Tuesday Tidbit

Hello1 Happy Tuesday!!! It is Tidbit time!

This week I want to focus on one of my favorite kitchen staples!!
Vinegar!
I LOVE vinegar of all kinds!! White vinegar, Apple cider vinegar, Balsamic vinegar (my all time fave). All vinegar is amazing. I clean with it. And I cook with it all the time! I use it for all kinds of stuff around the house. Recently, while participating in one of my favorite 3am past times, Net stalking, I happened across this website called the Virtual Owl. The virtual owl had some fabulous household tips and tricks for all to use. It is kind of like the grandma bank of knowledge. But since you cant call grandma at 3am, you can jump online and find her tried and true tricks to resolve just about anything! And the best part? Most of these tips and tricks for the household are all things you already have at home and are far from any chemical that can your little ones, pets, or self.

Here is a list of my favorites from the virtual owl:

Kill bacteria in meats.
Marinating meat in Vinegar kills bacteria and tenderises the meat. Use one-quarter cup vinegar for a two to three pound roast, marinate overnight, and then cook without draining or rinsing the meat. Add herbs to the vinegar when marinating as desired.

Dissolve warts.
Mix one part Apple Cider Vinegar to one part glycerin into a lotion and apply daily to warts until they dissolve.

Remove stubborn stains from furniture upholstery and clothes.
Apply White Vinegar directly to the stain, and then wash as directed by the manufacturer's instructions.

Grow beautiful azaleas.
Occasionally water plants with a mixture of two White Vinegar to one-quart water. Azaleas love acidic soil.

Relieve arthritis.
Before each meal, drink a glass of water containing two teaspoons Apple Cider Vinegar. Give this folk remedy at least three weeks to start working.

Kill unwanted grass.
Pour White Vinegar in crevices and between bricks.

Remove corns.
Make a poultice of one crumbled piece of bread soaked in one-quarter cup Vinegar. Let poultice sit for one-half hour, then apply to the corn and tape in place overnight. If corn does not peel off by morning, reapply the poultice for several consecutive nights.

Clean the hoses and unclog soap scum from a washing machine.
Once a month pour one cup of White Vinegar into the washing machine and run the machine through a normal cycle, without clothes.

Cure an upset stomach.
Drink two teaspoons Apple Cider Vinegar in one-cup water to soothe an upset stomach.

Kill germs on bathroom fixtures.
Use one part Vinegar to one part water in a spray bottle. Spray the bathroom fixtures and floor, then wipe clean.

Clean soap scum, mildew, and grime from bathtub, tile, and shower curtains.
Simply wipe the surface with Vinegar and rinse with water.

Deodorize the air.
Vinegar is a natural air freshener when sprayed in a room.

Relieve itching.
Use a cotton ball to dab mosquito and other bug bites with Vinegar straight from the bottle.

Clean lime deposits and calcium sludge from an automatic drip coffee maker.
Once a month fill the reservoir with White Vinegar and run through the brew cycle. Rinse thoroughly with two cycles of cold water.

Soothe sunburn pain.
Apply undiluted Vinegar to the burn.

Clean food-stained pots and pans.
Fill the pots and pans with White Vinegar and let stand for thirty minutes. Then rinse in hot, soapy water.

Prevent bright coloured clothes from fading.
Before putting the article in the washing machine, soak it in White Vinegar for ten minutes.

Keep a garbage disposal clean and smelling fresh.
Mix one cup of Vinegar in enough water to fill an ice cube tray, freeze the mixture, grind the cubes through the disposal, and flush with cold water.

Clean a toilet bowl.
Pour in one cup of White Vinegar, let it stand for five minutes, and flush.

Prevent yeast infections.
Douche with one tablespoon White Vinegar to one-quart warm water to adjust the pH balance in the vagina.

Clean dentures.
Soak dentures overnight in White Vinegar, and then brush away tartar with a toothbrush.

Remove perspiration stains from clothes.
Apply one part White Vinegar to four parts water, then rinse.
Deodorize a room filled with cigarette smoke or paint fumes.
Place a small bowl of White Vinegar in the room.

Cure the hiccups.
Mix one teaspoon Apple Cider Vinegar in one cup of warm water, and drink.

Eliminate odours from used jars.
Rinse peanut butter and mayonnaise jars with White Vinegar.

Condition dry hair.
Shampoo, then rinse hair with a mixture of one cup Apple Cider Vinegar and two cups water. Vinegar adds highlights to brunette hair, restores the acid mantel, and removes soap film and sebum oil.

Clean mineral deposits from a steam iron.
Fill the water tank with White Vinegar. Turn the iron to the steam setting and steam iron a soft utility rag to clean the steam ports. Repeat the process with water, then thoroughly rinse out the inside of your iron.

Remove light scorch marks from fabrics.
Rub lightly with White Vinegar, then wipe with a clean cloth.

Keep drains open.
Pour one-half box of old baking soda down the drain followed by one cup White Vinegar. When the bubbling stops, run the hot water.

Remove decals or bumper stickers.
Soak a cloth in Vinegar and cover the decal or bumper sticker for several minutes until the vinegar soaks in. The decals and bumper stickers should peel off easily.

Deodorize a wool sweater.
Wash sweater, then rinse in equal parts Vinegar and water to remove odour.

Prevent lint from clinging to clothes.
Add one cup Vinegar to each wash load.

Prevent ice from forming on a car windshield overnight.
Coat the window with a solution of three parts White or Apple Cider Vinegar to one part water.

Prolong the life of flowers in a vase.
Add two tablespoons of White Vinegar plus three tablespoons of sugar per quart of warm water. Stems should be in three to four inches of water.

Prevent cracked hard-boiled eggs.
Add two tablespoons of White Vinegar per quart of water before boiling to prevent the eggs from cracking. The eggshells will also peel off faster and easier.

Clean windows.
Use undiluted Vinegar in a spray bottle. Dry with a soft cloth.

Eliminate unpleasant cooking odours in the kitchen.
Boil one tablespoon of White Vinegar with one cup of water.

Remove wallpaper.
Mix equal parts Vinegar and hot water. Use a paint roller to wet the paper thoroughly with the mixture. Repeat. Paper should peal off in sheets.

Eliminate animal urine stains from carpet.
Blot up urine, flush several times with lukewarm water, then apply a mixture of equal parts White Vinegar and cool water. Blot up, rinse, and let dry.

Relieve a cold.
Mix one-quarter cup Apple Cider Vinegar with one-quarter cup honey. Take one tablespoon six to eight times daily.

Deodorize a stale lunch box.
Soak a paper napkin in Vinegar and leave it inside the closed lunch box overnight.

Prevent soapy film on glassware.
Place a cup of White Vinegar on the bottom rack of your dishwasher, run for five minutes, then run though the full cycle. A cup of white vinegar run through the entire cycle once a month will also reduce soap scum on the inner workings.

Unclog a shower head.
Unscrew the shower head, remove the rubber washer, place the head in a pot filled with equal parts Vinegar and water, bring to a boil, then simmer for five minutes.

Relieve a cough.
Mix one-half cup Apple Cider Vinegar, one-half cup water, one-teaspoon cayenne pepper, and four teaspoons honey. Take one tablespoon when cough acts up. Take another tablespoon at bedtime.


Okay Okay I know it is almost the whole list! I couldn't help it! They are all such great uses for something we already have in our kitchen!! I just had to share the great website and all these fabulous uses for vinegar.

Now I am off to fill the house with the aroma of "salad"!