s/o: Vinegar and baking soda

[eaglei]

In another thread, afjagsp123 said she saves on vinegar and baking soda for cleaning by purchasing at Costco. Here are my questions for her and for anyone:

--Just what all do you clean with this combination?

--What ratio do you use of vinegar to baking soda?

--Any other interesting, informative tidbits would be welcome, too!

TIA!

[kalanamak]

In another thread, afjagsp123 said she saves on vinegar and baking soda for cleaning by purchasing at Costco. Here are my questions for her and for anyone:

--Just what all do you clean with this combination?

--What ratio do you use of vinegar to baking soda?

--Any other interesting, informative tidbits would be welcome, too!

TIA!

 

Hummm, I just did a volcano with that combo last night, and then there is the raisins floating and sinking in the combo from Mudpies to Magnets book.

[DarlaS]

You can use vinegar for glass and laminate floors (just a splash in water for the floors) and baking soda for anything that needs an abrasive--including washing fruit & veggies.

 

If you mix them together you get a cool chemical reaction with lots of bubbles. Pretty sure most cleaning uses them separately. :001_smile:

[MomOfOneFunOne]

I only use them together for drains. Otherwise, I use vinegar or baking soda.

[Tammy]

n

[Orthodox6]

For general household cleaning: 1:1 white vinegar : water in a spray bottle.

[eaglei]

If you mix them together you get a cool chemical reaction with lots of bubbles. Pretty sure most cleaning uses them separately. :001_smile:

 

Yes, we've done the chemical reaction thing!:) Guess I mis-read the sentence in the original thread - I thought the vinegar and baking soda were being combined for cleaning!:tongue_smilie: Oh my!

[eaglei]

I only use them together for drains. Otherwise, I use vinegar or baking soda.

 

We've used them for drains, too!

 

I guess I am still wondering what are some other things these items can be used for in cleaning? I hadn't thought of baking soda for cleaning fruit and veggies . . .

 

Are these products used for most all the cleaning, therefore eliminating the need to purchase a plethora of other cleaning products??? (Sorry for sounding so dumb!)

[Orthodox6]

Baking soda : In an emergency, use as a dentifrice. Dentists will howl if you do this as your permanent cleaner, but it sure works well when stores are closed, and someone needs to brush teeth ! (It is too abrasive for everyday use.)

 

I want to be as "green" as I possibly can, and do my best. If a bathroom has become horridly, horribly filthy, though (think sewage overflow, for example) I am going to resort to poisonous household chemicals. This is for rare use, though. But when the need is for "germicidal warfare", I'll do that, because those are the rare times when I insist on having something/somewhere "clinically clean."

 

Another use for white vinegar is to provide a quick shine to silver or gold jewelry. Be very careful before cleaning gemstones, though. (Caution, i.o.w.) For solid silver or gold, though, I never have had any damage occur.

Edited June 22, 2009 by Orthodox6

[Mabeline]

Yup, I don't buy any cleaning chemicals except furniture polish. I didn't like my homemade version. You can use diluted vinegar on anything wipable and baking soda on anything you need to scrub.

[JennC]

I know this is covered on at least weekly basis in "Hints from Heloise" in our newspaper. I bet she has a website and I know she has a pamphlet list myriad ways to use these products. Run a carafe of vinegar through your coffee maker followed by several rinses of water. It unclogs hard water and disinfects your machine. Just make sure you've had your coffee first.

Another favorite of mine - soak overnight your sprinkler and hose sprayers in a bucket of vinegar water.

It's also great for garbage cans.

[eaglei]

Yup, I don't buy any cleaning chemicals except furniture polish. I didn't like my homemade version. You can use diluted vinegar on anything wipable and baking soda on anything you need to scrub.

 

THANKS!:) This is VERY helpful!

[nmoira]

In another thread, afjagsp123 said she saves on vinegar and baking soda for cleaning by purchasing at Costco

I didn't see the other thread, but I get my baking soda from a feed store -- feed grade calcium carbonate. It's under $15 for 50 lbs from a store in town, and probably less out of town.

 

Edited to add: sorry, I mean feed grade sodium bicarbonate.

Edited June 22, 2009 by nmoira

[Guest Katia]

Vinegar mixed 1:1 with water is great for cleaning counter tops, windows and mirrors. If you spray straight vinegar on, and then spray on peroxide it is a germicide (as good or better than bleach), which is great for fruits, counter tops and cutting boards. Just DO NOT mix them in a bottle!!

 

I use vinegar (straight) in my automatic dishwasher instead of the commercial stuff. There is no build-up in my dishwasher at all anymore, my dishes come out sparkling clean AND there are no water spots on them!

 

I will sprinkle baking soda inside my bathroom sink or bathtub and then spray straight vinegar on it. That wonderful chemical reaction 'scrubs' the nasties, and makes it easier for you to scrub away the rest.

 

I use vinegar as a rinse in my laundry instead of fabric softner. There is no chemical build-up on my clothes and it helps clean them better as well.

 

I have read that a paste made from apple cider vinegar mixed with baking soda will stop mosquito bites from itching and swelling. Haven't tried that...yet.

 

And many people do not use shampoo, but instead wash their hair with a paste of baking soda and water, rinse it all out, and then 'condition' their hair with a mix of vinegar and water.

 

There. Those are a few ideas to get you going. :001_smile:

[BikeBookBread]

In another thread, afjagsp123 said she saves on vinegar and baking soda for cleaning by purchasing at Costco. Here are my questions for her and for anyone:

--Just what all do you clean with this combination?

--What ratio do you use of vinegar to baking soda?

 

 

:lol: Not together! But it is a cool reaction when they do get together...

 

I keep a spray bottle of 1:1 vinegar and water for general purpose clean-up. It's great here in Almost Mexico b/c we have hard water and our home does not have softening system, so it's good for keeping hard water spots at bay. I used it tonight in fact when I dropped a bottle of canola oil onto our kitchen tile floor and the lid popped off. I sprayed a bit on and wiped...canola all gone with no residue. Here are some other uses:

 

- decalcifying the coffee maker. I do a 2:1 water: vinegar ratio in the reservoir; run it through once and then run two water-only brews. I do this 2x a month (we are BIG coffee drinkers)

- keeping the faucets hard-water spot-free (1:1 in the spray bottle)

- I soak the removable tray that catches the water in our through-the-door fridge dispenser in vinegar, again for hard water deposits.

- I use vinegar and water in my Bissell pro-steam steam cleaner instead of using commercial cleaning agents. The smell of the Bissell solution gave me a horrible headache and I'm not even chemical intolerant. Our machine was out of warranty anyway, so I figured, why not, especially after I did some googling on the subject and found other people had tried it too. I added just a touch of Method brand natural floor cleaner (lemon and ginger) to soften the vinegar smell. But the funny thing was, even though the vinegar smell was strong, it completely disappeared as soon as the carpet was dry. This combination got the smelly remains of my daughter's night of the flu out of the rug even when the Bissell solution did NOT.

 

Baking soda is just a good all-purpose gentle abrasive. Good for deodorizing stinky laundry (I add it, and Borax, too, another cheap all-purpose natural cleaning agent). Great deodorizer in the garbage cans: I just sprinkle some in the bottom of the can whenever I replace the garbage bag. It's good for scrubbing stains out of grout (most of the time it works). Cleans the food disposal -- sprinkle a bunch in, add a tiny bit of water and let it sit for a while, then flush.

 

I guess I could think of more but it's 11:04 and I really really really shoud be in bed, but no, I'm up on the Boards again.

Edited June 22, 2009 by BikeBookBread
I didn't mean food processor, I meant DISPOSAL! :)-

[eaglei]

These suggestions of what you use vinegar and baking soda for are great. I really appreciate that you took time to type them out! Specifics really help me a lot:001_smile:

[newbie]

vinegartips.com

 

 

We just used it in our jetspray w/1/1 water and vinegar and cleaned outside windows than sprayed ants outside.

[2cents]

Mixed together they are great for drain cleaning. Vinegar in water makes a great streak free window wash. Tie a vinegar/baking soda paste in a nylon around a faucet and leave an hour or so to remove scale. Shake baking soda and a few drops of lavender or vanilla or whatever scent you like in a ziplock bag, shake well, then put in a shaker bottle and use as a deodorizer for the carpet before you vacuum. I also use baking soda at the bottom of the cat litter box and some in the fridge to absorb odors. If a pet has an accident in the house, put vinegar right on it to get rid of the scent so that the pet doesn't reoffend in that spot. I buy my vinegar and baking soda at Costco too. :D

[LaxMom]

...

 

And many people do not use shampoo, but instead wash their hair with a paste of baking soda and water, rinse it all out, and then 'condition' their hair with a mix of vinegar and water.

 

...

Yep, I'm one of those. The vinegar in this case is apple cider vinegar and, while it has a conditioning effect, it's really to neutralize the alkaline baking soda.

 

I also use white vinegar as a laundry rinse, especially for cloth diapers since detergent residue can cause them to stink. It's also nice on towels, perhaps with a drop of some pleasant smelling essential oil, especially if they're line dried.

 

I fizz the salts off my vaporizer heat widget with vinegar periodically during the winter and then before storing.

 

Baking soda is great for deodorizing the doggy smelling rug, or sprinkled into the cat litter (and I don't think there are any ill effects, since our cat is now 18 and perfectly healthy).

 

Apple cider vinegar, in a bottle, is a great way to trap fruit flies - you just make a little funnel out of paper and out it in the neck of the bottle. They fly in, get stuck, and die.

 

ETA: Baking soda is also a great personal deodorant. It works better than any other natural deodorant (and some not so natural) I've tried. (I whir mine in the coffee grinder with lemongrass and clary sage essential oils. My coffee grinder is stainless and the cup/lid can go in the dishwasher, though)

Edited June 22, 2009 by MyCrazyHouse