If you're currently spending your money on products like glass cleaner, fabric softener, oven cleaner or carpet deodoriser, you just aren't living life as cheaply as you could be. As the resident CHOICE cheapskate, allow me to awaken you to the ultimate pantry duo: bi carb soda and vinegar.
Used buy themselves, these two versatile products:
- are extremely cheap and abundantly available
- can do pretty much anything in your home when it comes to making things clean and not stinky
- are safe and non-toxic. You can generally let the kids get involved and make cleaning fun without worrying about calling the poisons hotline.
Now, it's worth noting that while used individually these two simple substances can tackle an amazing range of grime, mixing them together causes a chemical reaction that releases a gas resulting in foaming and bubbling. This can be handy for unblocking drains, but is not much use for cleaning anything else.
Read on for our top tips for using vinegar and bicarb around the home.
Vinegar
Not only is vinegar a delicious seasoning for hot chips, in my household it doubles as a magical multipurpose cleaning liquid. And did I mention it costs less than $1 per litre? Here are some of the ways I put my super cheap and tangy liquid bestie to use around the house:
- Multipurpose spray: My kitchen spray and wipe is simply a mixture of warm water, Castile soap (bought in bulk online) and white vinegar. Every time it runs out I quickly top it up and carry on – no need to add anything to the shopping list.
- Glass cleaner: When it comes to cleaning windows and glass, I use a 50/50 mix of vinegar and water and wipe down with a microfibre cloth for sparkling streak-free glass every time.
- Deep cleaning: When the microwave gets grimy I fill a small bowl with water, add a couple teaspoons of vinegar and zap it for a few minutes, then let it steam with the door closed for a few more and wipe out. You can also pour a couple cups of vinegar in a bowl, pop it in your dishwasher and run a hot cycle to give it a freshen up. (Our testers would probably want me to mention that some manufacturers advise against using vinegar, so maybe check first). I also sometimes run an empty wash cycle on my washing machine with just some vinegar in the dispenser to give it a freshen up (some also claim vinegar can be an effective fabric softener).
- Carpet cleaner: Mix 2 tablespoons dishwashing liquid, 3 tablespoons white vinegar, 1/4 cup water to make your own emergency spot cleaner for carpet. It might not be as good as most store-bought stuff, but it does work.
Read more about how to get stains out of carpets.
Bicarb soda
As well as helping cakes and baked good rise in the oven, if bicarbonate soda, or baking soda, was a beauty product it might be both a dry shampoo and an exfoliating mask. When dry, it's pure powdery whiteness seems to suck up odours and yuckness and neutralise them into nothingness. And when wet, it forms a gritty paste ready to scrub away grime.
Here are my favourite ways to use this cake-raising agent to freshen things up around the home.
- Deodoriser: Bicarb has the extremely useful ability to absorb odours and liquids. You can sprinkle it on your carpet or rugs and then vacuum it up instead of using one of those overpriced carpet deodoriser powders. It's also super handy for removing stains and bad smells from mattresses. You can even sprinkle some in your ugg boots and leave it overnight before tipping it out in the morning for fresh-smelling feet.
- Oven cleaner: Caustic oven-cleaning products are not only horrible to use (those fumes can't be good for you), they're also expensive. Luckily, your trusty box of bicarb can be used to clean your oven. Just mix it with water and spread the paste around the oven cavity (not the elements) and leave it to sit for a few hours, then spray with your old friend white vinegar and wipe away the grime! No fumes or rubber gloves necessary.
- Drain cleaner: This is probably my favourite use for bicarb and vinegar because it makes me feel like a kid doing a science experiment. My kitchen sink regularly gets pretty stinky and clogged up with a mixture of rotting food tidbits that make it the stuff of nightmares. To return it to something that feels hygienic enough to wash my dishes in, I firstly pour boiling water down the drain, then sprinkle in half a cup of bicarb, followed by a generous slug of vinegar. The fizzing is super satisfying and the reaction itself does a great job at eating away at grime.
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Stock images: Getty, unless otherwise stated.
