Wonderful Vinegar

On this blog I've often mentioned how versatile baking soda is...that you can use it for so many different things. Today I want to talk about another incredible product - Vinegar.

First, vinegar is indispensible in the home.

"Heinz company spokesperson Michael Mullen references numerous studies to show that a straight 5 percent solution of vinegar—the kind you can buy in the supermarket—kills 99 percent of bacteria, 82 percent of mold, and 80 percent of germs (viruses)."
(from: http://www.care2.com/greenliving/vinegar-kills-bacteria-mold-germs.html)

Vinegar is an effective cleaning agent, deoderizer, and mold remover.
-You can clean with it in the kitchen, bathroom, etc.
-You can pour it on moldy sidewalks or other moldy surfaces instead of bleach.
-You can use it to clean out your washer & dryer. Pour about 1/2 gallon of vinegar in an empty washing machine, run it 1/2 full of water, then run a rinse, not full cycle. This will clean out any soap build-up, mildew, or smells. For the dryer, pour about 3 cups of vinegar on a bath towel, then dry for 30-45 minutes. (We do this at least once a month to clean out the washer & dryer.)
-You can set out a bowl of vinegar to help absorb offensive smells.
-You can pour vinegar down the drain once a month to help remove build-up.

There are so many great uses for vinegar in the home! Here's a website with a few more tips: (http://www.care2.com/greenliving/annies-top-10-vinegar-uses.html)

(Note: always use Heinze vinegar for home uses. Other brands of vinegar use petroleum products in processing, thus are toxic. Heinz brand is a safe, natural form of vinegar.)


Second, you can use vinegar to promote healing in your body.

-Some missionary friends of ours were exposed to serious pesticides in Venezuela. They used vinegar to help detox the harmful chemicals. - Mix 1 Tbl. of organic apple cider vinegar and 1 tsp. of honey in 8 oz of water. Drink it first thing in the morning before you eat. (How long you should do this will depend on how much you need to detox. But my friend said this vinegar drink has also helped her arthritis, so she continues to do it daily.)
-You can use 1-2 oz of organic apple cider vinegar in a detox bath. Run the bath as hot as is comfortable, add in the vinegar, and soak for 10-20 minutes (as long as it's still comfortable).
-Vinegar can help with digestion and has other benefical results in the body as well.

Check out this website for much more information about organic apple cider vinegar:
http://www.bragg.com/

(Note: when using vinegar internally or externally on the body, always use organic apple cider vinegar. My massage therapist recommends Bragg's brand, as do many other health experts.)


So there you have it, the many uses of wonderful vinegar! =)
If you have any other uses to add, please share them in the comments.