Green Cleaning: 6 ways to use White Vinegar

As I mentioned in my previous Green Cleaning Blog (8 Ways to use Bicarbonate of Soda), as the owner of a refill stall, I have seen an increased demand in the past 12-months for the 'raw' ingredients needed to make green cleaning products. Some of this is down to the increasing popularity of Nancy Birtwhistle (former Bake Off winner and now all round green cleaning guru) but also because more and more people are looking to find ways to live life more sustainably. 

Again, I’ll re-iterate: the first rule of an eco-conscious lifestyle is to always use up what you've got first. Don’t just throw all of your existing cleaning products away - think of all of the resources that have already gone into making them. (My next door neighbour is a commercial cleaner, so I gave her all of the cleaning products I could no longer bear to use!).

So let that be your starting point. Which cleaning product are you about to run out of? Then just make one change at a time. Remember to keep hold of any useful jars, tubs and bottles (mayonnaise jars, squeezy ketchup bottles, ice cream tubs, spray bottles etc).

In this, the second of my Green Cleaning blogs, I’m going to focus on White Vinegar (this is a cleaning vinegar, not to be used for cooking). It is another really easy ingredient to get hold of and to use.

Remember: if you have a refill store near you, this is the best way to buy the raw cleaning ingredients as you can use your own containers, reducing unnecessary packaging and buy the amount you need.

6 ways to use White Vinegar

Like bicarb, I also use a lot of white vinegar! It’s cheap as chips and don’t worry, the smell doesn’t linger. I have a big bottle (formerly for fabric conditioner) that I refill.

1.Add a squirt of eco washing-up liquid into a spray bottle with white vinegar, then spray directly onto weeds in your paving/patio. Best on a dry day when no rain is forecast for a couple of days.

2.Use it to clean windows and mirrors. Just mix equal parts of hot water and white vinegar, then spray and wipe like you would with glass cleaner.

3.Use it in the fabric conditioner compartment of your washing machine, either on its own, with a few drops of essential oil, or (like Nancy Birtwhistle) add vegetable glycerine and essential oil too (see the recipe in her Clean & Green book - we sell these books on our van!).

4.White vinegar is also good at dealing with limescale (as is citric acid). So you can spray it on your taps (rinse well afterwards), dunk your shower heads in it for an hour or so, and use it to descale your kettle.

5.It’s handy for removing some stains. I had water-based paint on my carpet (thank you cats!) and white vinegar helped to remove it. Just dab it on (with a clean, white cloth - Do Not Rub!) and this should help lift the stain. Leave to dry. Then hoover.

6.Use it in your dishwasher drawer as a replacement for rinse aid. (Some manufacturers warn against this as it can damage the seals, so check your handbook first).

As you can see, white vinegar is really handy to use around the home (and garden).

There are lots of other uses for white vinegar, the above are just the main things I use it for at home. I hope you find this useful as a guide for getting started with your green cleaning.

Keep an eye out for my next Green Cleaning blog, where I’ll look at the different uses for citric acid.