Behold the power of vinegar!

Ever since we moved back to this old farm house I have been trying to remove the calcium deposits around the fixtures and on the chrome ring around the drain of our bathroom sink. I’ve tried scrubbing, scouring, using a variety of products to no avail. Finally the other day it occurred to me (Seems I can be a little slow at times, lol!) that if vinegar could clean out the calcium build up in our coffee maker, it might just work on the sink. So I poured some apple cider vinegar into the sink full strength, soaked a couple rags in it and wrapped those around the spigots, leaving the remainder to work on the drain ring. Voila’! Within minutes and with just a little scrubbing and wiping, no more mineral build up on my bathroom sink! So in light of the power of vinegar I thought I would pay it tribute by listing some of the ways I find it to be especially useful. Hope you’ll find them useful, too.

For years I used nothing but vinegar for cleaning windows and glass. It works better than any window cleaner.

As a weed killer we have found nothing better than mixing a cup of salt into a gallon of white vinegar and spraying on weeds. This works and works especially well on a sunny day. Just don’t spray on your ornamental plants or vegetables.

Add vinegar and salt to your water when making hard boiled eggs. This will make peeling them a whole lot easier.

Vinegar and baking soda in the toilet bowl will clean it up spic and span. This combination works well to keep sink drains clean and running smoothly, also. Add about ½ cup baking soda to the drain, followed by ½ cup or more of vinegar. Let bubble, then after about ten minutes pour hot water down the drain.

Soak bird feeders in vinegar to clean them. I’ve found that swishing it around in hummingbird feeders will remove the mildew that can form.

As a child the only sunburn relief product we used was cider vinegar applied undiluted to the skin. Or add a cup or two to a bath. Since vinegar helps normalize the pH of the skins surface it makes sense to me.

Vinegar works well as a laundry additive. ¼ cup to the wash water brightens colors and whites, acts as a fabric softener, inhibits mold, fungus and athlete’s foot germs. It also helps eliminate chemicals and their odors on new clothing.

Use a spray of ½ vinegar and ½ water on shower curtain liners to remove mold or mildew.

Vinegar makes an inexpensive spray on stain remover for clothing.

Relieve insect bites, bee and wasp stings by directly applying vinegar or soaking the affected area in full strength vinegar.