Head Straight To The Bar Next Time You Want To Disinfect Kitchen Countertops

Between grabbing snacks and making meals, the kitchen counter is the area of the house that gets wiped down most often. Nothing is worse than having to clean the kitchen before starting a meal. Before preparing the next morsel of food, naturally, you want the prep area to be clutter-free but also cleaned and disinfected. Taking out the trash or sweeping the floor may wait until the end of the day, but the counter, used all day every day, should always be wiped down.

Before you reach for commercial products or harsh chemicals, give your kitchen counter some love by using gentle, natural cleaners that you probably have on hand. Baking soda, lemon juice, vinegar, and salt may come to mind when thinking about easily accessible cleaning products that are budget-friendly.

We'd like to add one more cleaning solution for germ-free kitchen surfaces: vodka. We've talked about how vodka kills mildew, which is usually more of a problem in bathrooms and basements, but using vodka on your kitchen counters is a great way to have a freshly disinfected area with no chemical odors or residue.

Vodka is the ideal alcohol to work with on cleaning kitchen counters and more. Other clear alcohol like gin or rum have a distinctive odor that's great in cocktails, but not as a cleaner. The same goes for brown liquors. The boozy smell will linger if you use whiskey, scotch, or bourbon. Vodka is odorless and ideal for cleaning. Be sure to keep the top-shelf bottles in the liquor cabinet. Here, cheaper brands of vodka work just fine. Buying 80-proof vodka means it's 40% alcohol, perfect for the quick daily wipe-downs your counter needs.

Of course rubbing alcohol, available at most drug stores, is a more powerful cleaner but probably not as convenient. Rubbing alcohol is a mix of isopropyl alcohol and water. It's often used to disinfect household items or surface areas in bathrooms or bedrooms, especially if someone has been ill. Isopropyl alcohol alone is effective, but too dangerous to use in the home. It's used in industrial settings to manufacture products from cosmetics to pharmaceuticals. Both are what's called denatured alcohol, and neither should be ingested.

The kitchen countertop is not the only place to use vodka for disinfecting and freshening. Once you've invested in a decent spray bottle, how you apply this versatile cleaner is up to you. Many recipes for vodka cleaner call for diluting the vodka further, in a one-to-one proportion, meaning half vodka and half water.

A vodka solution cuts through grease and oil on the counters, stove, and kitchen cabinets. Diluted vodka is gentle on tile, paint, and woodwork. Use your homemade cleaner on mirrors, glass, and tiles for streak-free cleaning in the bathroom.

Vodka also works on soap scum. Just spray everything and wait 10–20 minutes before rinsing. You can even use vodka in a one-to-three ratio in the bedroom to spritz the mattress every few months, carpet, and linens to keep everything smelling fresh. You can also add a few drops of essential oil, maybe lemon or lavender for a sweet smell while disinfecting.

Having vodka on hand for quick kitchen counter cleaning, adding it to your regular cleaning routine, or using it along with other natural ingredients will make your home cleaner and fresher with fewer chemicals and commercial products to store.