13 Brilliant Ways White Vinegar Uses Guaranteed to Make Your Life Easier

Skip pricey drain-clearing products and try this: Pour 1/2 cup of baking soda down the drain, followed by one cup of vinegar. The fizz formed by the chemical reaction between the acidic vinegar and alkaline baking soda will dissolve blockages. Wait five minutes, then pour cold water down the drain. "It's a do-it-yourself trick I've seen a lot of homeowners and landlords use. And it works!" assures Steve Lipsky, owner of Seaside Plumbing. 

Yikes! No matter how much you scrub the pee stain, can’t seem to get rid of the smell. To eliminate the odor for good, wash the spot with soap and water, then pour a 1/2-inch layer of vinegar into it. Let it sit for 20 minutes. Rinse with warm water and dry thoroughly. Vinegar’s acetic acid will kill any odor-causing bacteria inside the box. "We put the cleaner on the center of the stain," says Mary Findley of Go Clean. "If you place towels down and step on the center to blot it, the stain spreads!' Instead, start from the outside in. *Put down towels and walk around the edge of the stain in smaller and smaller circles until you get to the middle. It'll force the stain toward the center." 

You probably never suspected your coffee maker of being a germ trap. The culprit Is the water reservior, a perfect breeding ground for yesst and bacteria. The fix: About once a month, fill the reservior,with white vinegar, then run it through the machine twice, says safety expery Mindy Costello. "The vinegar Is acidic, which gets rid of unwanted microbes.' To remove any lingering vinegar smell, just run plain water through a brew cycle.

Herbs add flavor to meals...but if they're not washed property, they can also add germs, says Natalle Wise, author of The Modern Organic Home. Her bacterla-busting Rx: *Place a colander in a large bowl, fill with ½ cup of white vinegar and fill the rest of the way with cold water [warm water will wit greens]. Let the herbs sit in the solution for 5 minutes, gently swishing back and forth to ensure all the leaves are washed." Then give them a quick rinse In cold water, and your herbs will be ready to jazz up all your recipes.

Faucets and showerheads are magnets for mineral deposits, but they're easy to clean. "I call this the 'set it and forget it method," says Balley Carson of Handy.com. "Pour 1 cup of distilled white vinegar into a large plastic beg, then tie it over the faucet or showerhead and leave ovemight." In the moming, remove the beg and tum the hot water on full pressure to remove any residue-mineral deposits will be gone.

To break in a stiff pair of jeans, run them through a regular wash cycle, adding 1/2 cup of vinegar to the rinse cycle (add 1/4 cup to the bleach compartment for high-efficiency washers). Vinegar’s acids will dissolve starch on the denim, leaving you with soft jeans. "One cup added to your laundry at the start of your wash cycle will do the trick," laundry expert Kaloyan Dimitrov promises. "That way, the vinegar rinses out, so your bed won't smell like a salad bar!"

The last time you wore your leather boots, sidewalk salt left behind a chalky white residue on your shoes. To remove it, combine equal amounts of water and white vinegar in a bowl, dip a cotton swab into the liquid and dab it on any stains. The acids in the vinegar will dissolve the salt crystals causing the unsightly stains — without harming the leather. 

The new wall color in your home office looks great, but the fumes from the paint are giving you a headache. What can help: Leave a few bowls of vinegar around the room. The pantry staple will absorb paint vapors, eliminating the strong odor. Pour the vinegar down the drain when the smell is gone.

If your iron isn’t working as well as it should, residue from synthetic fabric may be clogging the steam holes. The fix: Pour one cup of white vinegar in the water tank, then set the iron upright and run on the steam setting for five minutes. Pour out any remaining liquid, fill with water, and repeat the process. The vinegar will break down the built-up gunk in a flash.

To nix unsightly fingerprints from your stainless-steel kitchen appliances, enlist the help of white vinegar. Simply add one cup to an eight-ounce spray bottle and spritz the appliance’s surface liberally, then wipe with a soft cloth. Acids in the vinegar will break down any oily residue on the appliance, leaving it shiny and spot-free!

Whenever you paint your nails, it seems the polish chips after a few days. The save: Before applying the first coat of polish, moisten a cotton ball with vinegar and wipe it over your nails. Vinegar’s mild acids will break down surface oils on your nails, so the polish adheres smoothly and is less prone to chips.

Oops! The little one in your life fell during basketball practice, and she’s worried she’s going to end up with a black-and-blue mark. To ward off a blemish, simply saturate a piece of gauze in white vinegar and apply it to the skin. Hold the gauze in place with bandages or medical tape. Leave it on for 30 minutes, then rinse with warm water. The pantry staple enhances circulation near the skin’s surface so blood won’t pool, preventing an ugly bruise from forming.

Instead of cleaning your wooden cutting board with dish soap and water, which can weaken the wood fibers, saturate a paper towel in white vinegar and use it to wipe the board after each use. The vinegar’s acids are a known disinfectant and will eliminate any harmful bacteria lingering on the board.