Why I love you, vinegar...

Vinegar is the best!

I am somewhat paranoid about spraying chemicals around the stovetop and food left on the countertop (apples, etc). Since vinegar is non-toxic and food-safe I don't have to worry. (Maybe am the only person who thinks about these things....) I have a spray bottle filled with 1 part white vinegar and 1 part water that I use for cleaning (when approprite) because it is an awesome sanitizer. A few years ago, I read an article about how vinegar is actually one of the most effective sanitizers you can use, but it can't be marketed that way because the FDA has regulations against promoting a food grade product as a cleaning product. (I guess they think we're going to get confused and try to make pickles with Windex).

"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). He noted that Heinz can’t claim on their packaging that vinegar is a disinfectant...however, it seems to be common knowledge in the industry that vinegar is powerfully antibacterial"
(Full article: http://www.care2.com/greenliving/vinega ... erms.html# )

Bleach is 99% effective on germs (not sure about the specifics for mold and bacteria, but I'm assuming 99% there as well). BUT, I can't stand using bleach because I always manage to ruin something (clothes, carpet, countertop) even if I am very, very careful. Also it is also really fume-y. Vinegar smells, too, but it fades a lot faster than the smell of bleach and you don't have to worry about ventilation. So if I can disinfect something germy (like the cooler that I waiting an extra day to clean out after camping) with vinegar instead, I am all for that.

Vinegar kills bad stuff, but doesn't have all the same cleaning properties as say, detergent, so it isn't going to be appropriate as the only product for every situation (like dishwashing). I'm not a germ-a-phob by any means, but some things need disinfecting. Sometimes this is in combination with cleaning, but most of the time its just a germ-killing touch-up between cleanings.

Here are some of the things I disinfect with vinegar:
changing table
countertops (especially after preparing raw meat)
refrigerator shelves
cloth diapers (spray before I wash them)
bathroom sink/toilet
kitchen sink
laundry baskets

There are actually hundreds of uses for vinegar (some of them useful, some of them weird). Another one of my favorites is using vinegar as a fabric softener (especially good if you're sensitive to perfumes). Here is a good website: http://www.vinegartips.com/facts/