Household cleaning tip: Use vinegar

It all started with a nasty, calcium-caked on dishwasher. After looking up online what I could do to clean it out—because obviously using dishwasher detergent was only adding to the caked-on mess—I found the solution to be simple: vinegar. I know, I hate those home-remedy tips too, but I was willing to give it a try after commercial I'll-eat-your-skin-off-if-you-don't-wear-gloves cleaners don't seem to work. Plus, if those chemicals aren't healthy enough to touch, then what are they doing once they go down the drain? I can only imagine. So in went the vinegar to run for a cycle. The results: Although not completely rid of the white, crunchy residue, it was noticeably cleaner, and I think if I maybe run a vinegar cycle every few weeks, my dishwasher might start to be a useful, clean appliance.

But because vinegar proved so useful for my dishwasher, I wondered what it could do on a small, more concentrated level. Test item: my water-stained drinking glasses (courtesy of said dishwasher). So I poured a little in a glass and waited. Holy smokes! My glasses look like new, and I've completely fallen in love with them all over again. Next I tried my tea kettle. (Thanks Charissa! My tea pot is a gift that keeps on giving. I think of you every time I use it!) Eudora is infamous for its hard water, and my tea kettle had started to show the strain, but the vinegar conquered. Now my kettle is nice, new, and lovely.

I've ran out of vinegar at this point (I only had 3/4 bottle to start with), but I plan on stocking up more and using it in other places around the house instead of using those nausea-inducing cleaners. Better for the earth, and clearly, better for a cleaner household. Don't forget the price-savings too! Mom would be proud.