse with cool water, and dry immediately.
Who knew you could do SOOOO many things with vinegar!!
Amy says
just to add to your health and beauty uses. you do have it as a disinfectant for cuts but this is also true for most skin rashes and infections including those from surgeries. I have a friend that had been hospitalized and treated with antibiotics, and her cut still had not healed. The doctor told her to clean it with vinegar a couple of times a day and it worked! She told me to pass it on since i read your article previously and have been using it for so many things. Thanks so much!
Valerie says
When cleaning up pet accidents – keeps Spot or Kitty from finding the same “ammonia” scent location that you might find with other cleaners that have ammonia in them.
Melissa Highman says
I am going to be starting a teaching job very soon and was trying to figure out how to use vinegar to sanitize/disinfect vs bleach. Would I do 1:1 ratio of vinegar and water and then do you just spray it over the items or do you have to wipe them or rinse them off?
Andrea says
Yes Melissa, A 1:1 ration is usually good for Vinegar. I’m not sure about wiping the items off or not — I usually do, but I let it sit for a few minutes to “kill” bacteria and stuff.
Barb says
Hello there, You’ve done a fantastic job here. I’ll definitely be back.
And will personally suggest it to my friends.
I’m confident they will benefit from this website. The info has been so very much appreciated!
Christal says
I use vinegar all the time in my cleaning. I just want to point out though that several studies have been conducted on using vinegar as a disinfectant. It is very, very reliable with one exception: salmonella. Certain salmonella cells (sadly, the ones most likely to cause serious complications) have a protective mucus layer which prevents vinegar from disinfecting them. However, if you wash your cutting board for example with soap and water first, this barrier is removed allowing vinegar to penetrate the cells and kill it. Therefore for my cleaning I always keep one spray bottle of diluted castile soap and one spray bottle with vinegar.
You can also add essential oils to your vinegar spray bottle, I do 10 drops to one quart, whatever combinations you like. It’ll leave everything smelling nice and fresh.
Heidi says
I know this comment is super late, but DO NOT use vinegar on granite counter tops; it will cause pitting. I know you have a granite cleaner recipe in a newer post (that works great!), but I didn’t want anyone to only see this list and unwittingly damage their counters 😉
LOVE this list!
kate says
Great tips. Thank you! I use vinegar a lot around our house but I see I can use it more!
Karen says
Have you tried the vinegar for heartburn? I’ve tried apple cider vinegar for horrendous cramps, which I read should help (don’t remember if it did) but that burned my throat horribly and made my heartburn worse. Maybe it was the apple cider vinegar itself and should be a different kind?
Sara says
I’ve heard a wipe down of vinegar and water will erase pathways that ants follow as they are invading our kitchen…
Kathy says
How can I print these 101uses for ginger?
DAVID says
I merely copied one section at a time and pasted it so i wouldn’t have to do the pictures. Worked slick. Course I have an Apple.
Kathy says
Could someone please tell me if Dawn is a dishwashing liquid or something else? I live in Australia and we don’t have it here. Will a good quality dishwashing liquid do the job? Thanks.
Karen says
Hmm not sure if anyone has answered you but yes Dawn is a dish washing liquid. I’m not positive but I don’t see why a different dishwashing liquid wouldn’t work.
Serena says
Tremendous thanks for sharing this information! What stores sell essential oils? I can only seem to find them online?
Flavia says
I’m traumatized because my mum used to put vinegar on my head when I had lice. It works, but the smell is horrendous 🙂
Quick question, when you use vinegar around the house, does it stink everything, or does the smell get diluted because of the water?
Karen says
Wow, what an awesome list. Thank you so much. Is there a difference between distilled white vinegar and pure white vinegar?
We are working hard to take the chemicals out of our cleaning and this list will really help! Thank you.
Dyann says
When I was washing a family members clothes that was in a nursing home that had a urine smell I would add a 1/2 cup to a cup of vinegar to rinse water and the smell would be gone.
Also if you have sticky pits, like some of us going through menopause, when you take a shower spritz a little vinegar on your underarms while you soap down your body, wash your hair, or whatever else you want to do, then you can soap your pits and wash as usual. This helps tremendously.
L. says
would vinegar work on a linoleum floor? I do not have a mop so scrub the kitchen and bathroom w/ scrub brush, but am looking for something that gets old stains out (nobody washed/mopped the floor before we moved in (i mean the other tenants).
Diane says
My husband HATES the smell of vinegar! Do you have any suggestions for getting rid of the smell during use?
Andrea says
you could mix in a few drops of essential oils in a scent he does like — or just do the cleaning when he’s not around 🙂 the vinegar smell is usually gone in about 10 minutes!!
Marybeth says
You should never use vinegar on wood floors. I learned this the hard way. The guy who installed our wood floors recommended vinegar and water for cleaning the wood floors. I did this for years until I started seeing the floor getting duller and duller. After researching the problem I found out vinegar is very acidic and over time will strip the floor of it’s shine. I’ve tried many other products and now use Bona Wood Floor cleaner and LOVE it. It dries quickly and with no streaking.
Also, never use vinegar on marble (like vanity tops) for the same reason.
Suzanne says
This is wonderful! I’m going to have to print this out. I’ve tried the vinegar, Dawn, and water and vinegar and water into spray bottles, and really love it (though one of my bottles is plugged up…so I need a new one). I look forward to trying some of the others!
Question too, like Stephanie, how do you add it to the rinse cycle in a front loader? Is that even possible? I have a set of towels I just cannot get the mold smell out of and they are a dark green (can’t bleach).
Jen says
I have one to add, if that’s okay! When you feel a cold coming on, dip the tip of your finger in apple cider vinegar (better for health uses) and rub it around the inside tip of your nostrils. It will smart for a second and make your eyes water, but it REALLY DOES help to combat those cold germs. If you catch it right at the beginning, you can often kill it before it becomes full blown. Thanks for your awesome list!
Andrea says
Thanks Jen! That’s a new one for me 🙂
Christine says
Great list! I use vinegar to clean pretty much anything. And I always use it in the rinse cycle for our laundry. Softens clothes better than anything else! Plus everything is sanitized.
Stephanie says
I’ve been wanting to try vinegar in the rinse cycle, but not quite sure what to do. Do I have to stand around waiting for the rinse cycle (no buzzer or anything to let me know!), and then just pour it in? On the clothes?
Jackie says
A Downy ball works great for this
Miranda @ A ThankFULL Heart says
This list is awesome! Thanks for compiling it!
Sara says
Love this! I started using vinegar when we got guinea pigs, because it was recommended to clean their cage. If I don’t want harsh chemicals around my pets, why do I want it around myself? I used it in the wash with their things, then figured again, why not us? I had a serious health scare related to mold in our apartment, so now we’ve moved and had to use vinegar for cleaning our things. That experience convinced me that my body/brain really is affected by my environment, and I’m starting to learn about more natural cleaning products!
L. says
this isn’t about the post, but how do I view your blog archive?
Beth says
No vinegar on granite as over time even the diluted acid will etch the surface, or so I’ve red. Now I do about 1/4 c. Alcohol, 1/4 – 1/2 t. Dawn and fill remainder of spray bottle with water. Recipe I found online. 🙂
KimH says
L. Yes, thats what that means.
I use a combination of vinegar & lemon juice with water as a general kitchen cleaner. I spray it on my floor too when I mop.. It works for me!
Thrifty Military Mommy says
Holy Moses!!! That’s the longest list of uses for vinegar I’ve ever seen!!! I knew vinegar was great for a lot of things, but I never imagined it was that great! Thanks so much for all this info. I’m saving it so I can refer back to it often. I especially can’t wait to try the one to mix with baking soda to make a paste and clean those hard spots in my oven!
L. says
What does one part vinegar and 1 part water mean? Equal amounts of both? Like, say, 1 cup vinegar and 1 cup water?
Connie says
Thank you so very much for putting the time in to post the 101 ways to use Vinegar. I can’t thank you enough!!!!
~Connie
Danita says
Thanks for the motivation to give this a try! Never knew you could do so much with vinegar.
Susan says
I am currently trying vinegar as a weed killer.
Julie says
It does work. I have tried it. Just a word of caution…do spray near any plant(s) that you don’t want to die, even the overspray can kill it. I use it to spray on the weeds that grow up between cracks on the sidewalk etc. I have also used it to kill a large area of grass that I wanted to use for a flower bed.