The Powerful DIY Vinegar Solution That Will Get Your Kitchen Sparkling Clean

Mixing up your own cleaning solutions is a cost-saving way to green-clean your home. You control the ingredients and save on packaging. Vinegar is a trusted, tested, and versatile cleaning tool. Yet, its germ-killing power can skyrocket by adding a bit of borax to the mix. Sodium borate, or borax, is a white powder that's used for cleaning and much more. It may be best known as a laundry booster, but there are plenty of advantages to using borax at home. It's highly effective at cleaning kitchen surfaces, deodorizing, and repelling or even killing pests. The wonder-twin power of vinegar and this multifaceted powder will tackle kitchen nasties like an NFL star.

This combo is safe to mix and goes above and beyond simple germ-fighting. Its ability to kill mold and quell unpleasant smells will have you stirring up gallons of the stuff for your household. What's more, there are different recipes for the vinegar-borax solution with different purposes. Stir it into a liquid for surface cleaning and stopping odors, or adjust the recipe for deep cleaning. Mix up a paste to bid adieu to mold. It's time to take the box of borax off the laundry room shelf and let it mingle with vinegar.

Before mucking out your kitchen with this miracle combo, it's good to know a couple of things about cleaning with borax. It's important to mix borax with warm or hot water to help it dissolve. Although it doesn't give off any toxic fumes, contact with a mixture of the two ingredients can irritate skin, lungs, and eyes. Donning some protective gear like a mask and gloves and keeping your nose and mouth at a safe distance from the mixture is wise. Also, of all the kinds of vinegar out there, distilled white vinegar is ideal for cleaning.

Use this simple cleaning spray for daily wipedowns; combine 2 teaspoons of borax, 4 teaspoons of white vinegar, and 3 or 4 cups of warm or hot water in a spray bottle. Spritz this around your compost pail or trash can and into drains to nip odors in the bud.

For deep cleaning, there are a few easy adjustments to the recipe that meet varying needs. To clean counters, floors, and appliances, upgrade your spray with a shot of liquid soap. Make a batch of this cleaning powerhouse spray with 1 quart of hot water, 1 teaspoon of liquid soap, 1 teaspoon of borax, and ¼ cup of distilled white vinegar. If mold pops up in your kitchen, stir up equal parts borax and white vinegar for a killer scrub. Let the paste sit on the mold for up to two hours, and wipe away with water.