Living The Green Life

Cleaning with vinegar, making your own stock and greening golf courses – Wendy Graham highlights the benefits.

Everything You Need To Know About Cleaning With Vinegar

YOU might think that vinegar is for sprinkling on fish and chips, but you can effectively clean with vinegar, too. Almost every surface of your home can be cleaned easily and cheaply with vinegar.

To make a homemade cleaning solution with vinegar, pour 250 ml of white vinegar into a jug, then mix with 250 ml of cooled boiled water.

It’s important to use cooled boiled water because this helps kill germs or bacteria that might shorten the shelf life of your solution.

Next, decant the solution into a 500 ml spray bottle, then spray and wipe.

For an added kick, you can add a tablespoon of washing-up liquid, and/or 20-25 drops of essential oil. This will have a shelf life of up to eight weeks.

The acidic nature of white vinegar means you can take on dirt, grease and grime with ease in the kitchen, bathroom and general living areas of your home.

However, this acidic nature means there are things you should not clean with vinegar.

You shouldn’t use vinegar to clean natural stone, granite, marble, quartz or similar.

Vinegar can be corrosive to these materials and may etch the surface.

Metallic paint is another no-no – so avoid using vinegar-based cleaners to clean your car.

Vinegar does not mix well with other cleaning products or ingredients.

Never mix vinegar with bleach or cleaning products containing bleach, as this can release a dangerous gas that can be harmful to your health.

Similarly, mixing vinegar with hydrogen peroxide, or products that contain this ingredient, should be avoided.

Whilst not hazardous to your health, mixing vinegar with other natural cleaning ingredients such as bicarbonate of soda, borax and soda crystals should also be avoided, because these ingredients react with vinegar to produce weak salty water that’s not very effective for cleaning. ■