Vinegar: Disinfectant of Champions
My pal Juanita and I were having one of those to-and-fro chats on e-mail last night when she mentioned practically fumigating her bedroom with Lysol. I blanched at this, of course, and told her that I preferred disinfecting with white distilled vinegar these days.
You can find straight 5 percent vinegar, which is a natural disinfectant because of its acetic-acid content, easily in the condiments aisle of your supermarket. According to Heinz, as quoted by Care2.com, several studies demonstrate that vinegar kills 99 percent of bacteria, 82 percent of mold, and 80 percent of germs/viruses. (At Care2’s recommendation, I spray my cutting board daily with vinegar and let it sit on the rack without rinsing. You can do the same with the rim of your toilet seat and the inside of your garbage pail.)
Vinegar, according to the Vinegar Institute—admittedly not the most objective of sources, but myriad other sources appear to concur—is also an effective deodorizer, grease- and soap-scum-cutting cleaner, and mineral-buildup dissolver. (Hey it had to be doing something worthwhile to have been a household staple for the last 10,000 years.)
Another favorite technique of mine is using a mixture of 1/4 cup of white distilled vinegar with 2 cups of water to clean mirrors and other glass surfaces—and then wiping it off with scrunched-up newspaper for a streakless, fiberless shine. (Toss the newspaper in with the paper recyclables when you’re done and you have a practically zero-waste affair.)
Over a thousand uses abound at VinegarTips.com, including using vinegar to kill weeds, eliminate ants, and soothe sunburns. Its best features? It’s non-toxic, exudes no chemical fumes, safe around kids, environmentally friendly, and cheap, to boot. The only downside is its sharp characteristic odor, but that dissipates after a while.
Summer said,
July 19, 2006 at 11:54 pm
I totally use vinegar to clean- works like a charm. Great idea about the cutting board too, I’ll definitely check that out.
Tash said,
July 20, 2006 at 4:03 am
I absolutely agree with you, vinegar has been used for yonks and has always been in use in our household in some form or another. It also makes really *really* good chuntey :-D
Erica said,
July 20, 2006 at 12:42 pm
I use vinegar for many kinds of cleaning, but it was especially helpful after my apartment was flooded. I got a spray bottle and just filled it with straight Heinz white distilled vinegar and used it as a fungicide. Before that, I had mushroom like growths on the floor of my laundry room. It killed them all and none have come back. Hooray vinegar!
Ani said,
July 22, 2006 at 12:49 am
I just started using vinegar for my cleaning solution and it’s incredible. I can feel it cut through the residue that was left from the myriad of other ‘natural’ (and not so natural) cleaning products I had been using. I did not know it was such an effective disinfectant–what great news!
Rachel said,
July 24, 2006 at 7:25 am
I LOVE cleaning with vinegar. I live in a backwards area where we don’t have city sewer, we have septic tanks and I wanted a good cleaner that wouldn’t harm my tanks (or my dogs that lick everything). After doing much reading, I found many people recommended vinegar. So I clean with it now and I’ll tell you what, we used to have this pink mouldy/bacteria that grew on all of our wet area fixtures…it is GONE! The smell is not quite as pretty as the bottled and fragrance added chemicals they sell at the grocery store but it is worth it knowing that if my kids or dogs get into it, the most they will get is a bad taste in their mouths.
The Worsted Witch » Totally Bamboo said,
July 29, 2006 at 11:53 pm
[...] Even with its nightly spritzing of bacteria-squashing vinegar, a heavily scarred plastic cutting board, with deep grooves aplenty for germs to hide out, does not a healthy home make. [...]
» Blog Archive » Alley Cat said,
August 1, 2006 at 9:04 pm
[...] So our cat tree prayers were answered that fateful evening. The tree was a little dirty and the top was sagging (probably from the weight of it’s previous owner) but definitely reusable. The husband hoisted it up into our balcony, and we proceded to clean it like mad. Lots’ o vacuuming and some white vinegar disenfecting (thnx Worsted Witch). We let it sit for a couple days, and then introduced it to the felines- took them about 2 minutes before they were all over the thing. [...]
The Worsted Witch » The Pesticide-Parkinson’s Equation said,
September 19, 2006 at 11:15 am
[...] Related articles: 1. Under the Nile Headed for Target 2. Grass! On! The! Loose! (Chekhov’s Eco Tip) 3. Lawn & Order 4. Vinegar: Disinfectant of Champions 5. Eco-Me Home: Green Cleaning Solutions 6. Pollution in People 7. Eulogy for Swiffer 8. Maybe Baby: Chemicals & Kids 9. Why Pesticides Suck Reason #785 [...]
The Worsted Witch » Pesticides in Produce said,
October 30, 2006 at 4:20 pm
[...] Related articles: 1. The Pesticide-Parkinson’s Equation 2. Grass! On! The! Loose! (Chekhov’s Eco Tip) 3. Lawn & Order 4. Vinegar: Disinfectant of Champions 5. Eco-Me Home: Green Cleaning Solutions 6. Pollution in People 7. Eulogy for Swiffer 8. Maybe Baby: Chemicals & Kids 9. Why Pesticides Suck Reason #785 [...]
The Worsted Witch » Martha Stewart Living Jan 2007 said,
December 21, 2006 at 4:48 pm
[...] Related articles: 1. Chemical Pollution Harms Kids’ Brains 2. Hub’s Guest Review: Seventh Generation Laundry Liquid Detergent 3. Eco-Me Home 4. Vinegar: Disinfectant of Champions 5. Test Kitchen Witch 6. Eulogy for Swiffer 7. Maybe Baby: Chemicals & Kids [...]
The Worsted Witch » Mail Call: Finding Eco Products said,
February 5, 2007 at 10:34 am
[...] Related articles: 1. Martha Stewart Living Jan 2007 2. Totally Bamboo 3. Vinegar: Disinfectant of Champions 4. Test Kitchen Witch 5. Eco-Me Home 6. Hub’s Guest Review: Seventh Generation Laundry Liquid Detergent 7. Maybe Baby: Chemicals & Kids 8. Implements of Green 9. Eulogy for Swiffer [...]
Does vinegar disinfect? said,
May 15, 2007 at 8:42 am
[...] Source(s): http://www.worstedwitch.com/?p=349…http://www.care2.com/channels/solutions/…http://www.apple-cider-vinegar-benefits…. [...]