So many of you have read my How to Clean Your Entire House With Vinegar post that I wanted to give you just a little bit more. While cleaning with vinegar is great, a lot of people don’t like the smell of vinegar. Here’s how you can overcome this.
Infusing cleaning vinegar gives it a great scent and still cleans just as effectively as pure vinegar. The best part is that you can use tons of things you probably already have around your house to infuse the vinegar and make your house smell amazing!
How to Infuse Vinegar
The easiest way to infuse vinegar is using mason jars. All you have to do take a quart-sized mason jar and fill it half way with your infusing peels and herbs and then fill the remainder of the jar with pure vinegar that has been boiled. You can definitely heat the vinegar up over the stove, but I find it easiest to just use a pyrex or glass liquid measure and microwave the vinegar until it’s boiling. This also makes it easier to pour into the jars. Then, just seal the jars and store them in a cool, dark place.
Let it sit for 24 hours and check the scent. If you want it to be stronger, just let the mixture sit longer. Once you’re ready to use it, strain the peels and herbs out and pour into a spray bottle.
TIP: To make sure you don’t splash yourself with hot vinegar, use a wide-mouth funnel or canning funnel to pour the vinegar in the jars. The wider opening helps protect you and keep the vinegar from spilling outside the jars.
Citrus and herbs are perfect for infusing vinegar and even better, they can also have their own cleaning capabilities. For example, lemon is a great disinfectant. They also help you use leftover peels and herbs that you can’t use elsewhere. Here are some of the best combinations you can use to make your vinegar smell great!
Lemon and Ginger
Lemon and ginger is such a great combination. All you have to do is rip up the lemon peel and peel a ginger root, enough to fill half of your jar. Fill the rest of your jar with the hot vinegar and seal. Not only is lemon a really effective disinfectant, but the citric acid helps remove stains as well, so it’s great for using on light surfaces. Ginger smells great and is great for your skin when you actually use it to clean.
Orange and Clove
Orange and clove is another classic combination of scents and makes great cleaning vinegar. On the plus side, the citric acid in orange peels acts like the lemon peels and helps remove stains. On the other hand, clove is great for treating mold, making this a great bathroom cleaner.
Lemon and Lime
For twice the stain-removal power, use lemon and lime peels to infuse your vinegar. The citrus mix also gives your cleaner a great, refreshing smell. You can also use lime peels and lemon leaves to make this cleaner.
These recipes are a great start. Try them for yourself and use your creativity to make your own. There really is no bad combination. You’ll have your house naturally clean and smelling great in no time!