Over the next few weeks I will be sharing some simple cleaning tips and products here at Mexican Wildflower. I will give you an opportunity to discover what I like to use to clean my house; from simple household cleaners, to brightening laundry, to removing stains from your carpet and sum from your shower.
Most of the things that I use to clean with you probably have at home so there's no need to go shopping for any special hard to find products.
This week I want to focus on white vinegar.
White vinegar is an inexpensive product that you can use to clean just about anything. If you missed it you will want to check out my post over at Frugal Granola where I talk about my
Simple Homemade 3-in-1 Household Cleaner, that features white vinegar.
White vinegar is amazing! It is dirt cheap, I can buy a gallon for about $2.00 at my local market.
It is nontoxic and disinfectant, making it a safe cleaner for your family and the environment. It's nice not to have to worry about the harmful chemicals. White vinegar kills 99% of the bacteria, 80% of viruses (germs) and 82 % of mold.
What's not to like?
You can make inexpensive child/environmental friendly, guilty purpose cleaners based off of one product. No need to have a cupboard crammed with many different cleaners.
How do I use white vinegar to clean? Here are just a few ideas on how to use white vinegar in your every day cleaning.
Laundry
Add 1/4 to 1/2 of a cup of white vinegar to your final rinse. It brightens colors, prevents lint, from clinging to cloths, devolves detergent scum and acts as a fabric softener. If you have a tough stain from things like tomato sauce or deodorant, spray on white vinegar before putting in the wash.
Simple 3-in-1 Household Cleaner
This is my favorite cleaner that I was telling you about. I use it as a multipurpose cleaner in my kitchen and bathroom. I also use it to wash window and mirrors. It is great as a air freshener and deodorizer as well. Be sure to go to
Frugal Granola to check it out.
Fly Trap
Is your kitchen riddles with pesky fruit flies? Mine is, here's any easy solution. Pour 1/2 a cup of white vinegar in a glass jar. Make a funnel out of paper and place inside the jar with the wide end of the cone sticky out the top. Tape the paper to the sides. The flies can't get up the funnel and die from the fumes. When the vinegar is low or full of flies remove the cone, rinse out the jar and start over again.
The Garden
Pour full strength on weeds to kill those nasty things. Be sure not to kill any of your favorite plants along the way.
Cut Flowers
Mix 2 tsp vinegar with 1 tsp sugar and add to your cut flowers each time you change the water.
These are only a few simple ways to use white vinegar. I'd love to hear some of your uses for it!
