When I was a teenager one of my jobs was cleaning my father's beauty salon. During this time I heard from someone that vinegar worked well at cleaning and was non-toxic. I bought a new squirt bottle filled it half and half with vinegar and water and then had to pop my eyes back in my head when I saw just how good it worked on everything.
Mineral deposits on sink fixtures - Vinegar removes hard water stains from bath fixtures and sink fixtures. You can also use it to clean the tile in your showers and baths. Don't use it on natural stone tile.
Cleans and Disinfects - Because of the acidity of vinegar, you can use it to disinfect surfaces in your kitchen like your counters and stove without the worry of applying toxic chemicals to place you prepare food.
Deodorizes - Does your garbage stink? Spray a couple squirts inside your kitchen garbage can then put the trash bag inside. Within minutes the odors will be gone. To deodorize a smelly drain, pour some (1/2 cup) baking soda into the drain, then heat a cup of vinegar, pour the vinegar into the drain and let sit for 5 minutes before rinsing. You might hear some fizzing, remember mixing vinegar and baking soda as a kid to make a volcano?
Deodorizes the air - Does your house smell after cooking fish? Spray vinegar on a paper towel and twirl it like a cowboy in the kitchen or where ever it smells. In minutes the smells will be gone.
Glass cleaner - Don't be fooled into buying those toxic window cleaners, use vinegar instead. For this I use non-diluted vinegar.
Hard water spots a wax build up on your car - Las Vegas' water is known for having a high mineral content which makes ugly stains on your car, especially if you have a dark color paint. Periodically you can use vinegar on it like you are cleaning the windows after you give it a normal wash. Follow up with an easy to use spray wax and see your car shine.
Car interior odors - open all the doors of your car then lightly mist the interior upholstery (if it is fabric, otherwise just the carpet). Within minutes the odors are gone.
Vinegar in the dishwasher - Just like your car's paint finish hard water stains can happen on your dishware. In the rinse receptacle of your dishwasher you can pour straight vinegar in it and see the gleam in your dishes on the next wash.
Pet vomit - if you have cats or dogs and they get sick on your carpet, after removing the "clumps" with a paper towel, spray some vinegar on the spot then clean with your hand-held carpet shampooer. Same thing for pet accidents. Not only will it clean the area, it will get rid of the smell so the animal doesn't think that is where it is supposed to go every time.
Ant trails - have you discovered ants in your home? When ants find food in your home they leave a scent trail to the food for other ants to follow. Once you find this trail spray it with vinegar. Not only will vinegar kill the ants (ants have a waxy coating on their bodies to keep them from dehydrating, and vinegar removes this), it also removes the scent trail.
Vinegar as a fabric softener - if members of your family are sensitive to laundry detergents and fabric softeners then use vinegar instead of fabric softener in the rinse cycle. Not only does it work like a fabric softener because of its acidic nature it also helps to further break down detergents that may be left in the clothes.
I could probably go on forever telling you great household cleaning tips with vinegar, but this should cover most areas of cleaning. One of the things I hear from people is, "I hate the smell of vinegar", and yes it does take some time to get used to. At least it is not a toxic smell, and as soon as it dries the smell is gone.
One of the best features of vinegar is it is cheap. You can buy a gallon of white distilled vinegar for a couple bucks and it will last you a long time. No more spending $3 for name brand glass cleaners that can't do half of the things vinegar can.
