Walking down the aisle of the grocery store near the cleaning products, the shelves are full of items that weren't invented a hundred years ago. One item that's been around for centuries, is environmentally friendly, is one of the least expensive items on the shelf, but happens to be one of the most versatile is vinegar.

Why Isn't More Attention Paid to Vinegar?

Walking through the cleaning aisle, there are literally hundreds of products, representing millions of dollars worth of marketing.

Why would a company spend any money marketing an item when:

1. They don't own a patent on the product, so there are hundreds of manufacturers that can make and distribute vinegar.
2. It costs less than $2 for a gallon.

So it doesn't make sense for Proctor & Gamble to market vinegar as the versatile, environmentally friendly and inexpensive cleaner when they can't make any money doing it. It makes more sense to pump a product for targeted specific purposes: you need a cleaner for the shower, one for the bathroom sink, one for the kitchen, one to mop with, etc.

You don't need big companies keeping you dependent on their niche and sometimes expensive products to clean your house!

Make the Perfect Multi-Surface Cleaner

What You Need:

• 1 empty spray bottle
• 1 part water, 1 part vinegar

With just this spray bottle, you can do all sorts of things. If you're like me, you probably knew most of these, but have just sort of forgotten. Bathroom counters, kitchen counters, remove soap scum and hard water mineral deposits from shower doors and walls. Vinegar is an excellent stovetop cleaner as it does a good job cutting grease, after all its an acid.

Vinegar as a Glass Cleaner

Make it the same way as you made the multi-surface cleaner, but this time, instead the ratios are: 2 parts vinegar to 1 part water. The first time you use this, you might have a little more difficulty because of the residue left behind from traditional glass cleaners. Some people, when using this mixture, use ammonia instead of water. Try either one and see what you like. The water mixture works fine for me.

Vinegar in Your Laundry

Use about a half of a cup in the rinse cycle. It helps to break down the laundry detergent very effectively, and truly rinsing your clothes. This is especially great for people with very sensitive skin, where even traces of leftover detergent bother them. By the way, your clothes will NOT smell like vinegar when you're done.

Cleaning Your Coffee Maker

Put about one cup of vinegar into the reservoir of your coffee maker. Turn it on and let the vinegar start to run through. When it's halfway done, turn the maker off and let it sit for about fifteen minutes. Turn it back on and let the rest of the vinegar go through. Next, run about two coffee pots worth of water run through. You'll be surprised what comes out!

Drain Opener

Instead of using a standard drain cleaner, which likely contains hydrochloric acid, lye, sulfuric acid, and heaven knows what else, try this first. Pour about a quarter of a cup of baking soda down the drain slowly. If you need to drizzle a SMALL amount of water to help it go down, that's okay. Follow that with a half of a cup of vinegar. Plug the drain tightly until the fizzing stops, then flush with BOILING water.

Cleaning Products and the Environment

I've been talking about the uses of vinegar mainly as a money saver. I'm also a believer in being self sufficient and not relying on major corporations unnecessarily. Another factor in my desire to use less commercial cleaning products is due to their effect on the environment. I'm not just talking about "The Earth", I'm also referring to the environment in our homes.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency:

"Cleaning products were responsible for nearly 10 percent of all toxic exposures reported to U.S. Poison Control Centers in 2000, accounting for 206,636 calls. Of these, nearly two-thirds involved children under six, who can swallow or spill cleaners stored or left open inside the home."

If your child takes a swallow of vinegar, it won't hurt anybody. In fact, you'll just see that sour look on their face once they taste it and that's about it. Nobody is going to get taken to the emergency room!

Also according to the EPA:

"The air inside the typical home is on average 2-5 times more polluted than the air just outside—and in extreme cases 100 times more contaminated—largely because of household cleaners and pesticides."

The smell of commercial cleaners sometimes gives us a sense that things are clean and tidy. Maybe that's a false sense of security? It's just something I wonder about.

I'm not trying to scare anybody about their household products. I just think it's important to think that maybe since this one household item, vinegar, was a good enough multi-tasker for centuries, why isn't it good enough for us now?

If you have any other uses for vinegar, there are countless, I'd love to hear about them in the comments section!