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15 Ways to Clean Your Home Using Apple Cider Vinegar

cleaning with apple cider vinegar
Photo: CC0 Public Domain / Pexels - Karolina Grabowska

If you’re looking for a natural and multipurpose product to clean your home, look no further than apple cider vinegar. Not only can you make it yourself, but the ways you can use it are numerous. With this guide, we’ll show you how you can use apple cider vinegar as a cleaning product for your home. 

Apple cider vinegar (ACV) is a staple in many green kitchens or pantries because it can be used in so many different ways. This versatile vinegar is made from fermented apples and has numerous health benefits. It can be added to beverages, health tonics, marinades, salad dressings, and sauces, but apple cider vinegar isn’t only good for cooking. You can use it as a foot soak to remove calluses, or hair rinse for healthy, shiny hair.

Of course, apple cider vinegar also makes a great cleaning product due to its bacteria-killing properties. We’ll look at several ways to use apple cider vinegar to clean your home. Some of its uses may surprise you!

Cleaning Your Kitchen with Apple Cider Vinegar

apple cider vinegar cleaning
Storing vinegar solutions in glass is the best method as the acid can eat away at plastic bottles. (Photo: CC0 Public Domain / Unsplash - Daiga Ellaby)
  1. Remove bacteria with a multipurpose apple cider vinegar cleaner. In a spray bottle, combine a 1:1 ratio of ACV and water, then use it to clean your stove top, oven, microwave, countertops, fridge, etc. You can also add essential oils to cover the vinegar smell.
  2. Add ¼ cup to your dishwasher to remove stains from wine glasses and coffee cups.
  3. Deodorize your dishwasher by adding ½ cup of ACV shortly after the cycle starts.
  4. Polish silver by soaking it in ½ cup vinegar and 2 tbsp baking soda for a few hours, and then rinse clean.
  5. Clean your cutting boards using pure apple cider vinegar to kill any bacteria still living on the surface.

Read on: Citric Acid for Cleaning: Practical Household Uses

Laundry Room Uses for Apple Cider Vinegar

  1. Use apple cider vinegar to deep clean your laundry machine. Just add 2 cups of ACV to your machine and run a cycle without any clothes; you’ll be amazed at how clean your machine can be! 
  2. Use ACV to freshen your clothes by adding a cup in with a load of regular laundry.
  3. De-wrinkle clothes without the use of an iron. Spray the wrinkles using a 3:1 ratio of water to apple cider vinegar, then allow the clothes to hang to dry.  

Apple Cider Vinegar as a Living Room Cleaning Product

apple cider vinegar cleaning
Get a streak-free shine on your windows by using diluted apple cider vinegar. (Photo: CC0 Public Domain / Unsplash - Austrian National Library )
  1. Clean your windows and leave them with a streak-free shine using a 1:1 water/ACV solution. You can also use the same solution to clean your walls and mirrors.
  2. Remove water stains from wooden coffee tables using undiluted apple cider vinegar (and then buy coasters so this doesn’t happen again). 
  3. Get rid of pesky carpet and upholstery stains as well as kill any bacteria that have made a home in your fabrics. Pour some vinegar on the spot and rub gently with salt to remove the stain before vacuuming it up.  
  4. Remove ink stains from walls and floors using undiluted apple cider vinegar.  
  5. Bring the shine back to wood without the use of chemicals. Simply mix ¼ cup ACV with 2 cups water and 2 tbsp olive oil, and give your furniture a good polish.

Clean Your Bathroom with ACV

  1. Remove mold and mildew in the bathroom. For stubborn mold, use undiluted apple cider vinegar to clean it, though you may want to add some essential oils to help cover the vinegar smell.
  2. Unclog your drain. Skip the heavy chemicals and opt for an ACV/baking soda mix instead. Pour ½ cup baking soda down your clogged drain, followed by a cup of apple cider vinegar and a cup of hot water. Allow the mixture to work for about 15 minutes, and then rinse it all down with boiling water.
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