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Money Minute: A Bazillion Ways to Save With Vinegar

By rediscoveringdomesticity, on July 29th, 2011

dollar and coins image Vinegar is inexpensive. Vinegar is a workhorse.  There are so many ways to replace more expensive products in the home by swapping them for vinegar. As a plus, trading vinegar for other products can greatly reduce the chemical exposure in your home! It’s a green and natural product.

I won’t waste much time delving in to the reasons for trying vinegar. It’s time for a bazillion uses for vinegar that can save you some serious money. Hang on tight – here we go!

Food

  • Make a delicious marinade with Apple Cider vinegar, a few spoonfuls of oil, a dash of garlic, and a dash of pepper. Works on chicken, beef, and pork! We even use it on hot dogs!
  • Make a basic vinagrette dressing. Use 1 part distilled white vinegar to 4 parts oil. Mix well.
  • Save those wilted veggies. Soak them in cold water with a spoonful or two of white vinegar.
  • Keep eggs from cracking when boiling by adding a teaspoon or two of white vinegar to the water.
  • Rid your hands of onion odors by rubbing them with vinegar.
  • Keep your boiled veggies colorful by adding a splash of vinegar to the cooking water.
  • Add moistness and flavor to cakes by adding a spoonful of distilled vinegar to the mix.
  • When boiling meat for ribs or stews, add a spoonful of vinegar to the water. It will tenderize the meat fabulously.
  • Get rid of the greasy flavor of from deep fried foods by adding a dash of vinegar.

Cleaning

  • Use as a laundry stain remover. Mix 50/50 solution of white distilled vinegar and water in a spray bottle and use to pretreat stains before putting them in the wash.
  • Make your own scrubbing bubbles cleanser with vinegar and baking soda.
  • Use a 50/50 vinegar and water solution in a spray bottle as a no-streak window cleaner.
  • Keep laundry smelling fresh and feeling soft by adding white vinegar to the wash and/or rinse cycle.
  • Clean plastic and make it static free by wiping with a solution of 1 tablespoon vinegar and 1 gallon water.
  • Remove smoke smells by placing a bowl of vinegar in the room where the smell is the strongest. Within a day, the smells will be gone.
  • Make your own fabric deodorizer spray. Use a solution of 50/50 water and distilled white vinegar in a spray bottle.
  • Remove stubborn water rings on wood tables. Mix a 50/50 solution of distilled vinegar and olive oil. Rub with the grain and finish with wood polish for the best results.  For leather water rings, use a sponge and full strength white vinegar to remove the stain.
  • Clean silverware or silver jewelry by soaking in a solution of 1/2 cup vinegar and 2 tablespoons baking soda for 3 hours.
  • Remove pen marks from clothes and hard surfaces. Simply use a sponge dipped in white vinegar and dab until the stain is gone.
  • You can remove grease from kitchen surfaces using a solution consisting of equal parts white vinegar and water.
  • Disinfect kitchen and bath by cleaning with a 50/50 solution of water and vinegar (darker vinegars may stain porous surfaces).

Health

  • Add 2 cups cider vinegar to the bath to soak sore muscles and add potassium.
  • Lower high blood sugar and other risk factors for Alzheimer’s with a daily dose of vinegar.  According to researchers, there is evidence that vinegar sinks risk factors that may lead to memory decline and dementia — namely, high blood sugar, insulin resistance, diabetes and prediabetes, and weight gain. While vinegar does not confront Alzheimer’s directly, studies at Arizona State University have found that vinegar can curb appetite and food intake, helping prevent weight gain and obesity. Swedish investigators agree. In one study, downing two or three tablespoons of vinegar with white bread cut expected rises in insulin and blood sugar by about 25 percent. Pour on the vinegar — add it to salad dressings, eat it by the spoonful, even mix it into a glass of drinking water. Any type of vinegar works because it’s the acidity that counts.
    –Source: AOL Health and “100 SIMPLE THINGS YOU CAN DO TO PREVENT ALZHEIMER’S AND AGE-RELATED MEMORY LOSS” by Jean Carper. Copyright © 2010 
  • Use for a throat soother. Take equal amounts of honey and cider vinegar, stir or shake until dissolved. Take a tablespoon at a time to cut mucous in the throat.
  • Vinegar in drinking water is very effective in eliminating the low-grade fevers that are present in Chronic Fatigue sufferers. It also helps eliminate the ‘thrush’ coating in the mouth which is sometimes caused by antibiotic use. Mix four tablespoons of apple cider vinegar to a gallon of drinking water. Drink up to one gallon each day.
  • Make nail polish last longer. Wipe fingernails with cotton balls dipped in white distilled vinegar before putting on nail polish.
  • Soak feet in vinegar to kill athletes foot fungus.
  • Soothe sunburn with a spray of white distilled vinegar, repeating as often as you like. Ice-cold white distilled vinegar will feel even better, and may prevent blistering and peeling.
  • Soothe bee stings, bug bites, and jellyfish stings by applying vinegar.

Miscelaneous

  • Deodorize a car by leaving a bowl of vinegar in overnight.
  • Revive azaleas by adding a splash of vinegar when watering.
  • Kill fleas by adding a little white distilled vinegar to your dog or cat’s drinking water.
  • Deter ants. Spray vinegar around window and door openings.
  • Deter cats. Wherever you do not want cats or do not want your cats to mark, spray vinegar.
  • Kill weeds and grass growing in unwanted places by pouring full-strength white distilled vinegar on them. This works especially well in crevices and cracks of walkways and driveways.

You know – this only scratches the surface! Check here, here, here, or here for tons more ideas.

How do you use vinegar to save money?

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