With Memorial Day just around the corner, are you ready to begin a full season of hosting in the Hamptons? Here at A Votre Service! Hamptons Property Management we’ve found natural cleaning solutions using white vinegar to help you clean those pesky out-of-way problems before guests arrive. We bet some just might surprise you!

White Vinegar: So many household uses for this simple substance. Did you know that legend dates the substance to Babylon in 5000 BC? The first written history of vinegar appears in China in 1200 BC, and of course the Bible is replete with references to vinegar from Roman times.

Ah, Vinegar, Vinegar

Here’s how you can use it today:

  1. Remove grime from many surfaces, including from scissors (won’t rust them), and from newly purchased items that bear stickers (let it sit for 5 minutes, then wipe away the sticker residue).
  2. Deodorize and descale kitchen appliances, including the dishwasher or coffee maker (run appliance with a cup of vinegar after letting it sit briefly).
  3. Steam-clean the microwave, by zapping equal parts vinegar and water for 4 minutes in an open container, then easily wiping down any inside mess.
  4. Mist furniture with a water-vinegar mixture to neutralize odors.
  5. Remove pet odors from clothing and upholstery by saturating in vinegar. Baking soda can also be added.
  6. Soak bathroom tools including razor blades, toothbrushes, pumice stones, and loofas for an hour in a vinegar-water mixture to remove body oils and soap residue; rinse off vinegar.
  7. Add half a cup to the laundry to reduce static, soften, and brighten clothing.
  8. Rinse hands in vinegar after washing in soap and rinsing with water, to remove strong food odors including onion, garlic, and fish. (Note the two-step process! See why below.)
  9. Remove bacteria from wooden cutting board with a vinegar-soaked cloth; recondition with cooking oil. Do not use vinegar on stone surfaces, however (limestone, travertine, granite or marble), as it can damage them.

Vinegar Science Project

While you are cleaning, set up this science project for your kids to make “milk plastic”:

  • Heat up one cup of milk (don’t let it boil) and pour it into a bowl.
  • Add 4 tsp vinegar and stir for a minute.Pour mixture through a strainer, and rinse the remaining lumps. As they cool, rinse and press them together, then mold them into a shape which will harden in a few days!

Why does this work?

White vinegar has a very low pH of around 2.4–4, making it an acid. In the cleaning uses, above, the vinegar interacts with residues, soap scums, and grime, helping to charge and loosen the particles. (For a great scientific explanation, see http://illumin.usc.edu/139/a-chemical-engineer39s-guide-to-cleaning-just-about-anything/.) Vinegar is also nontoxic, making it a very safe, inexpensive yet effective all-around cleaner.

In our science experiment, the milk protein hits the acid in the vinegar and doesn’t mix—leaving the casein behind after the liquid drains off.

Word of warning: Never mix vinegar with a strong base or alkaline, including ammonia or bleach, as it will create poison gas. Similarly, if using vinegar and a milder base/alkaline such as a soap, the two will cancel each other out (and make a blobby mess) unless used in series. For example, in #8 above, the user first washes and rinses her hands, THEN rinses in vinegar.

Ah, Vinegar, Vinegar

Homemade Apple Vinegar Recipe

Another fun “experiment” is to make your own vinegar:

  • Mash and strain washed apples (tart apples work best), cores and all.
  • Pour into dark glass containers, cover with several layers of cheesecloth, and rubber-band closed.
  • Let sit for about 6 months.
  • Strain and bottle with a corked or capped bottle.

You can substitute sweet cider instead of mashed apples.

For variations, see: http://www.motherearthnews.com/real-food/homemade-vinegar-zmaz71ndzgoe.aspx

Use your vinegar for a delicious simple salad: apple-cider vinegar mixed with pepper and sugar is a nice dressing for fresh-grown lettuce; white vinegar and sugar also pleases with its simplicity.

For more varieties, visit any of the vinegar specialty stores in the Hamptons.

Finally, you can have your vinegar and eat it, too!