50 Uses for Vinegar
It’s easy to see why vinegar has been around for thousands of years—it has so many uses! From cooking and cleaning with vinegar, to gardening and home remedies, white distilled vinegar is one of the most versatile—and economical—products you can have on hand.
1. Kill grass on walks and driveways. Pour full strength on unwanted grass.
2. Kill weeds. Spray full strength on tops of weeds. Reapply on any new growth until plants have starved.
3. Increase soil acidity. In hard water areas, add a cup of vinegar to a gallon of tap water for watering acid loving plants like rhododendrons, gardenias, or azaleas. The vinegar will release iron in the soil for the plants to use.
4. Neutralize garden lime. Rinse your hands liberally with vinegar after working with garden lime to avoid rough and flaking skin. Clean pots before repotting, rinse with vinegar to remove excess lime.
5. Deter ants. Spray vinegar around door and window frames, under appliances, and along other known ant trails.
6. Keep car windows frost free. Coat the windows the night before with a solution of three parts vinegar to one part water.
7. Polish car chrome. Apply full strength with a soft cloth.
8. Keep cats away. Sprinkle vinegar on an area to discourage cats from walking, sleeping, or scratching on it.
9. Keep dogs from scratching ears. Clean the inside of the ears with a soft cloth dipped in diluted vinegar.
10. Make buttermilk. Add a tablespoon of vinegar to a cup of milk and let it stand 5 minutes to thicken.
11. Tenderize meat. Soak in vinegar overnight.
12. Freshen vegetables. Soak wilted vegetables in a quart of cold water and a tablespoon of vinegar.
13. Replace a lemon. Substitute 1/4 teaspoon of vinegar for 1 teaspoon of lemon juice.
14. Firm up gelatin. Add a teaspoon of vinegar for every box of gelatin;it keeps those molded desserts from sagging in the summer heat.
15. Boil better eggs. Add 2 tablespoons of vinegar to each quart of water before boiling eggs, keeps them from cracking.
16. Prepare fluffier rice. Add a teaspoon of vinegar to the water when it boils.
17. Debug fresh vegetables by washing leafy greens in water with vinegar and salt. Bugs will float off.
18. Scale fish more easily. Rub with vinegar 5 minutes before scaling.
19. Dampen your appetite. Sprinkle a little vinegar on prepared food to take the edge off your appetite.
20. Relieve sunburn. Lightly rub white or cider vinegar on skin. Reapply as needed.
21. Conditions hair. Add a tablespoon of vinegar to your rinse to dissolve sticky residue left by shampoo.
22. Relieve dry and itchy skin. Add 2 tablespoons of vinegar to your bath water.
23. Fight dandruff. After shampooing, rinse with a solution of 1/2 cup vinegar and 2 cups of warm water.
24. Soothe a soar throat. Gargle with a teaspoon of vinegar in a glass of water. (add honey if desired)
25. Deodorize the kitchen drain. Pour a cup down the drain once a week. Let stand 30 minutes and then flush with cold water.
26. Eliminate onion odor. Rub on your fingers before and after slicing.
27. Clean and disinfect wood cutting boards. Wipe with full strength vinegar.
28. Remove fruit stains from hands. Rub with vinegar.
29. Cut grease and odor on dishes. Add a tablespoon of vinegar to hot soapy water.
30. Clean a teapot. Boil a mixture of water and vinegar in the teapot. Wipe away the grime.
31. Freshen a lunchbox. Soak a piece of bread in vinegar and let it sit in the unchbox over night.
32. Clean the refrigerator. Wash with a solution of equal parts water and vinegar.
33. Unclog a drain. Pour a handful of baking soda down the drain and add 1/2 cup of vinegar. Rinse with hot water.
34. Clean and deodorize the garbage disposal. Make vinegar ice cubes and feed them down the disposal. Afterwards, run cold water through a minute.
35. Clean and deodorize jars. Rinse mayonnaise, peanut butter, and mustard jars with vinegar when empty.
36. Clean the dishwasher. Run a cup of vinegar through the whole cycle once a month.
37. Clean stainless steel. Wipe with a vinegar dampened cloth.
38. Clean china and fine glassware. Add a cup of vinegar to a sink of warm water. Gently dip the glass or china in the solution and let dry.
39. Get stains out of pots. Fill pot with a solution of 3 tablespoons of vinegar to a pint of water. Boil until stain loosens and can be washed away.
40. Clean the microwave. Boil a solution of 1/4 cup of vinegar and 1 cup of water in the microwave. Will loosen splattered on food and deodorize.
41. Dissolve rust from bolts and other metals. Soak in full strength vinegar.
42. Get rid of cooking smells. Let simmer a small pot of vinegar and water solution.
43. Unclog steam iron. Pour equal amounts of vinegar and water into the iron's water chamber. Turn to steam and leave the iron on for 5 minutes in an upright postion. Then uplug and allow to cool. Any loose particles should come out when you empty the water.
44. Clean a scorched iron plate. Heat equal parts vinegar and salt in a small pan. Rub solution on the cooled iron surface to remove dark or burned stains.
45. Get rid of lint in clothes. Add 1/2 cup of vinegar to the rinse cycle.
46. Keep colors from running. Immerse clothes in full strength vinegar before washing.
47. Freshen up the washing machine. Periodically, pour a cup of vinegar in the machine and let in run through a regular cycle (no clothes added). Will dissolve soap residue.
48. Brighten fabric colors. Add a 1/2 cup vinegar to the rinse cycle.
49. Remove tough stains. Gently rub on fruit, jam, mustard, coffee, tea. Then wash as usual.
50. Get smoke smell out of clothes. Add a cup of vinegar to a bath tub of hot water. Hang clothes above the steam.
