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It’s a cleaner. It’s delicious. It removes warts. It softens hair. It’s a disinfectant. What is it? It’s vinegar! And that’s not all it does. Check out this list of just a few genius household and beauty uses for vinegar.

Two Kinds of Vinegar that I Use

There are lots of different varieties and flavors of vinegar. As a general rule, I use white vinegar for cleaning and raw apple cider vinegar for food and beauty tasks.

You should also keep in mind that I use regular kitchen vinegar found in the food section. There are some stronger vinegars like 20 and 30% vinegar for outside and garden use. DO NOT use this strength for these household and beauty uses for vinegar!

Just use regular old vinegar from the grocery store shelf.

Genius Household and Beauty Uses for Vinegar

In addition to these household and beauty uses for vinegar, there are a ton of health benefits to consuming raw apple cider vinegar. Check out this article for a brief overview.

Food

1. Make Buttermilk

Ever begin a recipe just to discover you don’t have buttermilk? Never fear! Just put one tablespoon of white vinegar in a one cup measure and fill the rest of the way with milk. Let it sit for 10 minutes and add it to your recipe.

2. Marinate

Add a splash or two of any type of vinegar (balsamic, red wine, white, raw apple cider) to your meat marinating recipe to tenderize it even more.

3. Salad Dressing

With vinegar and oil, you can make pretty much any salad dressing you desire.

4. Clean Produce (and make it last longer)

Fill your clean kitchen sink with the fruit and veggies you just purchased. Make a solution of one part vinegar to four parts water (ie: one cup vinegar, four cups water). Submerge your produce in this solution and let them sit for 20 minutes or so. This will not only wash the produce but give it a longer shelf life.

Rinse the produce under running water and let drain.

Read More: Frugal Kitchen Habits to Help Your Budget

Cleaning

5. Clean Dishwasher

Once a month, pour a cup of white vinegar in your empty dish washer and run a wash cycle.

6. De-Scaling

We have really hard water so I’m always descaling coffee makers and tea kettles. Just pour 1/2 a cup of white vinegar into the water reservoir and fill the rest of the way with water. Run your coffee or tea kettle. Continue flushing and rinsing with clean water until the vinegar smell is gone.

7. Fabric Softener

Instead of commercial fabric softeners, I just pour about 1/2 a cup of white vinegar into the softener compartment of my washing machine. It helps get the clothes cleaner and softens.

Read More: My Natural and Affordable Laundry Routine

How to Hang Clothes on a Clothesline

How to Make Your Own Laundry Soap

8. Dishwasher Jet Dry

White vinegar in the Jet Dry compartment helps your dishes dry spotless.

9. All-Purpose Cleaner

In a spray bottle, combine:

1 Tablespoon Dawn dish soap
1 cup white vinegar
Fill the rest of the way with water

This all purpose cleaner is one of the popular household and beauty uses for vinegar. Mix this up and always keep it on hand.

10. Shine Stainless Steel

A rag dipped in white vinegar will shine up any piece of stainless. I love using this on my sinks and faucets!

11. Wash Windows

Water with a splash of vinegar is great for sparkling windows.

12. Toilet Bowl

Pour a couple slugs of white vinegar into your toilet and let it sit for 15-20 minutes. Then scrub as usual.

13. Shower Head

Because we have hard water, our shower head get scale build-up. Just pour some white vinegar in a baggie, rubber band it around the shower head and let it sit in the vinegar over night.

Read More: Easy Ways to Refresh Your Home for Spring

Simple Spring Cleaning Checklist

Daily Homemaking Tasks

For more help with removing harmful toxins from your cleaning routine, sign up for my five day Healthier Homemaking email challenge!

Beauty

14. Toner

Raw apple cider vinegar is a wonderful face toner. Because the face is a sensitive area, stick with raw apple cider vinegar here!

15. Hair Conditioner

Mix one part vinegar with two parts water and pour over your hair for conditioner.

Again, I use raw apple cider vinegar for this but white works as well. Because raw apple cider vinegar has pieces of the “mother” still, it clogs a spray bottle. I used one of these condiment bottles to fill and keep in the shower.

Vinegar leaves a wonderful shine and soft hair! Once your hair dries, the vinegar smell will go away. [This can even help soothe eczema or psoriasis on the scalp!]

Read More: My Personal Care Routine

16. Remove Warts

Saturate the white part of a band aid in white vinegar. Replace the bandage daily with fresh vinegar applied. Soon the wart will be gone.

17. Pedi/Mani Soak

Soak your feet or hands in warm water with a splash of vinegar. The vinegar will soften the cuticles and remove grease from your nails that might prohibit the polish from sticking the best.

18. Soothe Sunburn

To ease sunburn, pour several cups of raw apple cider vinegar in a lukewarm bath and soak in it.

19. Diaper Rash

Diaper rash is an overgrowth of the wrong bacteria. If a baby has diaper rash, pour a couple splashes of raw apple cider vinegar into their bath water. The living bacteria in the raw vinegar will help balance the baby’s skin pH.

20. Eczema

Again, eczema is an imbalance of bacteria – inside and outside the body. Pour a few glugs of raw apple cider vinegar in the bath water and soak.

When my son had several patches pop up, I started adding raw apple cider vinegar to his baths right away.

21. Yeast Infection

If you struggle with yeast infections, pour some raw apple cider vinegar into your bath and soak. The bacteria in raw apple cider vinegar helps balance skin pH and bacteria.

Also, reconsider the frequency of bubble baths. The harsh ingredients can throw your lady part’s pH off making you more prone to yeast infections.

I haven’t even touched on all the ways vinegar can be used in daily life! But if there is one thing you should add to your weekly shopping list, it’s vinegar. With all the genius household and beauty uses for vinegar, you don’t ever want to be caught without it!