Vinegar Uses: Clean with Vinegar

I’m sure that, if you read this blog on a regular basis, that many of you already use vinegar for cleaning.  Today I’m going to give you a few more ways to clean with vinegar around your house.

A few of you have emailed me and asked me how to keep your kitchen sponges smelling fresh.  If you use a sponge to wash your dishes you’ve probably noticed that after a few days it starts smelling pretty awful.  Well here’s the solution: vinegar.  To “keep and sponges smelling fresh [soak them] overnight in a solution of 1/4 cup white vinegar and water.”  In the morning pull them out of the vinegar/water solution, rinse and they are ready for use!  Not only will your sponge smell fresh again but it will be disinfected.

 Personally I don’t drink coffee {or any caffeine for that matter} but I worked at Starbucks for enough years to know that a lot of you do!  If you have a coffeemaker at home how often do you clean it?  I bet you don’t think to clean it very often.  Well here’s a quick trick for cleaning your coffeemaker, that will keep it running smoothly and lasting longer!  “Fill the decanter with 2 cups white vinegar and 1 cup water. Place a filter in the machine and pour the solution into the coffeemaker’s water chamber.  Turn on the coffeemaker and let it run through a full brew cycle.  Remove the filter and replace it with a fresh one.  Then run clean water through the machine for two full cycles, replacing the filter again for the second brew.”  This will get rid of any coffee build-up in the machine and it will help it to work more efficiently.

While you are cleaning the coffeemaker, use the first batch of vinegar/water mix to clean out the coffee pot.  After the vinegar/water mix has finished “brewing” swirl the mixture around the pot to break down the coffee stains.  Pour the vinegar/water out and then use a sponge to wipe the coffee ring off!  Replace the pot to finish the last two rinse cycles for the coffeemaker.

#3 Cutting boards

To clean and disinfect your cutting boards all you need is a little vinegar!  “[Wipe] with full strength white vinegar]” and your cutting boards will be clean, disinfected, and ready for the next use!  I love easy peasy cleaning tricks!That’s all for this week but join me next week for even more vinegar tips & tricks!

Day 1: Laundry Tips
Day 2: Even More Laundry Tips
Day 3: A Natural Pesticide

Day 6: Cleaning the Bathroom
Day 7: How to clean paint brushes & more