For those that clean with vinegar - What am I missing?

[Sarah_Rose]

Based off of the wondrous vinegar thread of several months ago, I purchased my first gallon jug of white vinegar. Since then, I've tried to love it.... but I don't. What am I missing?

I filled my dishwasher rinse aid reservoir with it. I went back to Jet Dry (actually, generic Jet Dry) after having horribly spotted flatware.

I put it in my washing machine's fabric softener spot. I don't normally use fabric softener because I'm allergic to a lot of chemicals, but I do miss fluffy towels. I didn't notice any change at all between vinegar and no vinegar. However, my DH did notice (I didn't tell him I used vinegar beforehand) that our towels had a faint vinegary smell.

I tried using it to clean toilets. I let it sit for up to an hour.... after scrubbing for 10 minutes, I gave up and pulled out the Scrubbing Bubbles.

I tried to clean my tubs with it.... I went back to my Magic Eraser and Kaboom.

Kitchen sinks? No change. Counters? I might as well have been using water. Insinkerator? Baking soda on its own with water seems to work just as well.

The only thing I have found that I like it for is cleaning/deodorizing the hamster cage - it's tough to find something that cuts the urine smell, but is non-toxic.

And the worst part? I don't think I saved any money! I paid $2.99 a gallon for the stuff, and it seemed to disappear so quickly! While I can get away with a few squirts here and there of regular cleaners, you seem to need cups at a time of vinegar to do anything!

Alright, so what am I missing? I feel like I must be doing something wrong!

 

[chyam]

I've been using the vinegar for over a month now...I only add 3 oz. to the rinse water, I use it also in my mop bucket, about 4 oz. I know a gallon has lasted me quite awhile, Sam's has it quite cheap...a whole heck of alot cheaper than a bottle of Downey at $5.00 or a bottle of Mr. Clean at 2.99 I think you are perhaps using to much. Google it online and see how much of it others are using...there is also a website 60 uses for vinegar online.

 

[Sarah_Rose]

I've been using the vinegar for over a month now...I only add 3 oz. to the rinse water, I use it also in my mop bucket, about 4 oz. I know a gallon has lasted me quite awhile, Sam's has it quite cheap...a whole heck of alot cheaper than a bottle of Downey at $5.00 or a bottle of Mr. Clean at 2.99 I think you are perhaps using to much. Google it online and see how much of it others are using...there is also a website 60 uses for vinegar online.

Ok, so if you were going to use it to clean a tub, how much would you use? I would fill up the tub with an inch or two of water, and then add about a cup of vinegar and let it sit for 30-45 minutes before starting to scrub. It did NOTHING on dirt, and took off a little bit of the soap scrum/limescale in the area that it was sitting.

In contrast, I would cover the bottom of the tub in Kaboom (about 6 sprays), let it sit for a minute, and then wipe it down. All clean, and that one bottle of Kaboom ($3-$4) has lasted me more than 6 months, now.

 

[disneymama83]

For toilets -

Vinegar and Baking Soda

1 cup vinegar
1/2 cup baking soda
Pour the vinegar into the toilet bowl.
Let it sit for 30 minutes.
Return to the toilet, grab your toilet brush and dip it into the toilet.
Take it out, and sprinkle some baking soda onto the brush.
Scour the inside of the toilet with the brush repeating the sprinkle procedure until the baking soda is gone…..voila! Clean Toilet

*I just put the baking soda straight into the toilet and the scrub.

For tub -

Spray vinegar heavily on tub then put baking soda on cleaning rag and rub over vinegar


Vinegar smell will go away once all surface are completely dry. You could add esscentual oils to any vinegar cleaning mix to help mask the vinegar smell. Lemon, tea tree and lavendar oils are great!

Hope this helps!

 

[Sarah_Rose]

Thanks, DisneyMama! So it appears that I've been missing the baking soda part of the equation? That could explain why it just doesn't seem to be working!

 

[bettymae1121]

full strength vinegar is the best glass cleaner! I use a 50/50 mix (with water) on everything else, along with baking soda for tough jobs.

I just got a Rubermaid Reveal floor mop so now I can use a vinegar mix on my hard surface floors too. This mop is just like the Swifer WetJet except it comes with refillable bottles so you can use your own cleaning mixture, and the pads are washable/reusable. Cheaper and greener!!!!

 

[debf]

Do you think vinegar will work to get the yellow out of a white bathing suite? For some reason DD's bathing suite is now yellowish. How much would I use in the wash and do I let it soak for a while?

 

[travelfan33]

I have a small house cleaning business from which I try to use only eco-friendly products. Sometimes I add essential oils or even just a few squirts of lemon to a vinegar solution.

 

[Colleen27]

I use vinegar and lemon juice for a lot of things, and I know it is saving me money because I don't buy cheap cleansers, only the eco-friendly non-toxic ($$$) brands.

For the toilet bowl or a particularly dirty tub I sprinkle on baking soda, then use straight vinegar from a spray bottle. The reaction between the two seems to get off just about anything with minimal scrubbing. But for everyday I keep a spray bottle of 50/50 vinegar/water in each bathroom and in the kitchen, and I've found that works fine for wiping things down as needed.

As far as vinegar as fabric softener, I don't notice much of a difference in the dryer. I don't usually use softener at all, and vinegar seems to make very little difference on tumble-dried clothes. But for the loads I dry on the line it is night and day - it really cuts the "stiffness" factor of line dried jeans, towels, etc.

 

[ceecee]

We have well water and it's very rusty so the only thing that works for the tub and toilet is the Works. I do use vinegar in my wash and dishwasher and love it. I paid $3.36 for two gallons at Sam's (Walmart isn't much more).

 

[KKB]

Ok, so if you were going to use it to clean a tub, how much would you use? I would fill up the tub with an inch or two of water, and then add about a cup of vinegar and let it sit for 30-45 minutes before starting to scrub. It did NOTHING on dirt, and took off a little bit of the soap scrum/limescale in the area that it was sitting.

In contrast, I would cover the bottom of the tub in Kaboom (about 6 sprays), let it sit for a minute, and then wipe it down. All clean, and that one bottle of Kaboom ($3-$4) has lasted me more than 6 months, now.

A tub of water (even only an inch or 2 deep) dilutes a cup of vinegar WAY too much. Do exactly like you do w/ the kaboom...spray vinegar all over the bottom of the tub & let it sit awhile. You may get better results.

 

[DisneyBrooke81]

Thanks for these tips...last weekend I decided to start using vinegar too, after reading all the threads, and was not really impressed.....I was missing the baking soda too!!! Thanks!!!

 

[tinkarooni]

Do you think vinegar will work to get the yellow out of a white bathing suite? For some reason DD's bathing suite is now yellowish. How much would I use in the wash and do I let it soak for a while?

Your daughter's bathing suit is probably turning yellow because of suntan lotion. It is turning all my kids white shirts yellow too. I couldn't figure it out and my parents told me what it was they were using Neutrogena suntan lotion and they called them and complained, Neutrogena confirmed the problem and sent them a bunch of coupons. I haven't found anything to take out the stains.

 

[Sarah_Rose]

Thanks for the tips! I was using it how I'd read it described by some on the "great vinegar thread" - I'm definitely going to try the spray bottle and baking soda technique!

 

[wendydarling826]

Is it possible that it makes a difference how hard or soft your water is? I haven't had much luck using vinegar to clean with either.

 

[lchadwick]

I've been successful with vinegar. If your towels smell like it - you are using too much. I put it in a downy ball.

It makes my faucets super shiny and mirrors streak free - I love using bar towels.

As far as cleaning the tub, what I use is baking soda and dish detergent. Make it thick and then scrub on using a scrubbie. It doesn't take much effort and I don't need to take a breather to clear chemical smells out of my head. The detergent is a degreaser and baking soda the abrasive. Works great. I have more success with that than any cleaner.

 

[MAGGIED]

Another fan here.... I use it in the laundry... I think it helps the towels smell fresher... I had not tried it in the toliets but I will now... I have used it on the floors and it does a great job... my mom has always used it and her house is very clean!!

 

[SDSorority]

I'm SO inspired to clean my house now!!!

 

[apnep]

Is it possible that it makes a difference how hard or soft your water is? I haven't had much luck using vinegar to clean with either.

I put about a cup or two in my dishwasher after reading that other vinegar thread and my dishes are FINALLY coming out clean and spotless. I guess I have hard water.

Also, in the laundry, I put it in the wash and it definitely helps to release the dirt and give me whiter whites...

 

[cseca]

Is it possible that it makes a difference how hard or soft your water is? I haven't had much luck using vinegar to clean with either.

Do you have a Menards in your area?
If you do, go to their water softener area and look for brochures. I think the Morton brand brochures come with a little paper stick tester.
You just run your tap over over it for a couple seconds or something and wait until it turns color. You can compare the color to the information in the brochure.

DH was very skeptical about it and said we should try it on some other water. So we poured bottled water on it and had a huge color difference to our well water.

If you don't have a menards maybe you could look around lowe's or Home Depot or something. But we could only find the brochures at menards around our area.

Good luck!