Uses for Vinegar

There are TONS of uses for vinegar. Daddy's always used it to clean the coffee pot every couple of weeks. These I've taken from experience, the Internet, family members, friends, cookbooks, books, etc. I found thousands, but have only listed these that most of us could use most often, except for the strangest use I've found (at the bottom).

Freshen cut flowers by adding 2 T vinegar and 1 t sugar to a quart of fresh water.
Or prolong the life of your flowers by adding 2 T vinegar and 3 t sugar to 1 qt warm water.

When I was a kid I hated cleaning that nasty, smelly stuff off my goldfish's bowl. It's gross. If I'd only known to transfer my fish for a few hours and clean the empty bowl with a clean cloth dipped in vinegar, then rinse well, my fish might have actually lived a little longer.

Ring around the bathtub? Wipe with vinegar then with baking soda. Rinse with water.

Many ways to clean a vehicle, here are 2:
1. Polish chrome by wiping with full strength.
2. With all this winter weather, help your windows to be frost free by coating the windows the night before a frost with a solution of 3 parts vinegar to 1 part water.

Add a tablespoon of vinegar to each loaf of bread you are making. It will keep it soft longer and keep it from smelling strong so soon.

Glass cleaner not working on your eyeglasses? Rub one drop of vinegar into each lens and wipe with soft cloth.

Firm up your Jello by adding 1 t vinegar to every box of gelatin used

This hasn't worked for me, but it may you: swallow 1 full tablespoon of vinegar when hiccups arise.

Unclog a shower head by unscrewing it and placing in a pot of equal amounts of water and vinegar. Bring to boil then simmer for 5 minutes.

I hate when my eggs crack when I'm boiling them. To prevent this, add 2 T vinegar to water before boiling.

Prepare fluffier rice by adding 1 t vinegar to boiling water.

Ever get build up in your washing machine & hoses? Once a month, run a normal cycle with 1 C vinegar with no clothes.

Scale fish more easily by rubbing vinegar on fish 5 minutes before descaling.

Cleaning my Formica counter tops have been more challenging than I'd hoped. One of the best things I've found to clean them is soaking a rag in vinegar, ringing, then wiping/scrubbing the counter tops.

Kill grass on sidewalks and driveways by pouring full strength vinegar on unwanted areas.

Clean your shower curtains and stalls and tubs by wiping down with vinegar then rinsing. It will help those water stains as well.

Needing to dampen your appetite? Sprinkle a little vinegar over your food. Or eat pickled jalapenos, pickled okra or pickles. I've been known to skip all those and go right to drinking the pickle juice. It works! OR add 1 t apple cider vinegar to 1 glass water with honey for taste.

When we lived in Houston, Cosmo was a puppy and we had Hurricane Rita a few months after Hurricane Katrina. Poor Cosmo was so scared he kept doing his "running" pee. He'd run while peeing and hide. Blot up the urine with a towel or rag and flush with lukewarm water several times. Then mix equal parts of vinegar and cool water and apply. Blot, rinse again with lukewarm water and dry. It will take the smell away and hopefully the stain too.

Get rid of that onion smell on your hands by rubbing your fingers in vinegar before and after you slice/chop an onion.

I've posted this before. Clean windows by spraying vinegar on windows and wipe in a circular motion with dry, crinkled newspaper.

Kill weeds by spraying full strength vinegar on them until their starved.

I always thought I'd have so sand down those rings/stains were a glass was left sweating on our window sill and tables. But surprisingly, mix equal parts of vinegar and olive oil and rub with the grain well into affected wooden areas then polish for best results. Yes, I know rubbing salad dressing on your wood doesn't sound like it's a good idea but look...

BEFORE

AFTER

Hard water stains on your glassware? Pour at least 1 C vinegar in bottom of dishwasher before running the cycle. ALSO I've learned never to put anything metal on the top rack with glass. OR if hand washing, pour in 1 T vinegar to the warm, soapy water in a sink full of glassware.

Dry, itchy skin? Add 2 T vinegar to bath water.

I'm always hemming up or taking out a hem on my pants or Canaan's. When taking out a hem, what do you do with those holes where the thread was? Place a cloth under the holes moistened with distilled vinegar, now iron. Also unclog or clean an iron by pouring in equal parts of vinegar and distilled water into the water chamber. Run for 5 minutes on steam. Unplug & cool then dump out any left over solution.

When your tools or other parts get rusty, soak them in full strength vinegar overnight.

Who forgot to take the Kleenex out of their pocket before putting it in the hamper? Get rid of lint in your clothes by adding 1/2 C vinegar to rinse cycle. OR prevent any lint from clinging to your clothes by adding 1 C vinegar to wash load. ALSO to prevent clothes from sticking to the wash line on a cold day (if you're one of those that use one), wipe the line with a cloth moistened with vinegar.

We grew up going to South Padri Island. Wish my mom would have known about this trick then. Now I know with Canaan.
1. Mosquito bites, Bee and Jellyfish stings hurt like crazy and even itch. Dab or pour vinegar on affected area to relieve itching.
2. Relieve sunburn by lightly rubbing it with vinegar. You'll have to reply.

Rub your hands with vinegar to remove fruit or Popsicle stains.

This one I learned from my daddy: Fill up the reservoir of your coffee filter with vinegar and run it through a brewing cycle. Then rinse with water.

The STRANGEST thing I found: Turn a chicken bone into what will bend like rubber by soaking it for 3 days in vinegar.