5 Home Appliances You Can Clean with Vinegar: Are you looking for the perfect cleaning solution for the appliances in your home, especially in your kitchen?
Look no further than white vinegar. This is one of the best cleaning agents you can use for your home appliance cleaning needs.
Not only does it get rid of stains, but it also does it faster than some of the other cleaning agents would.
However, you don’t want to complicate things, because white vinegar may not be usable for all kinds of appliances.
So, in this guide, you will find out the five most prominent home appliances you can clean with the solution.
1. Refrigerators and Freezers
Refrigerators and freezers are the two most common home appliances for food storage. As such, you want to keep them clean, because the cleaner they are, the healthier the foods stored inside would be.
Quick Tip
The fact that you can use vinegar to clean the refrigerator and or freezer doesn’t mean that the solution would be used in all parts of the appliance.
The rule of thumb is to apply the solution on other surfaces that are away from where you stored the foods.
Use the solution to clean the surfaces of the refrigerator or freezer. You can also clean or wipe the drawers clean with the mixture.
The Mixture
The general idea is to have an equal mixture of vinegar and water. That is, the 1:1 ratio applies to mean that if you add a cup of vinegar, you should also add a cup of water to balance the mixture.
How to Clean Your Refrigerator or Freezer with Vinegar
Wipe the surfaces you wish to clean and after doing that, use a damp cloth to wipe up the spills from those surfaces.
2. Electric Iron
This is no doubt, one of the most overlooked home appliances. The only time you tend to take a look at your electric iron is when you have a cloth to press.
However, neglecting to clean the appliance could have negative effects, including the building up of dirt and sticky surface.
Benefits of Cleaning Your Electric Iron with Vinegar
Some of the reasons why it is important to clean the surface of your electric iron with vinegar are:
- Preventing buildup and sticky surface on the iron.
- Clearing of blockages in the holes.
How to Clean Your Electric Iron with Vinegar
You can clean your electric iron with vinegar by:
- Make a 1:1 solution of water and vinegar.
- Replacing the water in the electric iron’s reservoir with the mixture.
- Letting out steam from the appliance to clean most of the blockages in the holes.
- Cleaning the surface of the electric iron with a clean towel or cloth.
3. Washing Machine
Your washing machine does a great job of automating how you wash and keep your cloth clean. Likewise, you want to keep the unit clean at all times so that it will give the best cleaning experience when washing your clothes.
Bleach vs. Vinegar: Which Should You Use?
Unsure on whether you should use bleach or vinegar to clean your washing machine? It doesn’t have to be confusing because you can use the two, but the processes are different.
First, you have to use the bleach solution. To do this, you have to dilute the bleach and use the same to make pre-treatments to the inside of the washing appliance.
Allow the solution to run the full cycle as it would if you were washing clothes. This helps it to treat the inside of the washing machine ahead of the application of the vinegar solution.
Now that the bleach solution has settled, you can apply the vinegar solution using the same process as the former.
4. Microwave
You can also use a vinegar solution to clean your microwave. Unlike the other appliances, you can heat the solution rather than just using it to wipe the surface.
How to Make the Mixture: The Needed Items
The items you need to make the mixture are an equal ratio of water and vinegar – preferably, 2 cups of water and vinegar, each.
You also need a microwaveable bowl or a microwave-safe bowl. That is a bowl that wouldn’t be destroyed by the heat during the microwaving process.
Note: You need to put a toothpick or chopstick inside the microwavable bowl. This helps to prevent the water to overheat.
The Cleaning Process
The process of cleaning the microwave with the water and vinegar solution is:
- Combine the equal parts of water and vinegar in a microwave-safe bowl.
- Place the bowl inside the microwave and allow to heat for about 3 minutes or until it boils.
- Remove the bowl from the microwave and use a dry cloth to wipe away the buildup inside the microwave.
5. Gas Cooker
Keep your gas cooker or greasy stovetop with a mixture of water and vinegar. The acidity of the vinegar makes it easier to wipe away those residues.
The Processes
There are two ways to wipe away the grease splattered all over the stovetop. They are:
- Spray an equal mixture of water and vinegar on the greasy parts of the stovetop. Allow the mixture to sit for about 10 minutes before scrubbing/wiping away with soapy water.
- Make a mixture of cloves, cinnamon, and orange peels by soaking them in vinegar. You can do this 2 weeks from the time you want to use the solution. Pour out small quantities of the solution when you want to wipe away grease from your stovetop.
When You Shouldn’t Use Vinegar to Clean Home Appliances
Vinegar is not the ideal solution for cleaning certain home appliances. Some of the home appliances you shouldn’t clean with it are:
- Stainless steel appliances, such as kitchen knives.
- Certain countertops.
- Electronic screens, especially those of televisions, computers, and smartphones.
- The glass and plastic surfaces on smaller appliances, such as toasters, blenders, and coffee makers.
- Hardwood floors.
Final Word
Moderate use and applying the solution only on the recommended surfaces are a better way to get the most out of it.