Vinegar Cleaning

For the thrifty or natural types out there: there is nothing cheaper or better at cleaning than vinegar! My son loved cleaning this copper plate with vinegar and oil. He was fascinated as layer after layer of dark wiped away, and the copper color came out.

Our family cleans everything in sight with vinegar and warm water (windows - wipe down with newspaper), or vinegar, dish soap, and water (tables, counters walls, doors, etc). Because vinegar is cheap, non harmful if swallowed, etc. we've been using it since the boys were babies. I'd give the little one a rag to clean the back door window while the rest of us cleaned our assigned areas. Just buy a big bottle of brand name vinegar which smells better than off brand, and a big bundle of cheap wash clothes and you are good to go. If you really want to get into natural cleaning: baking soda, lemon juice, salt etc really does clean just about everything.

Last week I cleaned my mom's pellet stove out with vinegar, dish soap, and water. It looked great! A few years ago , there was a "clean this mess" type show set in England, one of the women cleaning was a scientist and she would show what germs people left around the house - and she said vinegar was anti- bacterial. Which confirmed what I knew all along - it cleans everything and harms nothing EXCEPT an occasional open wound on the hand. Hold the rag with the other hand if the cut starts burning and bothers you. This does happen to me occasionally since I'm a stained glass artist.

If the smell of vinegar bothers you - well you get used to it. Besides, it's a heck of a lot better than some of the toxic cleaning products you may be using. There are ways to infuse essential oils into the vinegar, but I like to keep things simple.