MVP - Major Vinegar Protection

Let’s say you’re stranded on an island and can only bring one cleaning item, what would it be? Me? That’s easy, I’m going with Ol’ Faithful — vinegar! Vinegar is so versatile and useful, I think the shorter list would be, “What CAN’T vinegar clean?” Check out some of my favorite ways to use it in my house.

Faucets/appliances - Use vinegar to cut through grime, mildew, and even mold. Just spray down the surface, let the vinegar mixture marinate for a few minutes, and wipe it down. It’s that simple! For your faucets, put a 2:1 vinegar to water concoction in a plastic bag and use a rubber band to tie the bag around the faucet, fully submerging it. To clean your dishwasher, put a cup of vinegar in the rinse compartment and run the washer for one whole cycle. Get those pesky stains out of your microwave quick and easy by combining 1/4 cup of vinegar and 3/4 cup of water. Microwave it for 3-5 minutes and wipe down the inside of the microwave with ease.

Laundry - Use vinegar to get rid of tough sweat stains by adding a cup of it to your wash cycle.

Multipurpose cleaner - Vinegar can be used on counter tops (excluding granite and marble), tubs, tile, glass and more. Dilute the vinegar with equal parts of water and just a splash of dish detergent or lemon juice and watch the dirt come off.

Pest repellent - The acid present in vinegar gives it the smell that can help keep ants, mice, and other pests away. If you’re having an ant problem like most Philadelphians this year, spray your counter tops down before going to bed at night to keep them away.

These are just a few of my favorites but vinegar is useful for a ton of things. It’s also eco-friendly and non toxic for humans AND pets. Something so mighty is hardly ever that safe but if I had to vote on the best household cleaner, I’d put money on vinegar every time.