White Vinegar: The Secret Ingredient to Cleaning Everything

These days it seems like there are a million different products for cleaning your home.  Just stroll the aisles of your local supermarket and you’ll see myriad cleaners, scrubs and washers, all promising to eliminate build-up and leave a sparkling finish.  And somehow they’re all different and better than their competitors.

Even if these products actually perform as advertised, are they safe?  Many household cleaners contain ingredients such as ammonia, glycol ethers, and methylene chloride, which are proven to be potentially hazardous.

Luckily more and more companies are making cleaners with fewer, natural, non-toxic formulas, which is obviously great for our health.

However, you can’t get much more simple than good old-fashioned white vinegar.  If you’re trying to avoid dangerous chemicals, this age-old substance is readily available, cheap and can be used in a multitude of ways.

It’s the well-kept secret for professional cleaners from all over the country.  In fact, as the best maid service Elkton MD has to offer, we can confirm its power.

So, what’s so special about distilled white vinegar?

No, it’s not magic, but it’s close.  The secret to its cleaning success has to do with its high level of acidity.  When applied and mixed with the right substance, it’s an effective way to kill many kinds of germs, mold and bacteria, not to mention unpleasant odors.

To give you just a hint of its wide application, here are a few issues that you can tackle with it.

Carpet Stains

From spills to more severe accidents, white vinegar can help clean and restore your carpet.  For most spills, first soak up the bulk of the liquid with a sponge.  Then, using a mixture of fifty percent water and fifty percent vinegar, spray the affected area and let it soak for around two minutes.  When it’s dried a bit, blot the area with a towel.

For stronger stains, mix 1 tsp. of vinegar, 1 tsp. of liquid dishwashing soap, and 1 cup of warm water.  Spray the mixture over the stain and once it’s dried, blot it dry.

Kitchen Cleaner

There are so many ways in which your kitchen can become dirty.  From crumbs to spills to accumulated dust, it’s perhaps the dirtiest room in the house.  You could spend a lot of time juggling different cleaners to address each individual stain, or you could try the one-size-fits-all solution.

By spraying undiluted vinegar over surfaces and appliances, you can clean the kitchen and kill germs.  Whether it’s a counter top or a stove top, it’ll clean up nicely.

Soap Residue

The irony of cleaning with soap is that it can become a mess in itself.  The residue builds up over time.  But if you use a mixture of one part salt and four parts water, and a damp rag, you can scrub away the soap scum from your bathroom and kitchen faucets.

Likewise, spraying undiluted vinegar on your shower doors will remove soapy gunk, and leave you with a safe, clean surface.