HOW-TO-TUESDAY Herbal Vinegar Cleaner

I won’t go into how much household cleaners cost—you already know that. I’m not even going to launch into the dangerous chemicals that lurk in commercial cleaners —you know that as well.

Vinegar has SO many uses—cleaning being one of them. But, let’s face it—most folks wrinkle their noses at the thought of vinegar. So today we’re going to make a cleaner from vinegar that you’re going to love.

Begin with the cheapest CHEAPEST white vinegar. I buy it by the gallons and use it for so many things here on the farm. I keep a gallon in the Herb Cottage, one in the feed room in the chicken house and one in the barn. Oh, and, of course, one in the house.

Assemble supplies: White Vinegar—excellent anti-microbial properties.

Quart jar w/lid

spray bottle any size works.

Thyme – about a cup. Thyme has anti-microbial attributes. Our grandmothers used thyme infusions to clean wounds; we use it to clean houses. (It’s also excellent in the medicine chest, but we’ll discuss that another time.) Thyme is going to make your cleaner a beautiful shade of red. This thyme is from my garden. I LOVE harvesting my herbs—the aroma is so therapeutic.

Lavender flowers – about a cup. Lavender also has anti-microbial power which adds a triple whammy to your cleaner. Plus, it smells like a meadow on a warm summer day. I didn’t grow enough lavender to do all the lavender projects I have so this cup is from my super secret supercalifragilisticexpialidocious herb supplier. But, for you I’ll share. Shhhhh…go HERE.

Pour herbs into jar.

I added rose petals just because. Some were dried and some were fresh. My thyme was also fresh but dried works well.

Pour vinegar into jar and put on the lid.

Leave it alone for 24 hours. OK, you can take a peek—it's hard not to watch the vinegar turn red.

Strain the herbal vinegar into another jar and put the used herbs in your compost bin. Isn't it beautiful?

Fill spray bottle with vinegar solution: you can use it straight or dilute it half/half with filtered water--chlorinated if that’s what you have. Clean away! Spray on and wipe off like any cleaner. I hope you enjoy using this as much as I do.

The straight vinegar mix is good for greasy jobs in the kitchen, grime on the floor, dog puke on the carpet and scum in the bathroom. The diluted mix works great for appliances, general dusting, well basically anything. You can use it for windows and mirrors but it’s overkill as it only takes a tiny bit—like a teaspoon in a quart of water—to get sparkling glass.

Caveat: DO NOT USE ON MARBLE COUNTERTOPS—granite is ok. The vinegar will make little PITS and etchings. I learned this the hard way. It’s not a pretty sight.

You can use essential oils with or instead of herbs but I like the hands on method of infusing the herbs. To me it cleans better—maybe it’s because I’m putting my own energy into it which I firmly believe plays a part in anything you make. Like dinner.

And, if you have something you know HOW TO do please share with us. Add your name/URL at the bottom of this post. We’d LOVE to hear from you. To add a comment CLICK on the word comment--easy peasy.