Natural cleaning folks and the green-minded have known for ages that vinegar is an important cleaning agent. You can use it as a disinfectant, fabric softener, all purpose and glass cleaner, the list goes on. But I was pleasantly surprised (as well as entertained) by what I found at Joey Green’s Wacky Uses website. Here’s a selection of the useful, surprising, and truly wacky uses for household vinegar (specifically, the Heinz brand, according to Joey Green). Italics are my comments.
- Kill bacteria in meats. Marinating meat in Heinz Vinegar kills bacteria and tenderizes the meat. Use one-quarter cup vinegar for a two to three pound roast, marinate overnight, then cook without draining or rinsing the meat. Add herbs to the vinegar when marinating as desired.
- Dissolve warts. Mix one part Heinz Apple Cider Vinegar to one part glycerin into a lotion and apply daily to warts until they dissolve.
- Grow beautiful azaleas. Occasionally water plants with a mixture of two tablespoons Heinz White Vinegar to one quart water. Azaleas love acidic soil.
- Relieve arthritis. Before each meal, drink a glass of water containing two teaspoons Heinz Apple Cider Vinegar. Give this folk remedy at least three weeks to start working. (this one doesn’t sound too pleasant!)
- Kill unwanted grass. Pour Heinz White Vinegar in crevices and between bricks. Or use a spray bottle.
- Cure an upset stomach. Drink two teaspoons Heinz Apple Cider Vinegar in one cup water to soothe an upset stomach. I’ll stick to gingerale and chamomile tea, thank you.
- Deodorize the air. Heinz Vinegar is a natural air freshener when sprayed in a room.
- Relieve itching. Use a cotton ball to dab mosquito and other bug bites with Heinz Vinegar straight from the bottle.
- Relieve a sore throat. Put two teaspoons of Heinz Vinegar in your humidifier.
- Turn a chicken bone into rubber. Soak a chicken bone in a glass of Heinz Vinegar for three days. It will bend like rubber. Who thinks of this?
- Condition dry hair. Shampoo, then rinse hair with a mixture of one cup Heinz Apple Cider Vinegar and two cups water. Vinegar adds highlights to brunette hair, restores the acid mantel, and removes soap film and sebum oil.
- Repel ants. Use a spray bottle or mister filled with a solution of equal parts Heinz Vinegar and water around door jambs, window sills, water pipes, and foundation cracks.
- Keep drains open. Pour one-half box of old baking soda down the drain followed by one cup Heinz White Vinegar. When the bubbling stops, run the hot water.
- Remove decals or bumper stickers. Soak a cloth in Heinz Vinegar and cover the decal or bumper sticker for several minutes until the vinegar soaks in. The decals and bumper stickers should peel off easily.
- Prevent lint from clinging to clothes. Add one cup Heinz Vinegar to each wash load.
- Prevent ice from forming on a car windshield overnight. Coat the window with a solution of three parts Heinz White or Apple Cider Vinegar to one part water.
- Prolong the life of flowers in a vase. Add two tablespoons of Heinz White Vinegar plus three tablespoons of sugar per quart of warm water. Stems should be in three to four inches of water.
- Relieve a cold. Mix one-quarter cup Heinz Apple Cider Vinegar with one-quarter cup honey. Take one tablespoon six to eight times daily.
- Prevent soapy film on glassware. Place a cup of Heinz White Vinegar on the bottom rack of your dishwasher, run for five minutes, then run though the full cycle. A cup of white vinegar run through the entire cycle once a month will also reduce soap scum on the inner workings.
- Unclog a shower head. Unscrew the shower head, remove the rubber washer, place the head in a pot filled with equal parts Heinz Vinegar and water, bring to a boil, then simmer for five minutes. A better idea – Put the vinegar and water in a zip-lock baggie, place over your connected shower head, and secure with a strong rubber band. Let sit 30 minutes.
- Relieve a cough. Mix one-half cup Heinz Apple Cider Vinegar, one-half cup water, one teaspoon cayenne pepper, and four teaspoons honey. Take one tablespoon when cough acts up. Take another tablespoon at bedtime.
