Using vinegar to clean around the house

(FOX 2) - This week, our Jill of All Trades, Jill Washburn shows us how to clean some tough grime around the house with vinegar.

First up, some cookie sheets that have baked on greased that just WILL NOT come off. These came from a viewer who tried EVERYTHING to get them clean. Jill placed each one in a larger jelly roll pan (a cookie sheet with raised sides) and put in enough white vinegar to cover the dirty cookie sheet, and she let it sit. Within a couple of hours, the grime on the aluminum sheet was getting loose enough that she could start to scrape it off with her fingernail. Encouraged by this, Jill left it overnight. 

By the next morning, much of the grime was loose enough to just wipe away. A little bit of it had to be scrubbed with a Scotchbrite scrubbing pad.  ill says, if anything won’t come loose, just let it soak longer. Ultimately, the aluminum cookie sheet came sparkling clean.

The steel cookie sheet that had a non-stick coating on it did not have as good of results. Jill is going to figure out another way to get that clean.

Next, Jill took her jug of vinegar into the bathroom to clean mineral scale out of the toilet. If you have hard water, the mineral scale can build up in the toilet bowl. It discolors and looks like a nasty stain that just won’t go away. If it builds up long enough, it will start to affect the performance of the toilet.

Jill says that there is a simple fix for this. Flush the toilet and when the bowl is empty, quickly pour about half a gallon of vinegar into the bowl as it’s filling. Let it sit for at least a couple of hours without anyone using it. If you can manage to leave it sitting overnight, so much the better, says Jill. After it sits, you should be able to easily scrub out the scale. You can use a brush, if you wish. Jill just uses a bunched up paper towel. She says you’ll be able to feel where the scale is, and where it isn’t. 

Once you’ve got it scrubbed away (which should take no time at all), the entire bowl will feel super smooth. One more flush, and you’re done. Your toilet bowl should be sparkling clean, and you will have achieved that with no harsh chemicals.

That’s two more great uses for vinegar around the house, from Jill of All Trades!

PROJECT RATING:  Super Easy!

To watch Jill take you through the processes, just click on the video player above.