Hacks That Prove Vinegar Is Way More Versatile Than People Think

There’s no need for nasty, corrosive store-bought chemicals. You can make your own natural scouring paste for pans with the stuff you have in your store cupboard! Simply mix equal parts flour and salt with a drop of vinegar. Then rub this on your pots and rinse with water to return them to their former glory.

Ugh, a cracked egg. That’s heading straight for the trash, right? Well, wait a second. By adding two teaspoons of vinegar to a pan with four cups of water, you can salvage that split egg and make it a meal. That’s because the vinegar prevents the white from leaking out – meaning you end up with a perfectly boiled egg.

If your hands are all stained and gross after prepping fruits and veggies, vinegar can help. Just rub the liquid on the affected area and rinse. It can even be used to remove fruit stains from clothes. Add a tablespoon of vinegar to one quart of water and half a teaspoon of detergent, and leave your garment to soak before you put it in the machine.

We all know that colored clothing can run or fade. Remember the pink shirt that used to be white? But there’s an easy way to prevent that from ever happening again. Soak your clothes in a mixture of vinegar and cold water in the drum, then turn on the wash cycle. No detergent needed, either!

Mineral residue can easily build up in irons. But you can just as easily get rid of it! First, pour equal parts water and distilled white vinegar into the water reservoir. Then turn on the iron’s steam function and leave it in an upright position for five minutes while it does its thing. Finally, switch off the iron and allow it to cool before pouring the liquid – and the now-dissolved minerals – away.

Vinegar is acetic acid, and that means it can be used as a natural alternative to herbicides when it comes to clearing unwanted weeds. You just need to spray the liquid directly onto the pesky plant life, working carefully around any foliage you want to keep. For a stronger solution that will tackle more stubborn growths, add some salt to the vinegar before you apply it.

Laptop and PC keyboards can get pretty grimy over time, but cleaning them with vinegar will make them look as good as new. Use a cloth lightly dampened with some watered-down vinegar to rub the keys. Then work out the dust and crumbs between the keys with cotton swabs. Make sure your device is switched off before you start cleaning, though!

Yep, vinegar can be used to rid showers of soap scum. You can even prevent buildup from forming in the first place by wiping down the doors with a sponge soaked in white distilled vinegar. And you don’t need to rinse; simply let the solution work its grime-busting magic.

Make your windows sparkle using equal parts water and distilled white vinegar. First, prepare the pane by removing any dust or dirt with a cloth. Then apply the mixture to the glass using a sponge before removing it with a squeegee. Pro tip: wet the blade first to ensure a smooth finish.

Cleaning your blind slats can be a pain, but vinegar is your secret weapon. To brighten washable blinds, mix white distilled vinegar with ammonia, baking soda, and warm water. This solution can then be applied to your blinds before being rinsed off with a little more warm water.

White vinegar could be the answer if your leather furniture is looking a little lackluster. Reader’s Digest recommends mixing equal parts linseed oil and vinegar in a spray bottle, shaking well, and applying the liquid to your worse-for-wear couch or chair. Then, once you’ve covered the leather, rub the solution evenly across the area with a cloth and leave it for a few minutes before wiping any excess off with an unused rag.

Vinegar contains acetic acid, which can kill such harmful bacteria as salmonella, Staphylococcus, and E. coli. That means it’s perfect for cleaning cutting boards! All you need to do is spray undiluted white vinegar onto your board, leave for a little while, then wash away. Mixing it with baking soda will allow you to deodorize wooden chopping boards, too.

White vinegar makes the perfect food-safe cleaner for the refrigerator. Just mix the magical stuff with an equal amount of water and use the solution to wash the appliance – inside and out. You can also put neat vinegar on a cloth to tackle mildew and prevent it from returning. And to finish the job, place a cup of baking soda in your fresh fridge to keep it smelling sweet for longer.

Some cooking smells linger far longer than you like. But you don’t have to live with that any longer! To freshen up your kitchen in an instant, add half a cup of white vinegar and a full one of water to a saucepan and boil until almost dry. The mixture will deodorize the entire room as it bubbles away.

Vinegar can fix those pesky pests in your pantry, too. Simply add one and a half cups of apple cider vinegar to a bowl with two drops of dish detergent and place it inside the infested cupboard for a week. The mixture will attract bugs and drown them. When this process is complete, empty shelves, discard any wheat products, and wash all items and interiors thoroughly.

Oh, and apple cider vinegar can help you get rid of those bothersome fruit flies. Simply half fill an old jar with the wonder product and punch some holes in the lid. When it’s screwed back in place, Reader’s Digest says, flies will enter the jar and effectively become trapped.

Little accidents are all part of being a pet parent! But vinegar can make light work of cleaning up pee patches. Just blot up most of the liquid with paper towels before saturating the stain with equal parts water and white vinegar. Then leave the area for ten minutes before blotting like before. And when the patch is almost dry, pour baking soda onto it before vacuuming this up around an hour later.

Vinegar can also make fabric dying a lot easier. When you’re coloring material, the dye can often run in the wash later – potentially ruining all of your hard work. To prevent this from happening, add a cup of distilled white vinegar to the water for a final rinse.

Unsightly tarnish can ruin the look of bronze, brass, and silver. There’s an easy way to restore that shine, though! Create a paste from half a cup of vinegar, a teaspoon of salt, and a pinch of flour. Apply this to the dull area and leave to work for 15 minutes, then rinse the mixture off using clean water before polishing with a dry cloth.

Ever had a bad hair day? Locks feeling greasy and limp? We have the solution for you. Mix a couple of spoonfuls of apple cider or white distilled vinegar with a cup of water to create a nifty rinse. Pouring this through your hair will eliminate soap grime, and it’ll also leave your tresses shiny and soft.

You can quickly eliminate bathtub scum using products you may already have lying around the house. Just wipe the surface using some white distilled vinegar, then rub in baking soda. When you come to rinse the mixture away, the film should lift from the sides of the tub and disappear down the drain.

Vinegar’s ability to cut through grease makes it the perfect kitchen cleaner – particularly on stoves and tabletops. And adding a few tablespoons of vinegar to your favorite liquid dish detergent can not only leave your dishes cleaner, but also save you money. That’s because you’ll use less soap over time!

You may be tempted to wash sticky scissors with water, but stop right there! This could speed up the rusting process and shorten your scissors’ lifespan. Instead, wipe the blades clean using white vinegar before drying them with a clean cloth or dish towel.

Soaking a bumper sticker in vinegar can help to dissolve the adhesive beneath, making it easier to remove from a car. Before you get started, though, test the vinegar on a more hidden part of the vehicle to check that it won’t cause damage to the paintwork.

Disappointed by how your dishwasher cleans your glasses? A cup or two of vinegar in your cycle may just be the answer! Simply add the liquid to the bottom of the machine and set it to wash as normal. The next time you come to retrieve your glassware, it should be sparkling clean with no cloudiness in sight.

We bet you remember that red wine stain you just couldn’t shift on your favorite dress. Next time there’s a little spillage, however, sponge vinegar into the affected area until the mark appears lifted. After that, simply launder as usual to get your gown looking as good as new.

Unsightly watermarks can ruin the look of wood furniture. But don’t despair if you forgot to use a coaster and ended up paying the price! According to Reader’s Digest, water rings can be removed by rubbing equal parts olive oil and vinegar onto the mark. Be sure to follow the grain of the wood, though.

Even if you’re constantly vacuuming and shampooing, the carpets and rugs in your home can tend to look a little grubby. If that sounds familiar, then it’s time to turn to your new household superhero: vinegar! Brush your rugs and carpets with one cup of white vinegar diluted in a gallon of water. As you work in the solution, the faded threads will come back to life. And the best part? There’s no need to rinse.

Paintbrushes can become stiff if they aren’t washed after each use. And when they’re not in prime condition, they have the potential to ruin a masterpiece. Before your inspiration dims, soak a hard brush in some white distilled vinegar until it softens. Then follow that up with a rinse with warm water and soap.

Distilled white vinegar can be used in laundry to brighten, whiten, freshen, and soften clothing without a harsh chemical in sight. Just add two cups to your final rinse the next time you do a load. As an added benefit, the vinegar helps keep your washing machine clean by breaking down minerals and soap scum.

Mineral deposits can often build up on and inside showerheads. But according to Today, these can easily be dissolved using trusty vinegar. All you need to do is tie a bag of the liquid around the head and leave it to soak overnight. When morning comes, just remove the bag and turn on the water to rinse.

Vinegar can dissolve mineral buildup in coffee machines, too. Simply fill the water reservoir with the liquid and run the machine through a brewing cycle. When that’s complete, rinse the leftover vinegar away by running a full reservoir of water through the same process.

Want to spruce up the front of your house? Get your bricks back to their rightful color by mixing one cup of white vinegar with a gallon of warm water. Then use a cloth to rub the solution all over the area you want to leave sparkling. This trick works well on fireplaces or any other areas of exposed brick, too.

Unsightly deodorant stains can ruin any look, but vinegar can help banish them from white or lightly colored clothing for good. Rub the stuff into any affected areas before washing your garment as usual. If the stain hasn’t fully shifted after being retrieved from the laundry, try placing it out in the sun for some extra bleaching action.

Yup, vinegar can be used to easily and effectively disguise scratches on wood furniture. Reader’s Digest suggests mixing it with some iodine and applying the solution to the damaged area using a small paintbrush. For light woods, use just a small amount of iodine – adding more depending on the overall shade of the grain.

So, you’ve overdone it with the iron and ruined one of your favorite items of clothing. Fear not! Those scorch marks can be treated with a clean cloth and some vinegar. Simply dab the vinegar on the singed area and rub lightly. This hack may not work on badly damaged garments, but it’s definitely worth a go.

Vinegar is capable of killing weeds, so it may seem counter-intuitive to use it to keep flowers fresh. It works, though! Mixing two tablespoons of the stuff and the same amount of sugar into a vase of water can help flowers look their best for longer. Just make sure to change the water every couple of days or when it starts to cloud.

According to Reader’s Digest, vinegar can also help get candle wax off furniture. First, remove the bulk of the mess using a hairdryer. This will melt the wax, enabling you to blot the excess with a paper towel. After that, remove the rest by rubbing it with a 50/50 mixture of water and vinegar before wiping the area clean with a soft cloth.

Keep drains smelling their best by pouring a cup of white vinegar down them once a week. Allow the liquid to sit for half an hour before rinsing the residue away with cold water. And for extra fizzing power, pour half a cup of baking soda down the drain first to create a mixture that will help to blast away blockages.

Vinegar is great at getting rid of stinky odors. The science-y explanation is that the acetic acid can neutralize alkaline smells. But all you need to know is that if you soak a slice of bread in vinegar and then leave it to sit somewhere smelly, the vinegar will eliminate that stench. This will work best in a smaller space, such as a trash can. Theoretically, though, multiple slices could work in a room as big as a garage.