Guest Post: Using Vinegar as a Household Cleaner

Hi Healthy Ashley readers! My name is Andrea and my lil blog is called Off Her Cork where I write about food, running, and daily life. Ashley put out the call on Twitter asking about all natural cleaners. I mentioned that I clean with vinegar and she asked me to do a guest post, so here I am!

Vinegar is a great resource for all kinds of things! I started using it as a household cleaner several years ago when I realized that what I had been using to keep my home pretty and "clean" actually wasn't healthy for my family. The cleaners are made up of a lot of harsh chemicals that are toxic and not environmentally friendly. That didn't sit well with me and I started researching other options. What I found was that vinegar is a natural anti-bacterial and anti-fungal and it can be used in many different ways. If you Google cleaning uses for vinegar so many sites and resources come up you could easily spend all day reading.

I stopped using the other cleaners cold turkey and switched right over to vinegar. I pour a little bit in my cleaning bucket (probably around a cup) and combine it with hot water, then I go through and give my house a good scrub down with a cleaning cloth. This includes appliances, counter tops, sinks, and toilets. Basically everything in my house gets cleaned with vinegar.

Vinegar and water will clean up your stainless steel appliances and make them all shiny again.

I add vinegar and a little bit of baking soda to the toilets and let sit for about 15 minutes. Then I scrub them with a regular toilet brush and flush. They are clean without having to use toxic chemicals.
I use about 1/4-1/3C of vinegar plus lots of hot water to mop my floors. This includes hardwood flooring. Vinegar is great for floors because not only does it clean well but if you've got pets or little ones running around, if they touch the wet floor and then lick their paws or suck their thumb there is no risk of them ingesting a harmful chemical. It's just vinegar. It might not taste pleasant but I'll take that over toxic chemicals any day.

I use vinegar instead of liquid fabric softener when I do laundry. Liquid fabric softener is just another chemical and really isn't needed at all for clothes. Since I have a dog, his blankets and bedding (along with ours because he likes our bed!) can get lots of hair and smell on them, vinegar neutralizes this. I also use it for all my workout clothes. Not only does it neutralize stinky sweat odor but it helps remove the sweat stains as well.

The most common question I get asked is, "What about the smell?" Well it's vinegar, so it's going to smell like vinegar. However, you aren't using that much and the smell dissipates quickly, so it's not a big deal. My question is; would you rather smell vinegar or a fake pine scent created in a lab so it covers up the harsh and toxic chemicals you're coating your house with?

If you don't think you could trust straight vinegar or maybe aren't ready to take that step yet, Method is a great company that makes all natural household cleaners. I use their hand soap, dish soap, and dish washer pellets with great success. They can be purchased at Target and most stores that have an all-natural cleaning section.

I hope you found this article useful! Thanks Ashley for allowing me to guest post on your blog!

Andrea
http://offhercork.com

Thanks for the great info and tips, Andrea!!

Do you use clean & green cleaners for your home? What are your favorite mixtures/products?