Things You Should Never Clean With Vinegar.

Many people swear about cleaning almost everything with vinegar. It is true that it has a hundred and one uses but there are some few areas where it is not advised that you clean it as it may cause more harm than good. It is, therefore, cautioned that you get to know where not to use it. Here are some tips to guide you through.

1. Cuttleries

In as much as we want to see our knives, forks and spoons shiny, we do not want to wipe them with vinegar. At first, the cutleries will appear shiny but after a prolonged use, they will tend to turn black. This is due to the effect of the vinegar. Simply use dishwashing soap, water, and a cloth to clean them then wipe dry before storing.

2. Household appliances.

It may seem like a good idea to use vinegar while cleaning your appliances like dishwashers or music systems as you wipe them with a cloth in vinegar but it’s not. Yes, the washing machine will look clean and the dishwasher will be shiny but what the vinegar does is that it eats away the rubber holding some parts of your appliances and by this, you will need to keep on replacing the rubber more frequent. Use dishwashing soap instead.This mostly applies to waxed furniture. Do not even think of wiping them with vinegar. The acid will eat out the wax leaving your furniture looking pale. It is advised that you get some of those furniture polishing sprays from the stores instead. This also applies to polished wooden floors which you can clean with soap and water.

3. Non-stick pans.

Pans contain a carbon element to give them that non-stick effect. Cleaning them with vinegar continually will strip off the carbon from your pans thereby ruining their purpose. Just use your normal scrub and liquid soap. If they are very greasy, soak the pans in warm soapy water overnight then scrub them with your normal cloth and the grease will come off.

4. Clothing

Do not wash your clothes with vinegar added in water. The gas emitted from the mixture is not good for you or your clothes. It is also not a good idea to mix vinegar with bleach when washing your clothes either as your clothes will easily get torn after a while. Just put the normal bleach in water while doing your laundry then add fabric softener once you are done. Make sure you rinse out your clothes well.Cleaning glass using vinegar is also one of the mistakes that we do. Continuous cleaning of glass or mirrors using vinegar will cause the glass to lose its natural reflection thereby looking dull. It is best that you stick to the cleaning sheets from the stores for your glass and mirrors or use a damp cloth with little soap on it for cleaning the glass.

5. Marble or granite floors.

Acid does not work well with granite or marble floors in any case whatsoever. The acid tends to kind of scrap off the stones leaving them chipped. Use any other ordinary liquid soap on those floors instead and ensure you rinse the soap off the floor to avoid slipping and falling. Be sure to look at any chipped or cracked floor just for your safety and do not walk on this kind of floors barefoot.

6. Ceramic dishes.

It’s true that vinegar mixed with baking soda works wonders on ceramic items but it is not that good of an idea to use on the ceramic dishes. You might wash those dishes with vinegar but when it comes to rinsing them you may not be thorough and as you eat, the food will go down with some of that acid causing you harm.If you really need to use vinegar, soak the dishes in plain water for a while just to make sure it is well rinsed. Otherwise, stick to cleaning only the toilet bowls and not kitchenware.

7. Painted walls.

You want your home looking very clean and pleasant but wiping the dust off your walls using vinegar will just not work. It will make things worse as the vinegar will scrap off paint from the wall making it look rugged and unkept. Try using a spritz bottle with liquid soap mixed with water in it and a cotton cloth only or just dust it off with a soft bristle brush.

8. TVs and phone screens.

Touchscreen T.Vs and phones are very sensitive as they have a protective coating on them. Cleaning them with vinegar will affect that ‘touch screen’ effect, damaging it for good.The best way to go about cleaning these items is just using a plain soft cloth if possible velvet with a drop or two of water. Do not dampen the entire cloth as some of the screens are sensitive to water. Soap is also not necessary in this scenario.

Live plants are not to be cleaned with vinegar as it is not a natural element for them. Stick to water only with very little soap if need be. You may choose to clean the artificial plants with vinegar but don’t get accustomed to it as you may not know what material has been used to make them. Taking chances with vinegar in your artificial plants is not wise.

All these tips will really help you in deciding where to use vinegar and where not to. You can also choose not to use it entirely and get other alternatives. If you think of bleaches, try and get those that are not toxic to you or can hardly cause any damage to your stuff. Also, when using vinegar, try and get some gloves as well since it may have some effect on sensitive skin like dryness. If you can, make your own soap and detergents.