Latest News
April 2009
Vinegar - "It's Pixie Dust"
Roxane Battle of the MinnPost.com (Minneapolis, Minnesota) shared her winter survival list, including distilled vinegar, which she terms as "pixie dust." She talks about the versatility of vinegar, noting it can be used to remove salt from shoes, as well as other uses. To read the article, use this link.
Use Vinegar to Clean your Fireplace
HutchNews.com (Hutchinson, Kansas) recently shared a Hint from Heloise to clean soot from a fireplace. The hint is as follows:
"To clean soot from a brick fireplace (not a very old or crumbling one), use a good scrub brush and cheap vinegar, and do only one spot at a time. It may take several applications, so be prepared to use some elbow grease and wipe spills immediately!"
Vinegar and The Vinegar Institute Mentioned in The Washington Post
A story featured on the online edition of The Washington Post (as well as The New York Times) focused on the many uses of vinegar. To read the article, use this link.
The Washington Post also shared a tip to Heloise from a reader to eliminate cooking smells using vinegar. The tip is noted below:
Dear Heloise: I had the ingredients to make cookies. However, I remembered that the spills on the bottom of my oven made a smell when heated. I thought, What would Heloise do? So, I got a paper towel doubled and ran it under hot water, then poured white vinegar on the paper towel and laid it on the spill on the bottom of a cold oven. Twenty minutes later, the spill wiped up easily. -- Carolyn J. Moore, Valparaiso, Ind.
Use Vinegar to Clean Stained Glass
The Kokomo Tribune (Indiana) recently featured a story about a stained-glass window, called "Lady of the Lake,” which was created by Opalescent Glass in the late 1880s and has been a part of the Seiberling Mansion since the house was completed in 1891. According to the article, Stacia Giles, one of the few people in Indiana that can repair stained glass, said that the best way to clean the stained glass windows is with vinegar and water. To read the article, use this link.
Using Vinegar to Clean Water
According to physorg.com, a University of Leeds research team led by Dr. Doug Stewart (School of Civil Engineering) and Dr. Ian Burke (School of Earth and Environment) has discovered that adding dilute acetic acid (vinegar) is useful in cleaning up contaminated water (from chromium compounds). Reportedly, the acetic acid (vinegar) stimulates the growth of naturally-occurring bacteria by providing an attractive food source. In turn, these bacteria then cleanse the affected area by altering the chemical make-up of the chromium compounds to make them harmless. The physorg.com article can be found using this link.
Use Vinegar to Save Money
Consumer Reports Health.org recently ran a story on seven ways to cut cleaning costs and be more "green." Vinegar was recommended in three of the seven tips, as follows:
Freshen up. Make your own air freshener using 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon vinegar (or lemon juice), and 2 cups hot water. Pour the mix into a spray bottle and spritz away to remove odors. Note that while white vinegar has a slight scent while wet, when dries, it leaves no odor.
Get squeaky-clean. Just add 3 tablespoons vinegar per 1 quart water in a spray bottle and you’ve got a safe, eco-friendly window cleaner. Some recommend using half vinegar and half water. For extra-dirty windows try this: 1/2 teaspoon liquid soap, 3 tablespoons vinegar, and 2 cups of water. Shake well. The best way to get streak-free windows? Use newspaper instead of paper towels to wipe them.
Try borax in the bathroom. Sold in most grocery stores, borax is a water softener and sanitizer. For a good all-purpose bathroom sanitizer, mix 2 teaspoons of borax, 4 tablespoons of vinegar, and 3 to 4 cups of hot water in a spray bottle. For extra cleaning power, add 1/4 teaspoon liquid soap to the mixture. To clean your toilet bowl, pour 1 cup of borax into the toilet before going to bed. In the morning, scrub and flush. For an extra-strength cleaner, add 1/4 cup vinegar to the borax.
To learn more use this link.
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