Wednesday, January 24, 2007

Works For Me Wednesday - Vinegar for Cleaning

My kids all have eczema to varying degrees, and after being told that eczema was related to allergies and asthma I decided to keep as many chemical cleaning products out of my house as possible. So I use plain white vinegar to clean many things. I pour a cup of it into my washing machine instead of fabric softener, use it in conjunction with ice to freshen sink disposal, and pour it on counters/stovetops to clean and degrease. I keep a spray bottle of vinegar on my kitchen counter for quick cleaning at the end of the day - just spray down all the counters and use a dishrag or hand towel to wipe. There are a number of other ways to use it, these are just my most common. And don't let the smell turn you off to this, it dissipates very quickly. So, cleaning with vinegar works for me!

10 comments:

Lindsey said...

I have excema as well - did switching your supplies help with your kids problems?

Miss Lionheart said...

Vinegar and newspaper is the best way to clean windows, too!

http://tootsie.wordpress.com/

Raw Thoughts said...

My two year old daughter has excema and we stopped giving her milk and it helped.

Rebekah said...

Lindsey-
It didn't help with the skin much, although it helped some. I noticed my oldest (who also had the worst symptoms) stopped coughing at night when I stopped using chemicals, though.

momamea_tb said...

I'm glad you mentioned about the smell - because I was just going to ask you about it. Because frankly I had made up a whole large spray bottle of the vinegar / water, but only used it once because it smelled so bad. How does it make your laundry smell?

http://narrowminded.us/tina/wordpress

Rebekah said...

momamea_tb -
It leaves no noticeable smell in the laundry. I add it with the detergent, which is unscented, and the clothes just come out smelling clean. The inside of the washer does carry a slight vinegery smell for a few minutes after the cycle is over, though.

Fiddledeedee (It Coulda' Been Worse) said...

Rebekah,
We're dealing with exceme as well. My last 2 kids have had it, but my girl outgrew it after about 2 years. I'm hoping the same happens with my boy.

Vinegar is a great idea. I use it to clean vegetables as well. I make a vinegar/water bowl and soak them, then rinse.

I'll have to try vinegar in the laundry! Thanks for the tip!

Heidi said...

Vinegar water is recommended to clean my pergo floors. it works pretty well, but not on sticky spots.

I sometimes use vinegar for other cleaning. I wonder if I used it in the laundry if it would help keep the actual washer cleaner smelling.

Good tip! Thanks!

Nikki said...

I love to sing the praises of Vinegar! Thanks for singing them today. I'd rather my washer smelled like vinegar than other foul smells. I especially love it when washing cloth diapers because they come out softer and smell fresh, not vinegar-y at all!

Kimm said...

I add a few drops of peppermint oil to my vinegar mix and the whole family loves the smell.