White Vinegar ~ Another awesome use!!!!

In my search to find a home made fruit and vegetable rinse/wash, one of my favorite cleaning items showed up AGAIN!!  Hurrah!

The first site I went to, check it out here, calls for a 50/50 mix of vinegar and water.  You can spritz and wipe done hard skinned fruits and vegetables.  Softer skinned ones can be soaked.  Both should be rinsed.  This combination works, according to the sight, because the vinegar is naturally acid and helps to break down the pesticides and wax used on the fruits and veggies we eat.

I will be trying this out and checking a few other sites.  In the mean time, I will be using this to make our fruits and vegetables a bit better for us.

Hurrah for Apple Cider Vinegar!

Yes, the cousin to white distilled vinegar is Apple Cider Vinegar. It's greatest asset, besides better tasting for cooking, is a natural fruit fly trap! Four simple things to create a fruit fly trap.

All you need is:

• a small jar
• Saran Wrap (or other brand)
• rubber band
• Apple Cider Vinegar

Pour enough vinegar in jar to fill about 1/3 to a half of the jar.  Use enough Saran Wrap to cover the top of the jar.  Put the rubber band around the jar to hold the plastic down (I prefer a jar with a bit of a lip so rubber band doesn't slide off!)  Poke a few wholes in the top and then set your trap near where most of the fruit flies are swarming.  They are drawn to the smell and can't figure out how to get out.  If you only have white vinegar, I might put a piece of fruit in to, to make it a bit more sweet.

Here is my current trap and it is already drawing the flies in.  Cool, right?  I think so!


P.S. There are many additional uses for Apple Cider Vinegar as well.  One I use is is about a tsp. of it in 10 - 12 oz of cold water to help settle acid reflex or a queasy stomach when yogurt doesn't help.  I tend to drink it fast and it does the trick.

Vinegar ~ a natural wonder!

You know the stuff; plan, white, distilled vinegar.  We tend to buy in bulk from Costco, because I'd known it was good as a rinse for laundry to keep soap ding away as well as doing a rinse for wall to wall carpet.  I've used it to clean wood as well and help unclog drains with it's friend baking soda (also a good effect in home made volcanoes)!   Knew it made an effective weed killer as well.

Within the last few weeks, came across MORE homemade cleaning products on Pinterest.  These cleaning products are a combination of vinegar, Blue Dawn (and yes name brand counts here), hydrogen peroxide, rubbing alcohol, and optional essential oil for scenting. 

So far I have tried the 50% Blue Dawn/50% hot vinegar mixture to clean our shower pan.  It works like a champ, the lingering vinegar smell is not nearly as harsh as bleach, and has worked WAY better than any store bought, pre-mixed cleaner.  I will be trying more of the various combinations I've found to see how those work as well.

Adding Blue Dawn Detergent to my arsenal of cleaning supplies.  Just about time to check my home made cleaning supplies and go shopping, but before I sign off today, I'll leave a few links to home made cleaners.

• hardwood cleaner
• home made clorox wipes
• Blue Dawn recipes

Happy Cleaning!