If you wants clean and maintain work surfaces and kitchen appliances clean In an environmentally friendly way, you can use vinegar as a homemade solution.

Vinegar is biodegradable, helps protect water by replacing polluting detergents and saves a large amount of waste in packaging. Here we review 13 surprising uses of vinegar to clean in the kitchen.

Vinegar to clean food

Vinegar is a culinary ingredient, therefore it is not toxic. However, we must distinguish between wine or apple cider vinegar used for cooking, and cleaning vinegar. The first has a proportion of acetic acid of 5% and the second, 6 to 8%. Keep in mind that a 1% difference makes it at least 20 times more powerful as a cleaning product.

1. Clean fruits and vegetables correctly

You can clean fruits and vegetables with a mixture of one part vinegar and two parts water. If you soak fresh foods in the mixture for 10 minutes you will reduce bacteria and pesticide residues that may be found in the food. As for pesticides, vinegar helps remove them from the surface of food, but it cannot do anything about residues that have penetrated the food, something that happens when farmers use systemic pesticides. The only 100% effective solution is to use organic foods.

2. Neutralizes the smell of garlic

Odors left after preparing food in the kitchen or the smell of garlic on your hands can be neutralized with vinegar. The kitchen smells fresh if you leave a bowl of vinegar in it at night. The smell on your hands disappears when washing with warm water with vinegar. Mix vinegar with water in a 1:1 ratio.

In this video you will find different home remedies for cleaning that you can do with vinegar and other natural ingredients:

Clean kitchen utensils with vinegar

Some kitchen utensils are better cleaned by hand than in the dishwasher, and vinegar helps kill germs and give them a shine.

3. Disinfect cutting boards, wooden spoons and similar

Vinegar has a disinfecting effect and is therefore ideal for thoroughly cleaning kitchen utensils and wooden work surfaces. To do this, simply rub the wood with vinegar (5%) or with diluted vinegar essence (1 part vinegar essence to 4 parts water).

4. Gently restores the shine of silver cutlery

Immerse the cutlery in a solution of one part vinegar and six parts hot water. You will see how they recover their former shine.

5. Clean burnt pots

If a pot has burned on the inside or has stubborn encrustations, cover the bottom with cleaning vinegar and heat it until it boils. Then leave it on low heat for a few minutes. Let it cool and clean thoroughly with the steel wool. You will see how easy it is to peel off the black layer.

Completely clean appliances

Appliances that are used every day in the kitchen need regular cleaning to keep them running for a long time. You can gently clean them with vinegar and keep them germ-free.

6. Clean the refrigerator

And the interior of the refrigerator can quickly become a source of germs, bacteria and mold. Cleaning with diluted table vinegar helps prevent this and completely removes dirt. Simply mix two parts water with one part table vinegar and clean the refrigerator with it.

7. Clean the inside of the oven and microwave

The inside of an oven or microwave can be easily cleaned with hot vinegar. Place a container of vinegar in the kitchen appliance and Let it heat up for a few minutes at maximum temperature. Then, you can wipe any spills and food debris from the interior walls with a cloth.

8. Eliminates dishwasher odors

Dishwasher odors can be easily removed with careful cleaning. Run the empty dishwasher with baking soda and vinegar essence. This cleans the inside of the machine thoroughly and gently. You can also clean the rubber gaskets with a mild vinegar cleaner to remove food debris and prevent mold and mildew.

9. Descale the filter coffee machine and similar

A descaling solution based on table vinegar and water reliably dissolves lime deposits in the filter coffee machine. For this, mix vinegar and water in a ratio of 1:2 and heat it in the coffee maker.

In the case of kitchen appliances with surfaces containing aluminum and silicone gaskets, It is advisable to prepare a milder solution, since acetic acid in higher concentrations can attack the components.

To clean the floor and work surfaces

As the hub of daily life, the kitchen is widely used. It is easy to have spills or greasy dust buildup in some corner and difficult to eliminate. Vinegar softens dirt and helps make floors and work surfaces easy to clean.

10. Make the kitchen shine

With a mild anti-limescale spray of our own manufacture based on a cup of inagre, a tablespoon of citric acid powder and a tablespoon of homemade or organic vegetable soap, The kitchen shines again and smells pleasantly fresh. Light dirt on work surfaces and tiles is quickly removed. Water stains on fixtures disappear just as quickly and taps shine again.

Remember that You should not apply vinegar to granite or marble countertops. With these materials it is best to use a mixture of water and homemade soap.

11. Clear clogged drains

You can use sparkling water and vinegar to clear clogged drains. The two home remedies together release carbon dioxide that softens dirt and grease deposits.

12. Silicone gaskets like new

silicone gaskets Dirty and moldy can be cleaned with vinegar of table. Simply apply the vinegar (if using vinegar essence, dilute the essence in a ratio of 1:4 with water) to the silicone gaskets with a cloth. Let it sit for a while and rinse it with clean water.

13. Effective mold and odor removal and prevention

Spoiled food can quickly grow mold. Steel countertops, coated kitchen cabinets, or similar smooth surfaces They can be cleaned perfectly with cleaning vinegar. Regular hygiene with vinegar also helps prevent mold growth.