November 4, 2023 by Mulberry Maids
When life gets busy, the amount of effort required to keep your house clean can unfortunately increase quite a bit! When life gets in the way, it may be time to book professional local house cleaning services who can make sure your home is kept in order. Local experts can help to keep your home in a cleaner state, making sure it is the sanctuary that you desire after a long hard day at work.
For those of you who still want to tackle the job on your own, or to make sure that you are upkeeping your home to the best of your ability in between professional services, using cleaning vinegar is a powerful and cost effective way to clean many areas of your home quickly!
Read on for more information about cleaning vinegar, including when and how to use it in your home!
What is cleaning vinegar and how does it differ from cooking vinegar?
Vinegar is one of the safest cleaning products to use, and whether you are specifically interested in green cleaning, or just want a cheap way to clean your home, cleaning vinegar is hard to beat.
Cleaning vinegar is the same as normal distilled white vinegar, however, they differ in acidity. Cleaning vinegar is mixed with less water, making it concentrated with a higher acetic acid content, while cooking vinegar has a little less acid content. Cleaning vinegar is about 6% acid and 94% water, while white vinegar is about 95% water. Either one can be used for cleaning, but due to the higher acid concentration of the cleaning vinegar, you do not need to use as much of it when making an all purpose spray.
To make a simple all purpose vinegar solution, you can do the following:
- Get a spray bottle
- Fill it with about a ¼ cup of cleaning vinegar
- Add 2 ½ cups of warm water
- You can also add a dash of dish soap to the solution
- And if you don’t like the smell of vinegar, you can add in some essential oils
This mixture is a good guideline, and does not need to be followed exactly. Depending on what you are cleaning, you may want to use more or less vinegar. For example, when cleaning a really dirty stove top, you may want to use closer to a 1:1 mixture of vinegar to water, and for very light cleaning or dusting, you may want to use even less vinegar in the mixture.
How do I use cleaning vinegar in my home?
Vinegar is an incredible cleaning tool that can be used in most areas of your home. So whether you are cleaning your dorm room or a kitchen pantry, where you want a safe and non-toxic cleaner, vinegar is a cheap and effective cleaner.
After you have made your vinegar cleaning solution as described above, you can use it throughout your home. Grab a handful of microfiber cloths and your spray bottle, and you can cover almost the entirety of your home.
Before you get started with the vinegar, note that not everything is safe to clean with vinegar, due to the acidity. While vinegar is still relatively mild, over time, it can cause damage to certain surfaces and items.
Some areas to avoid when using vinegar include:
- Natural stone countertops: The acidity can etch away at the porous surface, decreasing the shine of the surface, or causing pitting. It is best to use a mild dish soap on natural stone surfaces.
- Hardwood floors and furniture: Similar to countertops, the acidity can eat away at the finish and shine on these surfaces. It is always best to use a very mild cleaning solution on these surfaces, and if you are worried, a specific store bought cleaner that is safe for wood surfaces may be best.
- Electronic screens: It is best to avoid vinegar on electronic screens, as it can damage the finish.
- Rubber parts of appliances: The acidity of the vinegar can corrode rubber.
It is also important to note that you should never mix vinegar with bleach, as it will create chlorine gas, which is a dangerous chemical.
What are the best things to clean with vinegar in a home?
Now that we know what you should NOT clean with vinegar, it is time to talk about all the great uses of it in your home!
One of the great uses of vinegar (and cost saving advantages) is to use it as a homemade window cleaner. You can mix equal parts vinegar and warm water in a spray bottle, and can add a drop of dish soap as well. This dish soap can help to remove any caked on product or streaks from past window solutions that have been used.
Other great uses of vinegar in your home include:
- Bathrooms: Vinegar can be used throughout the whole bathroom, and combined with baking soda can be an effective stain remover for things like showers and tubs. For added scrubbing power, sprinkle baking soda, and spray your vinegar solution on top of it. Use a microfiber cloth or a heavier duty scrubber to work at the surface and stains.
- Kitchen: Vinegar is a great all purpose cleaner for your kitchen. From kitchen sinks to stovetops, it can be used just about anywhere. One cool trick with vinegar is to use it for extra cleaning power to help deep clean your microwave. Fill a microwave safe bowl with equal parts water and vinegar, and cook it until it produces lots of steam. Take the bowl out, and wipe the interior with the steam. Most of the grime and food splatter should come right off. In addition to the normal kitchen cleaning, you can also use vinegar to clean cutting boards, cloudy glasses, and other small appliances.
- Dusting: Use a 2:1 water to vinegar mixture (with an optional addition of olive oil and dish soap) to dust around your home. The dish soap will add some extra dusting power, and the olive oil can help to repel dust buildup for longer.
- Floors: With the exception of wood floors, vinegar is great as a floor cleaner. As you will be using a lot of it to cover all of your floors, if you are sensitive to the smell, you can make a 50% vinegar, 30% water and 20% lemon juice solution in a spray bottle. You can also add some essential oils for added smell masking. When cleaning floors with a spray bottle, you can use a microfiber pad mop that will mop as you spray the solution on the floor. You can also use a traditional mop and bucket system as well with the same concentrated cleaning solution.
We provide local house cleaning services that are easy and quick to book!
Mulberry Maids is your local go to cleaning service, specializing in deep cleanings, regular recurring cleaning services, as well as move out cleanings when the going really gets tough! Our extensive and thorough hiring process ensures that we only send the best professionals to your home for each cleaning.
Our customer service team is equally matched, with a helpful and friendly scheduling and booking staff to make sure everything runs smoothly. From booking to billing, our goal is to make the home cleaning process as seamless as possible for our community.
So reach out today to take a chore off of your busy plate! Call or text us with any questions you have, or simply visit our booking page to get on the schedule in just a couple of minutes!