7 Vinegar Cleaning Hacks Everyone Should Know

Nowadays there seems to be a separate cleaner for everything under the sun. And I don’t know about you, but walking through cleaning aisles at the store can be a tad overwhelming.

Luckily, there’s one product you can rely on to clean just about everything. As an added benefit it’s super cheap and very effective! (And probably already in your pantry.)

That product is white distilled vinegar.

Vinegar’s high acidity level helps break down dirt and eliminates odors, making it an ideal cleaner. If you’re new to using vinegar as a cleaner, here are seven vinegar cleaning hacks you should know.

Use Vinegar to Remove Musty Smells from Towels

Raise your hand if you’ve ever left your towels sitting in the washer for too long. ????

If you’re anything like me, your hand went way up, and you’re familiar with the musty towel smell. To me (and mostly, my husband), there’s nothing worse than reaching for a towel to dry off with and being hit with that smell. #Yuck

Luckily, our good friend vinegar can help remove it!

To get the smell out of your towels simply wash your towels on the hot cycle and add one cup of white vinegar to the wash. (No detergent or other cleaners. Just vinegar.)  After your towels are done washing, dry them in your dryer.

Your towels should come out smelling much, much better. (If not try running them through the washer one more time.)

Use Vinegar to Make Your Glass Sparkle

I first started using vinegar to clean glass about two years ago and was STUNNED at how well it worked. Seriously, vinegar cleans glass so well!

If you want to give it a try just mix a 50/50 solution of distilled white vinegar to water. Use just like you would any other glass cleaner.

Use Vinegar to Deodorize Drains

I’m going to be honest here. There are times I walk by my kitchen sink and get a whiff of something horrible. And realize that, once again, the garbage disposal REALLY stinks.

Here’s how I deodorize stinky drains: First I pour vinegar down the drain and let it sit for about 30 minutes. Next, I wash it out with really hot water. And lastly, I add a few drops of essential oils to the drain.

This has always worked wonderfully to get rid of the bad drain smells.

Use Vinegar as a General-Purpose Cleaner

Download Vinegar Cleaning Hacks Printable

You can use a water/vinegar solution as an all-purpose cleaner that can tackle just about any hard surface. Simply add an equal amount of water and vinegar to a spray bottle. (Increase the amount of vinegar for higher potency.)

You can customize the scent by adding a few drops of your favorite essential oils.

This works well for wiping down walls and even as a way to remove crayon marks from the wall.

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Use Vinegar to Easily Clean Your Microwave

If you’ve ever gone too long in between microwave cleanings you know what a chore it can be to remove stuck-on food splatters.

However, a little bit of vinegar can make all the difference.

Here’s what to do: Add half a cup of vinegar and one cup of water to a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave the mixture for about five minutes (or however long it takes for the microwave to become really steamy.)

Wait 3-5 minutes before removing. (Be careful when removing the bowl because it will be hot!) Then use a cloth to wipe out your microwave. All the stuck-on food should very easily wipe off. You’ll be left with a sparkling clean microwave. ?

Use Vinegar and Dawn to Clean Your Shower

Hands down, my least favorite chore is cleaning the shower. I’m not sure why, but this is one thing I’ve ALWAYS procrastinated on.

As you can imagine hard water stains and a bit of soap scum are always waiting for me to clean them off. Luckily, it’s possible to make a powerful shower cleaner with only two ingredients: white vinegar and Dawn dish soap.

To make the shower cleaner you’ll need equal amounts of Dawn and white vinegar.

1. Heat up the vinegar in your microwave until hot.
2. Add the hot vinegar to your spray bottle.
3. Add dawn dish soap.
4. Shake to mix up the solution.

After that you’ll be ready to tackle hard soap scum and more.

Use Vinegar as a Natural Deodorizer

Do you hate the smell of Febreze or other air deodorizers? If so, try vinegar.

Simply mix vinegar and water. (I use a 50/50 solution but you can adjust the ratios to your preference.) You can also add some essential oils. (Or just use the general-purpose vinegar cleaner you’ve already created!)

Spray the solution to eliminate odors in the air.

Use Vinegar to Clean and Deodorize Your Dishwasher

It’s pretty common for dishwashers to get that musty smell from time to time. It’s also not a hard odor to eliminate.

The first step should definitely be the cleaning of your dishwasher filter. (Without doing that everything else is pretty much pointless.)

After you get all of the gunk and little bits of food out of that filter you can deodorize with vinegar to remove the bad smells.

Here’s how to do it:

Place one cup of vinegar on the top rack of your (empty) dishwasher. Run the dishwasher on the hot cycle. The vinegar will cut down on the grease and get rid of any funky smells.

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So. Many. Vinegar Cleaning Hacks

If you thought vinegar was just for making pickles, you’re wrong. This substance can replace SO MANY cleaners in your home. (And probably do a better job than what you’ve been using.)

I’d love to know if there are any other vinegar cleaning hacks that you use. Let me know in the comments.