White vinegar for cleaning

[Pootles2010]

Please help! Everyone seems to think white vinegar is excellent for cleaning, I know i probably sound dense but what sort of vinegar do you use? Just been to shops, only one i found was clear, by Sarsons, called 'distilled malt vinegar'. Is this right? It still smells a bit, don't want my house to smell like a chip shop! Thanks!

You've got it Pootles. I dilute it with water and then add just a drop of fairy washing up liquid: fill a spray dispenser and Bob's your uncle. Cleans everything.

That's the one I have used. You could always add a drop or two of lavendar oil. I used to have a recipe for a household spray - you use vinegar, borax powder, water and a few drops of lavendar oil - and it works a treat. Only I can't remember the quantities. I believe it was an Anthea Turner recipe... Not sure if that recommends it or not.

Sarsons clear vinegar, that's the stuff I use. Brilliant, it is. It does smell a bit but will evaporate.

dont worry about the smell. that goes away as soon as its dry.

Not Anthea's recipe - but have a look here:

www.yourhealthyhouse.ca/Site/Recipes.html

Can I hijack with another question? I've noticed lots of people talk about baking soda... Is that bicarbonate of soda or baking powder or neither and something else entirely?

Baking soda is bicarbonate of soda, not baking powder. AKA sodium bicarbonate, it is another good cleaner, especially for fridges and places where smell really does count.

yes it's also known as bicarb (but not baking powder).

Thank you, so no sprinkling baking powder all over my carpets then! :)

i bought a big bottle of white vinegar and bicarb and cleaned my drains it works a treat i got mine from costco but you can use the sarsons one aswell.

not unless you want your carpets to rise nicely, no

Ta :) isn't baking powder made with bicarb? seem to remember mum using bicarb mixed with something else when she ran out of baking powder?

yes, you can use bicarb and cream of tartar to create an alternative to baking powder - but baking powder itself has wheatflour in it as well. Sodium bicarbonate is the active cleaning agent so not much point using a diluted version when the neat version would work much better.

Oh ok :) its a bit embarassing that i'm this old and know this little about cleaning.

Pootles, thank you! You asked all the questions I wanted to ask about vinegar and baking powder.

When you say it cleans EVERYTHING, do you mean you can use it neat like Flash and diluted on the floors etc?

so what is borax then and is it readily available in the shops and what is it good for cleaning? thanks

wiki on borax - not sure if it's sold separately any more, tbh.

I have some - got it from the local hardware store.

My god the vinegar is amazing! Why haven't i used it before? i thought the shower was all scratched - it wasn't it was limescale...yuk! All gone now! So shiny, and i'm really lazy so certainly wasn't elbow grease. Ta thumbwitch :)

Can i use brown vinegar with same effect ? - as asda does bottles of saver vinegar at a very low price - like 50p and i I just couldn't justify spending a lot more on a branded white vinegar.
I tried it and everything smelt like a chip shop so stopped as i assumed it was the wrong kind and haven't tried vinegar since.

yeah the smell is why you use white, still smells a bit. Noticed panda said she got hers from costco, worth a try?

Thanks Pootles i'll try again with the clear stuff, no costco around me but never mind i'll bite the bullet with sarsons !