Hi Healthy Ashley readers! My name is Andrea and my lil blog is called Off Her Cork where I write about food, running, and daily life. Ashley put out the call on Twitter asking about all natural cleaners. I mentioned that I clean with vinegar and she asked me to do a guest post, so here I am!

Vinegar is a great resource for all kinds of things! I started using it as a household cleaner several years ago when I realized that what I had been using to keep my home pretty and "clean" actually wasn't healthy for my family. The cleaners are made up of a lot of harsh chemicals that are toxic and not environmentally friendly. That didn't sit well with me and I started researching other options. What I found was that vinegar is a natural anti-bacterial and anti-fungal and it can be used in many different ways. If you Google cleaning uses for vinegar so many sites and resources come up you could easily spend all day reading.

I stopped using the other cleaners cold turkey and switched right over to vinegar. I pour a little bit in my cleaning bucket (probably around a cup) and combine it with hot water, then I go through and give my house a good scrub down with a cleaning cloth. This includes appliances, counter tops, sinks, and toilets. Basically everything in my house gets cleaned with vinegar.

Vinegar and water will clean up your stainless steel appliances and make them all shiny again.

I add vinegar and a little bit of baking soda to the toilets and let sit for about 15 minutes. Then I scrub them with a regular toilet brush and flush. They are clean without having to use toxic chemicals.
I use about 1/4-1/3C of vinegar plus lots of hot water to mop my floors. This includes hardwood flooring. Vinegar is great for floors because not only does it clean well but if you've got pets or little ones running around, if they touch the wet floor and then lick their paws or suck their thumb there is no risk of them ingesting a harmful chemical. It's just vinegar. It might not taste pleasant but I'll take that over toxic chemicals any day.

I use vinegar instead of liquid fabric softener when I do laundry. Liquid fabric softener is just another chemical and really isn't needed at all for clothes. Since I have a dog, his blankets and bedding (along with ours because he likes our bed!) can get lots of hair and smell on them, vinegar neutralizes this. I also use it for all my workout clothes. Not only does it neutralize stinky sweat odor but it helps remove the sweat stains as well.

The most common question I get asked is, "What about the smell?" Well it's vinegar, so it's going to smell like vinegar. However, you aren't using that much and the smell dissipates quickly, so it's not a big deal. My question is; would you rather smell vinegar or a fake pine scent created in a lab so it covers up the harsh and toxic chemicals you're coating your house with?

If you don't think you could trust straight vinegar or maybe aren't ready to take that step yet, Method is a great company that makes all natural household cleaners. I use their hand soap, dish soap, and dish washer pellets with great success. They can be purchased at Target and most stores that have an all-natural cleaning section.

I hope you found this article useful! Thanks Ashley for allowing me to guest post on your blog!

Andrea
http://offhercork.com

19 comments

1. Carolina John on June 15, 2009 7:22 PM

   vinegar and water also makes an effective organic herbacide for gardeners. takes care of all kinds of fungus and leaf spot problems, esp on roses. Good stuff ashley!

    
2. April on June 15, 2009 7:58 PM

   I love using vinegar on everything! I use it on my hair too and it makes it extra shiny!

    
3. K from ksgoodeats on June 15, 2009 8:22 PM

   I use a 2:1 ratio of water and vinegar to clean my coffee maker :)

    
4. Bec on June 15, 2009 9:34 PM

   its a great product for cleaning and doesnt have scary chemicals in it!

    
5. felishdadish on June 16, 2009 8:15 AM

   Great post! I need to start using vinegar more often. Here's my little tip for making good use out of it: Back in the days when I was getting flowers on a more regular basis, I would take 1 T. of vinegar and 1/2 tsp. of sugar, mix it with warm water, and put the roses in a vase filled with the water concoction. It acts as a floral preservative.

    
6. Sara on June 16, 2009 8:43 AM

   I've recently been introduced to wonderful world of vinegar and I'm so glad it's gaining in popularity. Great post!

    
7. Val on June 16, 2009 9:05 AM

   GREAT tip about the sweet potato fries!!! I've pondered doing that but never actually tried it.
   
   Also, I hate to be a huge annoying new blogger, but I love doing this but am just having a hard time with a couple teeny technical aspects....
   
   Is there an easy explanation for how you put the categories (about me, etc) on the top of your blog? I'm having a hard time with this.... I've been getting frustrated with blogspot but yours looks great!! :)

    
8. Becky on June 16, 2009 10:08 AM

   I have a vinegar-water mixture in a spray bottle that I use for smaller clean up jobs around the house (counters, tabletops, quick floor spills). I think I saw it on TV somewhere. I may be a little weird, because I kind of like the smell ;-)

    
9. A on June 16, 2009 10:31 AM

   Awesome guest post! Thanks for the great info!
   -A

    
10. livinghealthyintherealworld on June 16, 2009 11:30 AM

    Vinegar and baking soda are my MUSTS for cleaners. Love them. And so much cheaper (and safer with health etc) than typical "household cleaners".
    
    - Sagan

     
11. carla on June 16, 2009 12:43 PM

    oooh WHO KNEW with the hair?!

     
12. Diana on June 16, 2009 1:20 PM

    This is great! I would love to start using vinegar more often - plus it's cheap!

     
13. Kristin on June 16, 2009 4:51 PM

    Yeah, I have been meaning to start doing this! Check out this extremely informative post from Kris Carr's site: http://crazysexylife.com/2009/diy-earth-lite-cleaning-products/

     
14. traveleatlove on June 16, 2009 8:12 PM

    We use vinegar for everything! It's a great way to keep ants from getting in the house, and a little bowl will attract and eventually kill all fruit flies, if you have them. I did a post on vinegar awhile back because my 95 year old nana has 101 uses for it. Seems to be working for her!
    Not a cleaner, but peanut butter dramatically reduces the appearance of scratches in hardwood floors.

     
15. Thinspired on June 17, 2009 9:44 AM

    I really appreciate this guest post! I've heard of using vinegar for a coffee maker in the past, but not for general household cleaning. Besides being non-toxix, vinegar is also a lot cheaper than the regular cleaners, so that's another plus! Thanks for the info!

     
16. prettygreengirl on June 17, 2009 4:33 PM

    Great post! Vinegar is so versatile. I also like Mrs. Meyers and Dr. Bronners!

     
17. Maggie on June 18, 2009 7:58 AM

    I use vingar and baking soda too. I also add lemon juice in the bottle, to get a sweeter smell.

     
18. biz319 on June 18, 2009 12:02 PM

    I love vinegar as a cleaner - I don't mind the smell at all!

     
19. TeriLyn on June 21, 2009 7:51 PM

    Thanks for this post Ashley! I just threw some running clothes in the washer with some fingers. Hopefully it de-stinks them! :)