7Gen Blog

Vinegar and baby nurseries

There's a book called Green It! It's a guide for detoxifying your life and a scary quote from one of it's pages is that the average baby born in America today has over 300 man-made chemicals circulating in it's bloodstream!! But some good news if you want to reduce your babies chemical exposure, according to them you can disinfect every surface in a baby nursury with vinegar! :) However, baking soda, lemon juice, and hot water are all completely safe and natural if you want to add those in there too. I use baking soda as a shampoo supplment, vinegar instead of soap - no I don't smell like vinegar- and lemon for deodorant. You can make almost all your own cleaners and personal care items from ingredients you could ingest, with just a few exceptions (I havn't figured out toothpaste yet.)

Laundry tip

I use a "downy ball" filled halfway with vinegar for laundry, along with detergent and 1/2 c. baking soda - it is released automatically and works really well.

Vinegar

My addition to vinegar use is for dogs. My dog has to have her anal glands expelled quite often (yuck). When they do this, it leaves an awful odor. My vet suggested 1 part white vinegar to 5 parts warm water & wipe across her rear with a soft cloth. This solution also works if your pet does that lovely, not, drag their rear across the carpet or as my dog does sits & spins in circles. It's a short term solution, but my dog definately gets relief.

LOVE Vinegar!!!

I have been using vinegar for so much for years, now. I am still amazed at what it can do. I tell everyone I can. "get rid of the toxic items, quit poisoning yourself!!"

Love this article, keep spreading the news.
Theresa

Random, I know

My husband is paralyzed and has to use a leg bag or night bag. I have to clean these twice a day, and tend to use rubbing alcohol as an anti-bacterial agent but the bags get really stained (yellow) after a couple of uses. I've tried bleach, hot water soaks, and hydrogen peroxide... and then I realized that good old vinegar did the trick and took all of the stain out instantly. Not sure how it works, but it does.

We also use regular vinegar (per recommended by his urologist) and sterile water solution to do a bladder flush for him since it helps break up the crystals that sometimes disturb his bladder.

Natural Vinegar Cleaning Spray

Hi, I have been using this for years and make a bottle with the recipe for part of their housewarming gift.

1 T Borax
3 T Vinegar
2 cups hot water

blend

squirt of dish soap
1 tsp Baking Soda
drop of essential oil, I use lavender or you can use Tea Tree oil

Works very good and smells wonderful too!

Sunburn

Spraying vinegar on a sunburn turns it to a tan and stops you from peeling. It's amazing. My mom did it to us as kids and I do it to mine. I take them outside spray them, they squeal because it stings, but in a matter of minutes the pain from the sunburn is relieved and the next day they are able to go back outside in the sun. It can save your summer vacation.

Fun w/vinegar

My two favorite uses for plain white vinegar are:

1) a 3:1 vinegar/water solution for cleaning guinea pig cages (and full strength vinegar to soak out the crusty bits)

2) for making buttermilk substitute while baking (1 cup minus 1 tbsp of milk + 1 tbsp of vinegar)

Love the article!

thanks!

I think I'll bookmark this site and refer to it every few weeks, incorporating another use of vinegar each time! There are so many great ideas here that I want to try, that I'll forget them all if I don't. But, to start with, I'll be adding some vinegar to my next loads of cloth diapers and towels, and will try it in my dishwasher in place of rinse aid.
The only use that I know that perhaps hasn't been listed here yet is to use it with some baking soda as a toilet bowl cleaner, with some essential oils if the smell bothers you.

As a diswasher rinse agent

So instead of something like jet dry, just use a TBSP or two of vinegar. I usually just splash some from my gallon of white vinegar onto the door of the dishwasher right before I start it, dishes come out sparkling!

And I too use it in laundry occasionally, I need to use it more for cleaning as it does such a good job. Going to try the 3:1 on the car windows this winter!

Vinegar can save your pots and pans

If you have ever burned rice then you know how hard it is to clean the pot afterwards. I add a few tablespoons of vinegar to a enough water to cover the stuck-on food bits and simmer it for about 10 minutes. The burn bits will come off easily with a sponge.

I also used it to clean dried egg whites out of the egg tray in my fridge. An egg had cracked and some edge white leaked into the indentation. It dried and I couldn't get the out a chunk of shell that was stuck in the tray. I filled the indentation with vinegar and waited ten minutes. It came right off with no scrubbing!

I started using vinegar as fabric softener after my Dad developed an allergy to manufactured softeners and my Mom tried it based on a tip she picked up from somewhere. I developed similar sensitivities a few years later and began to do the same. The best part is that white vinegar is cheaper than bottled softeners. (Sorry Seventh Gen, I love your other products, but all softeners are a problem for me.)

Skunk odor

I've used it on the skunked dog, of course, although the groomer can do a more thorough job somehow. But simmering vinegar on the stove for fifteen minutes or so really helps the lingering skunk odor in the air.

For those concerned about the smell of vinegar...

You may smell the vinegar for a while after you have cleaned, but the odor dissipates quickly. You may buy essential oils (I use peppermint). After cleaning the bathroom, you can put a couple of drops in the toilet, or in the waste basket. The oil aroma will overpower the vinegar.

drain

ha ha! Maistral, that's exactly what I've resorted to!!
But again, I was intrigued by Inkslinger's use of the word "toss"---which bears no resemblance to the "eke out" method I'm currently using---and whether he actually has a quicker, easier method of getting it down.
The point it to get it to do the fizzing action down in the pipe under the drain, right? And the major fizz is when the vinegar first hits the baking soda...

How to get baking soda down the drain

I put the end of a malleable plastic funnel down the hole in the centre of the what-you-may-call-it covering the drain in the sink, and carefully add a little baking soda at a time, shaking the funnel after each addition. Otherwise just dump small amounts of baking soda at the entrance to the drain, pour on some vinegar (it will fizz but eventually go down the drain)and repeat until you have about half-a-cup of baking soda in there.

I give the mixture at least 30 minutes to work, or preferably leave it overnight, them pour a kettle of boiling waster down before using the drain. I you do it about once a month, the drains tend not to get clogged.

cleaning /scent

I have used white vinegar and water 50/50 for years, recntly I began to add some lemon juice to my bottle. neutralizes the harsh smell, and i think it works even better. I have also added orange/citrus rind to the bottle let it sit a few days . gives it a clean citrus scent.

Karen Young - Regarding the Smell of Vinegar

Karen, You can "soak" orange peels in vinegar for a week or so to get a nice orangey smell.

for 'musty' towels

jsplichal, i'm interested in trying this--when do you add the vinegar, and how much do you use?

more white vinegar miracles

Thanks for calling attention to all the great uses for vinegar. I too love it in the battle against icky can opener blades. Here are some other vinegar miracles I use:
1. Apple cider vinegar for 10 minutes to get rid of dandruff
2. Used orange, lemon, grapefruit peels soaked in white vinegar until it smells like citrus instead of vinegar is a great way to make a homemade orange cleaner/degreaser and recycle at the same time!
3. 1-2 drops of Seventh Generation dishwashing liquid + white vinegar equals the world's best window/eyeglass cleaner
4. White vinegar + water + Seventh Generation unscented dishwashing liquid equals my favorite fruit/veggie wash
5. White vinegar in a spray bottle makes a great baby high chair tray food-safe cleaner or super easy fruit/veggie wash.

For more vinegar miracles I use besides these and the other great tips featured in this article, visit www.thetakebacktour.com/Brochures for a listing of the ones I use for my home and body use.

Stinky Towels

My towels used to get that musty/stinky smell after one or two uses. I read an article about how fabric softener actually traps moisture inside of the towel fibers and that you should use vinegar instead. I immediately started doing that and the stink is completely gone!!

Uses for white vinegar

Disinfecting countertops
Use with baking soda on carpet stains
50:50 solution water/vinegar for cleaning windows

Loved the additional ideas you listed!