Distilled white vinegar is a mild acid, and it has a wide variety of uses. As well as adding flavour to your favourite dishes, white vinegar is a must-have household essential, being an effective aid in scenarios such as treating sunburn pain, insect stings, and even for freshening up your flowers.
As experts in all things cleaning, we thought we would look into five surprising ways that vinegar can help you keep your home clean.
1. Using vinegar to tackle limescale
Vinegar is great for cleaning showers, sinks, and baths. Prone to a build-up of mineral deposits, soap scum, body fat, and limescale, these areas are often the ones we pay the most attention to due to the high level of hygiene necessary and the effect that bad cleaning can have on things like grouting around tiles.
To remove limescale and other unsavoury dirt, you’ll just need some white vinegar and baking powder. To start, saturate a sponge with the vinegar before adding a sprinkling of the powder. Scrub the affected area with the sponge and add any necessary extra amounts before rinsing clean with water. And there you have it – a sparkling clean surface!
2. Making an all-purpose cleaner with vinegar
As well as contributing to the plastic problem, buying household cleaners can be expensive. Instead, you can utilise things that you’ve probably got in your kitchen cupboards and save money while also being more eco-friendly. To make an all-purpose cleaner with white vinegar, simply mix together:
- 705ml water
- 235ml vinegar
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 10 drops scented essential oil
3. How vinegar can be used to prevent mould and mildew
Often forming in the bathroom and other areas where damp and moisture are present, mould and mildew can ruin the look of your home and smell unpleasant. You can get rid of mould and mildew by wiping the area down with a squeegee before spraying it with neat vinegar. If you don’t like the smell of vinegar, put some drops of your favourite essential oil in too.
Use this handy checklist to ensure you’re paying attention to all the right areas when cleaning your bathroom.
4. Cleaning your chopping board with vinegar
Cleaning your chopping board can be tricky in terms of ensuring that the cleaner doesn’t taint the taste of your food. A great way to kill any harmful bacteria and organisms while avoiding a strong scent is to use a cloth and some white vinegar to wipe it down after each use. Just allow it to air dry and you can use it all over again.
5. The best way to remove sticker residue
Whether you’re saving old jars for storage or cleaning the walls of your child’s bedroom, getting the sticky, tacky residue from labels and stickers off can be a cleaning nightmare. However, if you get as much off as you can before spraying or coating the area in vinegar, it will come off much more easily after soaking for just 10 minutes or so.
Take advantage of our cleaning expertise with cleaning services in London
In need of some assistance with your cleaning? Want to hear some more cleaning hacks? Efficient Cleaning London is a Surrey-based cleaning business with both commercial and domestic clients.
If you’d like to find out how we can help you, get in touch with us by filling in our online contact form or calling our office on 0208 288 98 58.