5 Unique Ways to Spring Clean with Vinegar

Over the last few years, we’ve ditched a lot of chemicals in our home in exchange for more natural, healthy alternatives. Apple Cider Vinegar and White Vinegar are now among favorite products that we always have on hand. For cleaning, there are several different types of vinegar you can use depending on the task you’re completing, but for the following tasks, I like to use distilled white vinegar. Apple cider vinegar has tons of uses including teeth whitening and hair treatment, but we are going to discuss white vinegar here.

Spring-Clean-with-Vinegar
Distilled White Vinegar is seriously like a miracle worker in our home. We use it for everything, and today, I thought it would be fun to share my favorite ways to use it to spring clean your home!

Clean Your Coffee Maker or Keurig

Everyone has a coffee maker, or like us, a Keurig, in their homes these days. Companies make tons of different solutions for cleaning the calcium deposits and build up out of your coffee maker, but you have to wonder… what is that chemical solution I’m putting through a machine that makes my drink? Hmm… In addition to not wanting to potentially ingest any chemicals, I also didn’t want to spend the money for those spendy cleaners but knew that cleaning was necessary.

I took to the web and found out how easy it is to clean using just vinegar. To clean:

1- Add vinegar to the water reservoir’s maximum fill line

2- Run coffee maker or Keurig on “clean” cycle (this makes it extra hot and takes forever, but ensures a good clean!)

3- After all of the vinegar runs through, refill water reservoir with water

4- Run coffee maker or Keurig on “clean” cycle again

5- Repeat Steps 3 and 4 as needed until vinegar smell is gone

Vinegar in the Dishwasher

If you think about how much nastiness goes into your dishwasher, imagine the build-up that can happen! All of the food and gunk from your dishes gets swished around and drained in your dishwasher. Over time, your dishwasher doesn’t work as well and things get clogged. Easily combat this! To clean:

1- Place a large bowl or cup filled with vinegar upright in the upper portion of your dishwasher

2- Run dishwasher on “clean” cycle if it has that function. If not, run on a high temperature setting

3- Remove cup or bowl, and dishwasher should be clean

4- Repeat as necessary

Vinegar in the Washing Machine

Just like the dishwasher, dirty clothes bring a dirty machine over time. Build up and grime will cause the machine to not work as well, so it’s important to clear that stuff out. To clean a top-loader:

1- Start by setting your washer to its hottest temperature, highest capacity and longest cycle

2- Add four cups of white vinegar to the hot water, close the lid, and allow it to agitate for several minutes

3- Open the lid (so the machine stops) and allow it to sit for an hour so that the vinegar can do its job to get rid of the bacteria hiding in all those nooks and crannies and the hoses of your machine

4- Select the “extra rinse” option, if your washer has that choice, to complete the cycle

Clean Your Microwave

Who hasn’t opened their microwave at one time or another, only to be embarrassed at the caked-on mess you find. What’s worse, is when that mess is discovered by a guest in your home. Awful! Avoid the embarrassment by cleaning it, the easy way! To clean:

1- Fill a microwave-safe glass or bowl half full of water. Add a tablespoon of white vinegar

2- Place inside the microwave

3- Turn on for 5 minutes. You may need less time in a high-powered microwave, so keep an eye on it the first time you try this. This will steam up the walls of the microwave and loosen the dried-on gunk

4- Remove the glass container with hot pads (it will be hot!)

5- Wipe down the inside of the microwave with a clean rag or paper towel

Make Your Towels Feel New Again

Over time, towels tend to lose their “fluff,” and sometimes don’t smell as fresh as we’d like them to. To combat “funky-towel syndrome,” I turn to vinegar! It’s a simple solution and keeps our towels looking great and remaining absorbent! To clean:

1- Put towels in washing machine and fill with hot water

2- Add one cup of vinegar to the load and run through an entire wash cycle

3- Leave towels in the washer and refill again with hot water, this time adding 1/2 cup of baking soda. Run through another entire cycle

4- Dry towels as normal

WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE WAY TO USE VINEGAR IN YOUR HOME? HAVE ANOTHER NATURAL CLEANING RECIPE YOU’D LIKE TO SHARE?