There are some changes with the On The Home Front schedule! Usually I post about my pantry on Thursday, but I am moving the Prudent Pantry to Mondays. It’s always a good idea to check your pantry at he beginning of the week. Thursday will be devoted to the Home Acre Hop where you can find lots of inspiration on homesteading, livestock care, gardening, environmentally friendly farming, self sufficiency, preparedness, off grid living, healthy recipes, home remedies and herbal concoctions, green living, homeschooling, food preservation, environmentally friendly crafts and home decor, photo posts of natural living and homesteading subjects!
Today we’re talking about vinegar! Vinegar is something I keep on hand. There are so many ways that you can use vinegar to clean. No need to rely on chemicals to keep your house clean, vinegar will do just as good a job!
Disinfect your counters and sinks, as well as remove hard water deposits from your faucets and shower heads with vinegar. Mix vinegar with water at a ratio of about three parts water to one part vinegar. Put it in a spray bottle for convenience and it will last a long time.
A good all purpose cleaner:
16oz spray bottle
2 Tbsp distilled vinegar
1 tsp borax
water (if you have hard water this needs to be distilled or purified water, otherwise use tap water)
2 Tbsp mild liquid dish soap
Mix the vinegar and borax with 1 cup of hot water until dissolved. Let the mixture cool and then pour into your spray bottle. Add enough water to the bottle leaving just enough room for your dishwashing detergent. Then add the liquid soap.
Vinegar can also be used to clean your dishwasher each month. Just put a small dish of it on the bottom of your dishwasher, under the lower rack. You can add glassware to remove hard water spots on them at the same time. Did you know you can also use vinegar in the rinse dispenser instead of an expensive commercial product?
Salt and vinegar also make a good cleaner for copper pots. Just dampen the pot with vinegar then sprinkle on a bit of salt and scrub. Your pots will looks like new.
Vinegar can also be used as a fabric softener in the washing machine. There is no odor when the clothes are dry. This works well if you are bothered by the strong scents of dryer sheets.
One of the first products I began to make myself was window cleaner using vinegar. A good friend shared her recipe years ago and I’ve been using it ever since! With just several basic products you probably already have in your home you can make a window cleaner that really does get your windows clean! In researching various homemade window cleaners I found there are two main recipes; one uses vinegar and the other ammonia. I’ve been using the one with ammonia, I’ll have to make both and compare!
Window Cleaner #1: This can be made right in your spray bottle. Mix ½ tsp dish detergent, 3 Tbsp vinegar and 2 cups of water. Shake it up and use like any commercial variety.
Window Cleaner #2: This can also be made in your spray bottle. Combine 3 Tbsp ammonia, 1 Tbsp vinegar and fill the rest of the way up with water.
Let me know which one you think is better! Or do you have your own unique recipe?
You can also make a homemade Vegetable and Fruit Wash using vinegar.
Stir ¼ cup of vinegar and 2 TBSP of slat into a basin or bowl of clean water. Soak your produce for several minutes. Then scrub and rinse. For a simple vegetable/fruit spray just mix 1 part vinegar to 3 parts water. Keep in a spray bottle, spray produce, let sit and then scrub as usual and rinse.
You can find more uses for vinegar by checking these links here and here. By using vinegar to clean you will be saving yourself money and be using something that is safer for the environment.
Nancy on the Home Front 