31 Days of Pinterest, Day #2: Cleaning with White Vinegar

I love buying cleaning supplies. I guess I think that I will find that ONE product that will make my heart sing and inspire me to clean, clean, clean. The same is true about Pinterest. I love pinning those cleaning tips but as I have found, no matter how many solutions I pin, my house won't become clean unless I actually clean it. In looking for homemade natural cleaning products, vinegar is the main star. Today I tried two of my "vinegar" pins.

The first is really simple, using white vinegar to clean and disinfect the bath toys. Here is the original link. I loosely followed the directions. I filled the baby's tub with water and dumped in some vinegar, I didn't measure so I have no idea how much I used. I then dumped the bath toys in. We didn't have any toys that were too terrible, just a few cups that had soap scum in the bottoms. The vinegar plus some wiping with a sponge got the toys clean and sparkling. I got an added bonus in using the baby tub as a receptacle in which to soak the toys. It is now clean too.

I also made my own spray shower cleaner. You can find the directions here. I didn't have any Dawn so I used what I had on hand, some kind of eco-friendly dish soap from Costco. I figured it was worth a shot. The recipe couldn't be easier, equal parts vinegar and dish soap combined in a spray bottle. The vinegar had to be heated first in the microwave. Not sure how important this step was except for maybe in helping the two ingredients mix together easier.

Now my shower stall was cleanish thanks to yesterday's cleaning experiments, however the walls of the shower were really covered with soap scum. The Magic Eraser didn't really work as effortlessly as I had hoped on this portion of the shower. I need something that will practically clean itself with minimal scrubbing on my part. I sprayed this stuff on the walls of the shower and let it sit. I scrubbed a bit and rinsed. I noticed a major difference and was really encouraged. I did have to reapply and repeat due to the deferred maintenance of my shower. I was able to get a sparkling shower stall without scrubbing like a maniac. I did get an old toothbrush and gave the tougher areas a once over, seriously I brush my teeth with more aggression than I scrubbed the shower, and everything came off. Amazing!  I would say it works as well if not better than any commercially prepared natural product. It is definitely cheaper. It even works as well as bleach based shower sprays. I loved that I didn't have to fear for my lungs or that I was going asphyxiate myself from the caustic fumes. Best of all, I could clean effectively while my kids were around, again without fear of the toxic chemicals.

I am falling in love with white vinegar. Too bad the smell isn't that pleasant. In this recipe, the dish soap does a good job of diluting the vinegar smell, but it isn't 100%. I could stand the smell, perhaps I don't even mind it, but my husband is really bothered by the scent of vinegar. I hope he gets used to it because I have found my new favorite cleaning ingredient.