Cleaning With Vinegar Tips

As I was packing to go home, I came across this list of tips for cleaning with vinegar. Tina uses vinegar for cleaning up around her house because it supposedly helps eliminate the cat smell. Yeah, it replaces it with the vinegar smell. Anyway, vinegar is useful for cleaning, so here are the tips:

1. GLASSWARE: 1/2 cup of distilled vinegar added to a gallon of rinse water will remove soap film from glassware and make it shine.
2. TOILET BOWL: Clean and deodorize your toilet bowl by pouring undiluted white distilled vinegar into it. Let it stand for about five minutes then flush. Stubborn stains may require scrubbing.
3. BATHTUB: Wipe down bathtub with vinegar and baking soda to remove film buildup. The baking soda makes it foam. Rinse clean with water.
4. ANTS: Ant invasions can be deterred by washing countertops, cabinets and floors with distilled vinegar.
5. GREASE: Filmy dirt and greasy residue can be removed from stove and refrigerator by wiping with vinegar.
6. GRASS OR WEEDS: Kill unwanted grass on sidewalks and driveways by pouring on vinegar.
7. CHROME: To polish chrome and stainless steel, moisten a cloth with white vinegar and wipe clean.
8. SHOWER CURTAIN: Rub a cloth dampened with vinegar to remove soapy, steamed-in film and mildew from your plastic shower curtain. Then rinse with clean water.
9. COFFEE MAKER: To remove stale coffee residue, fill the reservoir with vinegar and run it through a brewing cycle or two. When cycles are finished, run two cycles of clean water to rinse.
10. IRONS: Remove burn stains from your electric iron by mixing one part salt with one part vinegar in a heated small aluminum pan. Use this mix to polish the iron as you would silver.
11. LAUNDRY RINSE: Add 1/4 to 1/2 cup of white vinegar, depending on the size of the load, to the final rinse of your laundry to remove any left-over detergent. Especially useful when washing infant clothing/bedding. The vinegar smell goes away when the clothes/bedding are dried.
12. DRAIN CLEANER: Pour one cup of baking soda down the drain followed by one cup of white vinegar. Allow to foam for about one minute, then pour a gallon of HOT water down the drain.
13. VEGETABLES: Liven up slightly wilted vegetables by soaking them in cold water and vinegar.
14. FLOWERS: Add two tbsp. of vinegar plus three tbsp. of sugar to warm water (100*F) to keep fresh cut flowers blooming longer.
15. CABBAGE: Add vinegar to the cooking water of boiling cabbage to prevent the odor from permeating the house.
16. MEAT: A marinade of 1/2 cup of your favorite vinegar and a cup of liquid bouillon makes an effective meat tenderizer.
17. RICE: A tsp. of vinegar added to the water of boiling rice makes it white and fluffy.
18. FISH: Reduce fishy odors by rubbing fish down with white distilled vinegar before scaling it.
19. CHEESE: Keep cheese moist and fresh by wrapping it in a cloth that has been dampened with vinegar and sealed in an air-tight container.
20. EGGS: To produce better-formed egg whites, add a tsp. of vinegar to the water.
21. ONION ODORS: Quickly remove the odor of onions from your hands by rubbing them with distilled vinegar.
22. PICKLING: Cider, Red Wine, Balsamic and other dark vinegars are good for pickling, but may discolor lighter colored pickles such as pears, onions or cauliflowers. In this case, a distilled or white vinegar may be preferred.
    

So there are a bunch of things to do with vinegar. If you can stand the smell that is. I'll post more crazy cleaning hints and tips as I find them. I have to get this place packed up and cleaned up so it can be rented when we leave.