Tuesday Tip: Keeping it Clean with Vinegar!

Happy Tuesday!!  

I should note that there will be times I will back-track or jump forward between our moving process and day-to-day life and projects in the present.  Dishes are a multiple-times-a-day sort of chore around here.  We have a toddler who LOVES to eat!  My friends, that toddler is MESSY!  The dog loves it when she sees the toddler get strapped into her high chair--she runs over and sits with great attention to any crumbs the toddler drops or hands her way.

At some point I will do a larger post on the many uses of vinegar.  The stuff is amazing!  I have come to appreciate it greatly in our day to day cleaning routines, and while I don't think it smells that great initially, the smell dissipates quickly and it serves as a great deodorizer!  Seriously, the stuff is Amazing!

So our most frequent everyday uses of vinegar come into play in doing dishes, laundry, and deodorizing.

An Empty Sink

Doing Dishes

Typically, I do dishes three times a day.  Once in the morning after breakfast and the toddler's morning bottle, after lunch, and again in the evening.  I find doing dishes to be a relaxing task and I generally enjoy it with the exception of washing dishes after a large party.  When there's not enough room between filling the sink and the dishwasher that's just too many dishes and I find it overwhelming!  The Mister & I are a pretty great team when it comes to household things though, so we tackle those together.  

I change our kitchen linens daily.  This is likely a pet-peeve for the Mister but it's a routine that I have taken to and appreciate largely because I feel like each day I have a fresh, clean start.  We try to always leave a clean sink before going to bed--it doesn't always happen but when it does it makes my day SO much better!  We keep one towel for hands and counters, and one towel for dishes, as well as a washcloth.  

Our Dish Towels:  Not quite ROYGBIV, but close!

Dish towels are a rainbow starting with Red on Monday and ending with Blue on Sunday.  I wash kitchen linens once a week together with the Toddler's bibs.  

Since moving to the new house, I noticed our washcloths were getting a musty smell after just a couple of hours.  I had never had this happen before and it seriously grossed me out.  Initially, I was changing wash cloths multiple times a day because I couldn't stand the thought of washing dishes with a nasty smelling washcloth.  I'm fairly certain it's just the composition of our water here that causes it.  Knowing that it wasn't likely to end on it's own, and that anything I did with the laundry routine wasn't helpful...  we needed to find a solution, and I think we have!  I keep a small bottle of dish soap and a small spray bottle of vinegar next to our sink at all times.  After washing dishes I drape my washcloth over the middle of the sink and I spray it with a few squirts of vinegar.  I do this every time I wash dishes.  At the end of the day, I hang anything that is wet over an indoor drying rack to dry before placing it in the kitchen linens laundry basket.  

The vinegar has completely resolved the musty-smelling washcloth problem!!!

In the sink area, I also spray both sides of our sink with the vinegar spray bottle after doing dishes.  I run lemon, vinegar, and water ice cubes through the garbage disposal once a week or more often if needed to keep it fresh and clean as well.

Doing the Laundry

There are two main ways we use vinegar in our laundry routine.  We have a top load HE washing machine and a front load dryer.  HE washing machines have been known to develop a bit of a musty smell, especially if left closed between washing cycles.  While our washing machine is very new (purchased in spring 2013), I do a couple of things to avoid the musty smell and generally maintain the cleanliness of our washing machine.  Our owner's manual calls for a monthly tub clean cycle to deep clean the washer, so we put that on the calendar (typically as something for our Once a Month Family Deep Cleaning Day).  I keep a spray bottle of vinegar next to our washing machine just like I do the sink.  After each load in the washer is complete and moved to the dryer, I lightly spray the tub of our washer with vinegar, including inside the top door.  I wipe down the top door with a clean, dry cloth but I keep the lid open and let the washing machine air dry.  The next time I'm in the laundry room I close the lid to the washer.  It actually drives me nuts to leave the lid open on the washer.  I think I'd hate it if I had to leave it open ALL the time just because it's an HE.  

Getting Rid of Stinkies!

I don't care who you are or how detailed a cleaner you are--we ALL have to deal with stinky stuff!  Garbage is stinky!  Sweat is stinky!  Baby diapers and Doggy Doo--they are STIIIIIIIINKY!

I know a lot of people spray vinegar in the air as a deodorizer by itself.  I haven't really had reason to do this.  But, I DO use vinegar in deep cleaning our garbage bins.  We have a roll-out garbage and recycling area which is fantastic for many reasons, but we've noticed that the bins we inherited from the previous owner develop the stinkies VERY quickly!  Even before our move here, I have maintained a routine of deep cleaning all of our garbage bins once a month, or more often if they get gross or particularly stinky.  Trying to deal with the stinkies of the new garbage bins, I have done this same routine but the improvement only lasts a week or so.  Today, I deep cleaned the garbage bins with my typical soap and water, but also with a pre-treat of spraying pure white vinegar on the entire interior of the garbage bins and setting them in the sun to dry.  Then I thoroughly washed them with original Dawn dish soap (another item that has a wealth of uses!!) and rinsed with hot water.  Lastly, I sprayed the interior again with white vinegar.  I have been placing an Arm & Hammer deodorizer in the bins as well as a small paper towel with lavendar oil on it between washings to help fend off the stink!  I think I'm going to try this Arm & Hammer deodorizer instead, however.  Here's hoping the vinegar comes through for me on this as it has everything else!

Do you use vinegar in household cleaning or care?  What are your favorite uses for vinegar?

Until next time,

Nic