by diy naturally 06.03 Vinegar is an indispensable tool for any kitchen. Vinegar can clean just about anything from greasy pots to dishwashers. Vinegar can also dislodge a clogged drain, reduce odors from a garbage can and tackle mineral stains around your sink.
Vinegar is such a wonderful, natural cleaning tool that it will out perform several expensive and dangerous cleaning chemicals that you would normally use for your kitchen. Vinegar can even clean your oven.
10 Ways to Use Vinegar to Clean Your Kitchen
- Coffeemakers Buildup in a coffeemaker’s brewing system can affect coffee flavor. To get rid of buildup run 1 brewing cycle of cold water and 1/4 cup vinegar. Follow with a cycle of clean water. If you can still smell vinegar, run another cycle using fresh water.
- Teakettles Boil water and 1/2 cup of vinegar in your teakettle for about 10 – 15 minutes. This will remove any mineral deposits in the pot and spout. Rinse thoroughly.
- Teapots Boil a 50/50 mixture of vinegar and water for about 5-7 minutes. Let this stand for 1 hour and rinse with water.
- Dishwashers Add 1/2 cup of vinegar to an empty dishwasher and the the rinse cycle. This will open up any clogs in the dishwasher drain lines and deodorize the machine.
- Microwaves To clean a spattered, greasy microwave, place a glass measuring cup (microwave safe) with 1 cup of water and 1/4 cup of vinegar inside your microwave. Boil for 3 minutes. Then remove the cup and wipe inside with a damp sponge.
- Ovens To de-grease your oven hood vents, wipe vents with a sponge and undiluted vinegar. You can also remove the vents and soak them for 15 minutes in 1 cup vinegar and 3 cups of water. Inside your oven use straight vinegar in a spray bottle. Spray vinegar on the surface and let stand for 15 minutes. Wipe clean with fresh water and repeat if necessary. Cleaning your oven with vinegar will also prevent grease buildup and make cleaning easier for the next time you tackle the project.
- Greasy frying pans Simmer the pan on a low heat with 1/4 inch of water and 1/2 cup of vinegar for about 10 minutes. Wash as usual.
- Broiler pans The burned on mess of a broiler pan is always a challenge to clean up but vinegar can make it much easier. Add 2 cups of vinegar and 1/4 cup of sugar to the pan while it is still warm. Let soak for 1 hour. Then clean as usual.
- Clogged drain Use a mixture of equal parts vinegar, salt and baking soda. Pour solution down the drain and let sit for 1 hour. Then pour boiling water down the drain.
- Mineral stains Spray mineral deposits around your sink with straight vinegar and let stand for 15 minutes. Then scrub away the deposits with an old toothbrush.
