We talked about baking soda earlier and now it’s time to give some attention to baking soda’s science fair partner: vinegar.

Vinegar is opposite of baking soda in that it’s not alkaline, but is instead acidic.  This is why the two substances react with bubbles and foam.  This means that vinegar is both stronger for some applications and somewhat harmful (in a physical destructive sense, not a toxic one) in others.  Of course, like baking soda, vinegar will not hurt you if you get it on your hands or in your mouth.

Before we look at what kind of uses there are for vinegar as a cleanser, we should look at what kinds of vinegar there are.  The two most common types are white vinegar and apple cider vinegar.

White Vinegar

White (or clear) vinegar is usually derived from grapes and is a “dead” vinegar because it was distilled with an external heat source, which kills any enzymes.  This is the most common vinegar and is usually the cheapest.  There’s no reason not to use it, just be aware that it’s not really organic.

Apple Cider Vinegar

Apple cider vinegar, however, is not distilled, but is instead cured like wine or alcohol.  Just as your wine or beer can go bad and taste like vinegar, so can apple cider.  There are many health benefits to apple cider vinegar to go with its other great uses.  For all intents and purposes, though, white and apple vinegars are basically the same for the uses we’re going to look at here (cleaning).

Natural Disinfectant
Probably the most useful thing you’ll find about vinegar is that it’s a natural disinfectant that won’t hurt anybody to use.  Soaking a rag in it and wiping down counter tops, toilet seats, etc. is a great way to naturally kill germs without spraying chemicals and irritants in your home.

Cleaning Fruits and Vegetables
Vinegar can also be a great rinse for cleaning fruits and vegetables to get the pesticides off of them if you didn’t buy organic.  It also removes wax and other residues.

Floor Cleaning

That brings us to floor cleaning.  For tile, linoleum, and similar flooring, vinegar is a great cleanser and disinfectant.  For waxed floors (wood), however, it will strip the protective wax.  It can also cause tin to react, giving off that black sooty substance that it does.  Vinegar can also cause caulking sealants to break down around bathtubs and faucets, so be careful with it there as well.

Carpet Steamer

Another great use for vinegar as an organic cleanser is in your carpet steamer.  Splash a little vinegar in with the water, but make sure you’ve tested it to be sure it doesn’t remove the carpet’s coloring too.  Carpets with natural fiber and colors will likely bleed or bleach when vinegar is used, so be aware of that.

Carpet cleaning recipe – if you have carpet that will not react to it (synthetics), you can try this mix: 1 part vinegar, 1/16 part lemon juice, 8 parts water (distilled or soft).  This can be used with a carpet machine or poured into the laundry for small rugs.

• Speaking of the laundry, vinegar is a great addition to each load as a bleach alternative.  Organic stains like grass and blood come out easily when vinegar is applied.  Vinegar is less likely to wash out colors, but again, test it first.

• Pure vinegar is a great window cleaner, hard water stain remover, paint thinner, and salad topping!

• Few things beat vinegar in the organic household’s cleaning cabinet.  Plus, if your kids get into it and drink some, vinegar is actually good for them.

Got vinegar cleanser recipes?  Share them in the comments!

Please visit Organic Lifetsyle Blog regularly to find out more about organic and healthy lifestyle.

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