Vinegar

I clean pretty much everything in my house with vinegar. I do not dilute it at all. I have an old windex bottle I refill. I buy gallons for about $2 each at the food store. A friend of mine and I were discussing this with regards to killing germs.

I had heard before that vinegar kills germs, but I looked it up and found:

"Does vinegar kill germs and mold?

The remarkable answer (and truthful one) is - YES!

Heinz company spokesperson Michael Mullen references numerous studies to show that a straight 5 percent solution of vinegar—such as you can buy in the supermarket—kills 99 percent of bacteria, 82 percent of mold, and 80 percent of germs (viruses). He noted that Heinz can't claim on their packaging that vinegar is a disinfectant since the company has not registered it as a pesticide with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). However, it seems to be common knowledge in the industry that vinegar is powerfully antibacterial. Even the CBS news show 48 Hours had a special with Heloise reporting on tests from The Good Housekeeping Institute that showed this."

Since we all have been pretty healthy the past 2 years (since I stopped using commercial cleaners) I think it is working for us.

I do still have a bottle of lysol that occasionally I spray on Josh's mattress, but once that is gone I will just spray vinegar on them.

I do however, buy Mr. Clean magic erasers because they are the only thing I can find to get my stove spotless (anyone have any frugal / green tips for my stove top?) But I only need about two every six months, so that is not too bad.

I did order some shower cleaner from Seventh Generation last night as my shower needs more than the vinegar and baking soda. It has been moldy since before I moved in, my friends actually scrubbed it with bleach before I moved in, and it still is not clean.

I think the act of actually wiping the bathroom stuff and kitchen counter down almost everyday really helps with the germs as well. In addition keeping windows open and having fresh air in the house probably is helpful as well.

Anyone have any good frugal / green cleaners or cleaning tips?

-Becky