Do yo have any tips for cleaning with white vinegar?

[florentina1]

I keep ready how white vinegar is better for the environment, so I have bought 5 ltrs. I would love to know how others use it.

I read that to clean the bath you need to warm it and add washing up liquid.

I use it mostly for descaling. Which means the kettle, now that we have a water softener fitted.

I empty the kettle, pour vinegar in until the top of the scaled-up area, and then leave it for a while. If the kettle was hot or there's not much scale, it takes about 20min, but if the kettle was cold or I have allowed a lot if scale to build up, it takes an hour or more. Then I pour the vinegar into a bowl and turn the kettle upside down in it to escape the rim and spout. When it's done I pour the vinegar back into the bottle. Rinse the kettle a couple of times and it's ready to use. I reuse the vinegar for descaling until it turns green.

I used to speak shower heads in a bowl of vinegar overnight to descale them.

It's supposed to be good for cleaning windows, but I found the smell unbearable when I tried.

Though excellent for deodorising! When a child has thrown up in the car, after I've cleaned up I leave a small bowl of vinegar in the car overnight. The following morning the car reeks of vinegar, but open the windows and within minutes there's no smell at all, not of vinegar or puke (or any other stinksome accident).

It's excellent instead of fabric conditioner when washing towels. Softens them a bit, without reducing absorbency. Don't leave any smell, and if used regularly, reduces scale build-up in the machine.

some good advice here:

moralfibres.co.uk/everything-you-need-to-know-about-white-vinegar-for-cleaning/

Just make sure you don’t add bicarbonate of soda to it, like the internet often advises. Adding an alkali to an acid just leaves you with a useless salt solution.

I use it a mix of vinegar and washing up liquid in one of those dishmatic washing up sticks to clean my shower. It's pretty handy.

Don't use vinegar on marble or granite etc as it can erode the stone.

It is good to put in the softener drawer of your washing machine when doing a load of towels apparently. It doesn't make them smell of vinegar!

A bowl of vinegar in your dishwasher will give it a clean.

I have previously bunged vinegar down a plughole and then followed with vinegar after reading about it online, I thought the foamy action lifted dirt?

Vinegar and bicarbonate worked on a very stained mug.
h’s mug is gross he drinks from it all day and no amount of scrubbing with a scourer had cleaned it but out vinegar in and bicarbonate waited for it to stop fizzing topped with hot water and left while he was at work. It’s come up really clean. I had soaked it with washing up liquid and dissolves dishwasher tablets before and nothing cleaned it.

just descaled the kettle as well. About half an inch in the bottom then top up with water. Boil the kettle usually it’s clean then but if not I leave it to sit for as long as I have then re like empty. Use the water from inside the kettle to clean the outside removing water marks etc and then rinse the kettle out.

going to use it in our scaled up bathroom taps and see what happens.

the bathroom trick seems to be some kind of scrubby brush that holds cleaning solution. So doshmatic make sure it’s the non scratch one. The soap I guess thickens it enough to stop it all just running out? Then use the scrubber to clean and then rinse.
I didn’t use dish soap I used flash bathroom as I was worried about how much bubbles dish soap would make.

I use it to clean the loo, sinks, shower, bath, mirrors, windows and loads of other things. I use it like most people use an anti bac spray. The chemical cleaners used to make my throat feel like it was closing up so I switched.

I mix it 50:50 with washing-up liquid, to use in the bathroom, on the shower screen, taps etc - the hardcore scaley places.

For most, everyday jobs, I mix it with water (about 30% vinegar) and then add a splash of washing up liquid. I use this in a spray bottle.

A big squirt of vinegar in the dishwasher or washing machine, prior to a hot wash, is great for cleaning them.

I've also been known to soak orange peels in a jar of vinegar to make a lovely smelling cleaner.

Don't use it on brass or fancy metal as it can lead to corrosion.

Some good tips here! I’ve only used it as a loo cleaner – chucked a litre down the toilet and left overnight and it lifted the (very bad and built-up) limescale with ease.

Does anyone know if it will work on black mould at all? Perhaps mixed with something else? We’ve got some in our shower.

I repurpose a spray bottle and mix it with 30% water and a good squeeze of washing up liquid and use it to clean the loo, sinks and cooker.

Another vote for using it to descale. I put some mixed with water in one of those plastic zip lock bags then dunk my shower head or taps in it. Secure the top closed with a strong rubber band then leave over night. In the morning I scrub with a scouring pad.

Does anyone know if it will work on black mould at all? Perhaps mixed with something else? We’ve got some in our shower.

Whatever you do, do not mix it with bleach!

You can use one, rinse, then the other, but not both together.

Toothpaste is quite good for cleaning grout, especially whitening toothpaste. You need very little on the brush. I clean bathroom grout when I discard a toothbrush - it may be worn out for cleaning teeth, but it's excellent for scrubbing grout.

Its acidic so don't mix it with bleach.
If you mix it with bicarb, don't use it on Formica as it will stain it pink.
Its good for reducing mould but can't remove it from silicon sealant, you need to replace that.
Pour a cup of bicarb down the plughole, then add a cup of white vinegar and leave for an hour.
You can use it with a hot wash to keep your washing machine clean.
Use a tablespoon as fabric softener, especially if you are hand washing woollens.

Does it get the smell of sweat out of armpits of clothes?

Thats caused by bacteria, see if you can get hold of some Biotex, or soak in oxygenating laundry bleach.

Thank you, this is really helpful.

Its so much better for the environment than many commercial cleaners, it can be made out of products that we can grow here in the UK, and its biodegradable.

You can also use it to control weeds (that or boiling water);
www.thespruce.com/acetic-acid-definition-cleaning-uses-1707015

It does, but eventually bleaches the pits. So the clothes end up ruined, anyway. But it's useful for extending the life of a top that you would praise have to chuck. The one thing I know that gets the whiff out is Halo. Unfortunately I'm allergic to it. Covid, however, has taught me that hand sanitiser works very well at deodorising shirt armpits, as long as you apply it immediately. It's not nearly as effective after the shirt has been washed. The BO smell is not caused by sweat itself, but by the bacteria that feed on the sweat. So if you kill the bacteria you prevent the sweat.

That's interesting. I knew that farmers use high concentration vinegar, but I didn't know for what. Can we just spray weeds with domestic vinegar to kill them?

I wouldn't spray it, only use what you need. Paint it on and try not to spill too much on the soil, it will kill insects on contact.

When you peel oranges or satsumas ( or cut off lemon rind) put in a jar and half full with vinegar. Leave for a few days and you’ve got orange or lemon scented vinegar to clean with. Or put the uncovered jar in the fridge to keep it fresh.

Plain vinegar is good Great with laundry. I use a cupful in the wash and as a fabric softener on the dog’s bedding and towels. Eliminates the doggy smell.

Used to make a bathroom cleaner that was bicarbonate of soda, vinegar, lemon juice, washing up liquid , mixed and it sets in a soft paste. Never had such a shiny bath.