Frugal Tip: Vinegar, Baking Soda’s Best Friend
Last week I talked about baking soda and some of the many ways you could use it to clean, deodorize, and even unclog drains, as a frugal alternative to more expensive manufactured items. Today I’ll discuss the other half of the frugal household helper pair, vinegar. Vinegar, white vinegar to be exact, can be bought by the gallon for literally a few dollars, and a small amount of this handy liquid can really go a long way. I use vinegar by itself for such chores as:
- Fabric Softener: I use vinegar in the rinse cycle of our washing machine as a natural fabric softener. It really works and since I am allergic to most commercial fabric softeners, is a great frugal alternative! Note: Do not do this if you use bleach in your wash load.
- Cleaning the Toilet: Put straight vinegar into a spray bottle and then spray vinegar on the toilet rim. A quick wipe and you’re done! Very important since I live with boys.
- In The Dishwasher: Pour 2 cups vinegar into the bottom of your dishwasher before running. Put your normal dishwasher soap in and run. Your dishes will come out even cleaner this way!
And don’t forget, baking soda and vinegar work together well too to clean out your garbage disposal!
This frugal tip was written by paidtwice of I’ve Paid For This Twice Already…
April 12th, 2008 11:15
Thank you so much for the vinegar tip. I too can not tolerate most fabric softeners, so I will try this in my next wash!
April 12th, 2008 17:10
I love using these two in combination to clean my stove. The baking soda makes a great abrasive, the fizzing action when you add vinegar helps to break up stuck-on food.
I frequently put vinegar in the spray bottle, diluted with water, and add either a few drops of dish soap, or if I’m cleaning windows, a bit of alcohol. Either makes a great generic household cleaner for pennies.