Vinegar - Cleaning Uses

Cleaning Uses

White vinegar is often used as a household cleaning agent. Because it is acidic, it can dissolve mineral deposits from glass, coffee makers, and other smooth surfaces. For most uses, dilution with water is recommended for safety and to avoid damaging the surfaces being cleaned.

Vinegar is an excellent solvent for cleaning epoxy resin and hardener, even after the epoxy has begun to harden. Malt vinegar sprinkled onto crumpled newspaper is a traditional, and still-popular, method of cleaning grease-smeared windows and mirrors in the UK. Vinegar can be used for polishing brass or bronze. Vinegar is widely known as an effective cleaner of stainless steel and glass.

Vinegar, throughout history, has been reputed to have strong antibacterial properties. One test by Good Housekeeping's microbiologist found that 5% vinegar is 90% effective against mold and 99.9% effective against bacteria, while a study showed that vinegar is less effective than Clorox and Lysol against poliovirus.

Vinegar has been marketed as an environmentally-friendly solution for many household cleaning problems. For example, vinegar has been cited recently as an eco-friendly urine cleaner for pets and as a weed killer.

Vinegar is very good at removing cigarette smoke residue from windows and surfaces. It can be wiped on and left - after it dries, both vinegar and smoke smells are gone.

Vinegar can also be used as a very effective rust remover from iron and steel components. Rusty components can be submerged for a few hours - or days if the vinegar is diluted. This is a very popular way of de-rusting sheet steel such as car body panels.