However, as versatile as it is, vinegar is not a universal solution. There are specific areas and items of your home that you shouldn’t clean with it. This is mostly because of the acidic nature of the solution and that it can, in fact, do some harm to items in your home, if you are not careful. Here is what you should be mindful of:
- Kitchen knives – since vinegar is acidic, you should not use it to clean kitchen knives. There is no real reason to do so since you can just put knives in the dishwasher. Alternatively, you can use dish soap and water to clean them, which is a fine solution to clean even heavily soiled knives.
- Marble/granite/soapstone countertops – natural stones and acids don’t really work together very well. Usually, these surfaces are quite shiny and look like new, though if you use vinegar on them, that can change. The liquid can cause pitting and wear out the stone.
- The clothes iron – it may feel tempting to spray the iron with vinegar to clean it, but you must resist. Vinegar can damage the inner areas of the iron, and that is the last thing you want.
- Egg-based stains – the egg is protein, and when it comes to cleaning that, you don’t want to coagulate it. That is what will happen if you use vinegar. That gluey substance you will have to clean will be much more difficult to remove. Better use soap and water to clean with a washcloth.
- Furniture made from solid wood – undiluted vinegar doesn’t make for a good cleaning solution to use on wood. Not only will it leave water marks on the surface, but also damage the finish. The acid in the vinegar will eat right through some of the finishes. It must be mentioned that to polish wood, you can use half white vinegar and half olive oil to buff up the oiled/stained finish of the wood.
Apart from the surfaces mentioned above you shouldn’t clean with vinegar, there is another category of things you can clean with it, but only sparingly with a minimal amount. Grout, stone and wood are all susceptible to damage from vinegar, but you can reduce the risk by diluting it with water. This means that you can use it to clean the grout in your bathroom or the hardwood floor in your living room, but you need to employ caution.
Now that you know what you can and cannot use vinegar on, you can better use this solution at home. Your cleaning routine will improve big time.
Remember, you can always count on the services of FK Domestics Ltd to help you out with whatever cleaning project you have at home. For more information call 020 8363 1966.
