Vinegar cleans up on the cheap

Did you know that the word vinegar comes from the French word “vinaigre” which means “sour wine?” Did you also know that the historically pungent, acetic ingredient is the one of the mainstays of eco-cleaning, right beside baking soda?

According to VinegarTips.com, vinegar has been used for over 10,000 years for cooking, cleaning, and disinfecting. From Babylonians preserving and pickling their food with vinegar to Cleopatra dissolving pearls in it to prove she could consume a fortune in one meal, it is a well documented essential for the household, any chef’s kitchen, your personal skin treatment kit if you are fighting the Bubonic plague, your bath if you are taking advice from Helen of Troy, or your arsenal of army supplies if you need to break apart huge boulders like Hannibal as he moved troops through the Alps.

Vinegar has an amazing history of uses which are well documented in The International Vinegar Museum in Roslyn, South Dakota. If you are so inclined, you can even attend the International Vinegar Festival in June each year, also in Roslyn.

According to my friend, the eco-green expert, Janeen Solberg, vinegar safely cleans bacteria, mold and mildew. But, what about the smell? You can always add fragrance, as seen below in a recipe Janeen suggests for an all-purpose cleaner:

All-Purpose Cleaner Recipe

3 cups water

1 cup white vinegar

1 tsp. plant-based liquid soap (like Seventh Generation Dish Soap*)

Combine in spray bottle. Add a few drops of essential oil for scent, such as lavender or rosemary.

*Sun& Earth has also come out with a natural dish soap that I will be telling you more about after touring the factory in King of Prussia in a couple of weeks.

For window cleaner, Janeen suggests adding two parts water to one part vinegar (or less) and combining in a spray bottle. For no-wax floors like wood, vinyl or tile, simply add one cup of white vinegar to a mop bucket of warm water. My neighbor, Theresa, uses it in full strength to remove soap scum from shower walls and confirmed that the strong smell dissipates quickly.

For toilet cleaning, simply sprinkle baking soda in the toilet and add one cup of vinegar. Wash the outside of the toilet with the all-purpose cleaner recipe.

When I read this part, I had to go try it immediately because when I was growing up, baking soda was added to vinegar in science experiments to create exploding volcanoes. The chemical reaction of mixing the two common household ingredients created bubbling carbon dioxide, exploding up and out of the various clay structures built by budding scientists. A little red food coloring turned the mixture into fake molten lava. Fortunately, the toilet had enough water to dilute the bubbling solution and the result was a sparkling rather than exploding toilet bowl.

While we are talking about baking soda, Janeen also suggests a couple of green cleaning recipes using it as the main ingredient. For dishwasher detergent, add equal parts baking soda and borax. For laundry detergent, add equal parts baking soda, washing soda and a cup or handful of borax for an extra boost. Use a little less for HE or High Energy machines. With little extra effort, you can clean green.

For those of you following my frugal blog name search, I have decided on “Do-It-Yourself Frugal” since it both conveys the way I have saved a lot of money and it supports the work ethic and desire to learn that I hope we are teaching our children. It was also one of the few names not already taken in this present state of frugal mania. Thank you for all your comments and thoughts on the matter. Keep them coming. For your tips or questions, e-mail Sarah at sarah@peppel.com or send me a tweet at www.twitter.com/DIYFrugal.

This article originally showed up in the Phoenix on May 13, 2009 and is being referenced over at Chesco Moms in July, 2009.

Tagged as: baking soda cleaning solution, Frugal Finds Friday, vinegar cleaning solutions