Wonders of Vinegar

Vinegar can also be used in your laundry, bathroom, and garden. Learn about some unconventional uses for this cooking product. Vinegar is a liquid produced from the fermentation of alcohol and its key ingredient is acetic acid. It is generally used in cooking, making salads, and pickling and canning. Did you know that this wonderful liquid has a lot of hidden uses? Read on to find out more. In this articleIn the kitchenIn the laundryIn the bathroomIn the garden In the kitchen Vinegar can be used for a lot more than just cooking. Remove tea and coffee stains from cups by rubbing them with a mixture of salt and vinegar. Alternatively, fill the cup with vinegar overnight and wash it with warm soapy water the next day. Use vinegar to eliminate odours in the kitchen. Rinse used jars with vinegar before reusing them. To freshen up a stale lunchbox, soak a piece of bread or a paper napkin and leave it in the box overnight. If you need to get rid of aromas after cooking, boil a tablespoon of white vinegar with a cup of water. Unclog a drain using vinegar. Pour a handful of baking soda down the drain followed by half a cup of vinegar. After doing this, pour some hot water into the drain. Disinfect and clean wooden cutting boards by wiping them with vinegar. Remove grease from your dishes by adding a tablespoon of vinegar to hot soapy water and soaking the dishes in it for a little while. Clean your refrigerator by wiping it with a mixture of equal parts water and vinegar. Marinating meat in vinegar kills bacteria and tenderises the meat. Marinate one kilo of meat with quarter cup of vinegar and your desired herbs. Keep it in the refrigerator, overnight, and cook it the next day. Soak wilted vegetables in a mixture of two cups of water and a tablespoon of vinegar to freshen them up. To make cheese last longer, store it in a vinegar soaked cloth. To prevent eggs from cracking when you boil them, just add two tablespoons of vinegar to the water before boiling it. This will also help you to peel off the egg shells faster and easier. In the laundry Add a cup of vinegar to your wash load to prevent lint from clinging to your clothes. Remove perspiration stains from clothes by soaking them in a solution of one part vinegar and four parts water and then rinse the clothes. Before you wash bright clothes, try soaking them in some white vinegar for ten minutes. This will prevent the colours from fading. Remove stains like fruit, jam, tea, coffee, grease etc. from fabrics by rubbing some vinegar over the stained area before washing them. To get the smell of smoke out of your clothes, just add a cup of vinegar to a tub full of hot water and hang the clothes above the steam. Clothes will rinse better if a cup of vinegar is added while rinsing out the soap. The acid in vinegar is too mild to harm fabrics but is strong enough to dissolve the alkalis in soaps and detergents. In the bathroom Fill a spray bottle with a mixture of equal parts water and vinegar. Use this solution to spray bathroom fixtures and the floor, to clean them and kill germs. Soap build-up can be removed from chrome and plastic fixtures if you clean them with a mixture of one tablespoon salt in two tablespoons white vinegar. To get rid of soap residue, mildew and dirt from shower curtains and tiles, wipe the area with vinegar and then rinse it with water. Remove rust from showerheads and faucets by wrapping them in a vinegar-soaked cloth for a few hours. In the garden Kill unwanted grass and weeds by pouring full-strength vinegar on it. Rinse your hands with vinegar after working with gardening products to prevent your skin from becoming rough. Clean pots with vinegar to remove excess garden lime and fertilisers. A mixture of two tablespoons vinegar plus three tablespoons sugar in a litre of warm water is ideal to keep cut flowers in a vase looking fresh.

Vinegar can also be used in your laundry, bathroom, and garden. Learn about some unconventional uses for this cooking product.

Vinegar is a liquid produced from the fermentation of alcohol and its key ingredient is acetic acid. It is generally used in cooking, making salads, and pickling and canning. Did you know that this wonderful liquid has a lot of hidden uses? Read on to find out more.

In the kitchen

• Vinegar can be used for a lot more than just cooking. Remove tea and coffee stains from cups by rubbing them with a mixture of salt and vinegar. Alternatively, fill the cup with vinegar overnight and wash it with warm soapy water the next day.
• Use vinegar to eliminate odours in the kitchen. Rinse used jars with vinegar before reusing them. To freshen up a stale lunchbox, soak a piece of bread or a paper napkin and leave it in the box overnight. If you need to get rid of aromas after cooking, boil a tablespoon of white vinegar with a cup of water.
• Unclog a drain using vinegar. Pour a handful of baking soda down the drain followed by half a cup of vinegar. After doing this, pour some hot water into the drain.
• Disinfect and clean wooden cutting boards by wiping them with vinegar.
• Remove grease from your dishes by adding a tablespoon of vinegar to hot soapy water and soaking the dishes in it for a little while.
• Clean your refrigerator by wiping it with a mixture of equal parts water and vinegar.
• Marinating meat in vinegar kills bacteria and tenderises the meat. Marinate one kilo of meat with quarter cup of vinegar and your desired herbs. Keep it in the refrigerator, overnight, and cook it the next day.
• Soak wilted vegetables in a mixture of two cups of water and a tablespoon of vinegar to freshen them up.
• To make cheese last longer, store it in a vinegar soaked cloth.
• To prevent eggs from cracking when you boil them, just add two tablespoons of vinegar to the water before boiling it. This will also help you to peel off the egg shells faster and easier.

In the laundry

• Add a cup of vinegar to your wash load to prevent lint from clinging to your clothes.
• Remove perspiration stains from clothes by soaking them in a solution of one part vinegar and four parts water and then rinse the clothes.
• Before you wash bright clothes, try soaking them in some white vinegar for ten minutes. This will prevent the colours from fading.
• Remove stains like fruit, jam, tea, coffee, grease etc. from fabrics by rubbing some vinegar over the stained area before washing them.
• To get the smell of smoke out of your clothes, just add a cup of vinegar to a tub full of hot water and hang the clothes above the steam.
• Clothes will rinse better if a cup of vinegar is added while rinsing out the soap. The acid in vinegar is too mild to harm fabrics but is strong enough to dissolve the alkalis in soaps and detergents.

In the bathroom

• Fill a spray bottle with a mixture of equal parts water and vinegar. Use this solution to spray bathroom fixtures and the floor, to clean them and kill germs.
• Soap build-up can be removed from chrome and plastic fixtures if you clean them with a mixture of one tablespoon salt in two tablespoons white vinegar.
• To get rid of soap residue, mildew and dirt from shower curtains and tiles, wipe the area with vinegar and then rinse it with water.
• Remove rust from showerheads and faucets by wrapping them in a vinegar-soaked cloth for a few hours.

In the garden

• Kill unwanted grass and weeds by pouring full-strength vinegar on it.
• Rinse your hands with vinegar after working with gardening products to prevent your skin from becoming rough.
• Clean pots with vinegar to remove excess garden lime and fertilisers.
• A mixture of two tablespoons vinegar plus three tablespoons sugar in a litre of warm water is ideal to keep cut flowers in a vase looking fresh.