Vinegar, baking soda and kosher salt are some of the most versatile items in the household. They have a multitude of uses. Here are a few I personally use frequently:
- Pour a cup of distilled white vinegar into the toilet bowl and let it sit for about 10 minutes. Then gently clean the bowl with a toilet brush and flush.
- If you have a particularly tough toilet bowl stain, pour half a gallon of distilled white vinegar into the bowl and let sit for 24 hours. Brush with toilet brush and flush. The stain should be gone. If not, you can try it again.
- If you like the “Scrubbing Bubbles” action, pour a cup of distilled white vinegar and half a cup of baking soda into the toilet bowl. The combination of vinegar and baking soda will create a chemical reaction that should foam up and bubble ~ this is a completely harmless reaction! Once the bubbling has finished, clean the bowl with a toilet brush and flush.
- The same combination of vinegar and baking soda can be used in the sink and the bathtub (with the stopper closed). Rinse well.
- If more scrubbing is needed once the bubbling has finished, use more baking soda or kosher salt and a damp cloth or sponge. Scrub, then rinse sink or tub well.
- Clean countertops in the kitchen and bath with a 3:1 mixture of water and distilled white vinegar. Combine in a spray bottle, mist lightly, and wipe with a damp cloth. Or mix in a bucket, dip your cloth into the mixture and squeeze it out well, then use to wipe counters.
- Baking soda will clean glass top stoves perfectly without scratching. Just sprinkle some on, then wipe or lightly scrub with a damp cloth.
- Baking soda can be used to scrub the bottoms of pots and pans, especially if you have a gas stove that leaves soot and/or scorch marks on your pans.
- In an open glass container or bowl, mix 1/2 cup distilled white vinegar and 1/4 cup baking soda. When foaming has finished, add a couple of drops of castille soap (or dishwashing soap) and a cup of warm water. You can also add a few drops of an essential oil if you desire. Use with a cloth to clean toilet bowl rim, seat, and tile/linoleum floor area immediately under toilet (especially if you have males in the house!).
- For cleaning wooden cutting boards: sprinkle area with baking soda or kosher salt. Cut a lemon in half and use cut side of one half to scrub the board.
- You can also use the cut side of half a lemon and a sprinkle of baking soda or kosher salt to clean bathtubs and sinks.
Using vinegar, baking soda, kosher salt and lemons for cleaning is something the folks of my grandmother’s generation and generations before her knew. Only in the last few generations has using store-bought cleaners and chemicals become the popular method of cleaning and disinfecting. And really, using baking soda, vinegar and a toilet bowl brush to clean my toilets doesn’t take any more time than using a pre-made chemical I can buy at the store.
If you have any favorite old-timey, natural cleaning tips, I’d love for you to share them here in the comments section!
About Trish
