Vinegar and water for simple housecleaning
Written by Lauren Wayne on October 12th, 2010
Cleaning and Organizing, Ecological Responsibility, Green Living, Practical Home Help
An easy, green housecleaning tip for you:
- Take a spray bottle.
- Dump in some white vinegar (the really cheap, store-brand kind). Maybe 1/4 full, maybe 1/3. I don’t really care, and neither does the vinegar.
- Fill the rest with tap water.
- Use it on everything.
Ta-da! When water alone or with a little dish soap isn’t enough for you, or when you’re in the mood for a “real cleaning,” get out your handy-dandy spray bottle and a rag and go to town.
Now, vinegar might not cut it if you’ve let rust or hard soap scum build up in your tub or elsewhere (ahem…guilty), but it makes a perfect go-to cleaner for most everyday grime, including toilets, counters, ovens, showers, sinks, floors, and more. It’s not safe to use on granite countertops due to the acidity levels, and I wouldn’t use it on wood, but it’s safe for most other hard surfaces.
It won’t bleach or stain fabric if you get carried away with your spraying.
It’s frugal and environmentally friendly.
Vinegar’s a great ingredient to have around, anyway, because it has uses for the kitchen, for laundering, and for hair. (Trust me!)
You can add other natural cleaning products into your vinegar routine, such as baking soda for scrubbing, and not worry about unsafe interactions. (Actually, you’ll get a really cool reaction if you mix the two in a sink, which your kids might enjoy witnessing!)
Since it’s a food product, you’ll feel confident using it around little children and pets. A bonus is you can give kids their own vinegar spray bottle and get them in on the act! It’s never too early to make kids excited about cleaning, I say.
The vinegar smell quickly dissipates as it dries, so I just imagine I’m in a fabulous deli while I’m waiting!
What are your favorite green cleaners?
Photo credit: Seth Sawyers
About The Author: Lauren Wayne
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Lauren Wayne is a co-founder of Natural Parents Network. She works and writes at home with her husband, Crackerdog Sam, and their sons, Mikko and Alrik. Lauren blogs about natural and attachment parenting at Hobo Mama, offers reviews and giveaways of natural parenting products at Hobo Mama Reviews, and gives a behind-the scenes look at blogging and writing at LaurenWayne.com. Lauren co-hosts the monthly Carnival of Natural Parenting and is the author of Poetry of a Hobo Mama: The First Three Years, The Natural Parent's Guide to Babywearing, and What Will We Learn Today? You can find Lauren on Twitter, Facebook, her Google+ profile, her Google+ page, and Pinterest.
I like to add a little tea tree oil to the mix too – for its antimicrobial properties… and some peppermint or lavender oil to mask the scent a bit. The vinegar smell makes me woozy.
I love the idea of adding essential oil! I bet I’d love cleaning with lavender spray.
I love the simplicity of using vinegar to clean. I usually clean with one bottle of vinegar and one bottle of peroxide, Spray them both then wipe clean.
Ooh, that’s a great combo. I think I’ll steal that! 🙂
There is a great book/youtube channel called “do it green” or something like that, it’s done by the woman who writes the book “The Gorgeously Green Diet” she does A LOT of organic, eco friendly stuff, cleaners, body care, etc. I’ve been a fan of the vinegar/water, baking soda, etc. stuff for a while, but it’s fun to look at other things too. Not as easy as the vinegar though!!
Nice! Thanks for the recommendation. If I get ambitious, I’ll definitely try out some other recipes. I’d like to make my own detergents, for one.
I use vinegar, baking soda, etc. I got all my information from a great book called, “Organic Housekeeping,” by Ellen Sandbeck. It is my go-to book whenever there is a cleaning mystery in my house.
I’m going to have to check that book out! Sounds great.