15 May 2012

Vinegar and Lemon

Sometimes I just get so sick of strong chemical smells.  Don't get me wrong, I am a huge fan of bleach.  But especially now that my little guys like to help me clean, I need something that works but isn't dangerous for them to use!  Enter lemon and vinegar.


White distilled vinegar works great, but smells terrible (hence the lemon).  I recommend filling a spray bottle with 2 parts water and 1 part vinegar, the squeeze in a little fresh lemon.

Here's where I've seen this dynamic duo have alot of success in cleaning:

Grease on the Stove
 The acid from the lemon works up the grease, especially with the vinegar.  If you spray a little on, let is soak for a bit then it should wipe off.  If you have big amounts of grease cooked onto your stove top, it will take a little repetition.  This does NOT work on cooked on food.  Vinegar and lemon also works on (allegedly) hard-water deposits.  I'm a little iffy on that one, but I'll try it and let you know.

Toilet rings
Pour a little vinegar (under half a cup) in your toilet bowl, even if you don't have time for scrubbing.  I used to clean house for a woman who did this.  The rest of her toilette was grody, but there was never a ring in the toilet.  Go ahead and let it sit overnight. 

Microwave blowout 
Ew.  The word blowout just sounds gross!  I hate it when stores advertise "blowout sales!" ... I just think of a really bad messy diaper.   
Anywho, you can either use your spray bottle and let it sit for a bit, or microwave the mixture until it boils.  Either method loosens up the grime and makes most of it wipe away!  

Toothpaste 
Ya know how the kids get a little excited and squirt the mushy stuff all over?  Once it gets hard it usually takes tons of elbow grease to get it off.  Letting it soak in a little vinegar/lemon mixture makes it wipe up way easier.

Mopping
Floors will sparkle (and smell great!) if you fill your sink with warm water, pour in a little vinegar, and squeeze some lemons.  I like to do lots of lemon, otherwise the kitchen smells like vinegar for a few minutes.


This site claims several other uses for vinegar, but I haven't tried them out so no guarantees.
As far as I'm concerned, there are plenty good reasons to grab a bottle, mix up some spray and add to your cleaning supplies.