1. Use vinegar to kill mold and mildew. This is especially good for removing mildew marks from coloured clothes, as the other natural stain removal method for mildew (lemon juice) acts as a bleach and is best kept for whites. Use full strength vinegar.
2. Vinegar can be used in the dishwasher as a rinse aid, as it neutralises the strong alkaline powder used by most dishwashers. Don't add essential oil.
3. To deter flies from the kitchen, boil vinegar on top of the stove with the lid off. Malt vinegar works best, but if members of your household can't stand the smell of malt vinegar, it will deter them from your kitchen as well as the flies.
4. However, white vinegar with a bit of spice mixed into it and gently warmed will put a pleasant and rather refreshing scent into the air. Not sure what else to do with vinegar with spices in it once it's cooled down? Use it for making chutney or pickles.
5. Vinegar contains the sort of acid that is used in very expensive cosmetic toners but costs a mere fraction of the price. Dilute vinegar with water and apply it to your face with cotton wool or a tissue (or a soft cloth that you will wash and re-use) after cleaning your face with soap-and-water or cream, or else add a splash of vinegar to fresh cold water and splash your face with it. Very refreshing and a great way to wake yourself up, as well as getting rid of any soapy residue, but don't get it in your eyes.
6. If your washing machine is looking dull inside and the soap is building up a bit, run the machine through a rinse and spin cycle with a cup of vinegar inside it. This will clean out the filters and the hoses inside your machine. If you don't like the idea of running the washing machine empty apart from water, put a few dingy white socks inside to soak and deodorise. Then leave them in the machine and run a full load once the vinegar wash has finished.
7. Old stickers and decals attached to walls, doors, bed headboards and car bumpers can be removed when faded or unwanted by holding a cloth soaked in neat vinegar over them until the sticker goes a bit soggy. Alternatively, spray the sticker thoroughly with vinegar. This will loosen the glue and allow you to peel off the sticker. Use a soft cloth or three to rub off the rest of the residue, then sponge the vinegar off.
8. If you need to green clean stickiness off scissors (after cutting lots of sticky tape, for example), sponge the blades with vinegar and rub them well with a soft cloth. Dry very well to prevent the scissors from rusting.
9. Vinegar should be added to any hard candy or toffee recipe. Use ½ cup of vinegar to 2 cups of sugar and 2 tablespoons of butter. Boil the lot together for up to 10 minutes then pour it onto an oiled tray. When it is cool enough, you can pull and twist it (be careful not to try touching it too soon - sugar gives a nasty burn), or just let it cool before bashing it with a hammer.
10. Out of baking powder? Use baking soda and add a tablespoon of vinegar to your regular recipe.
11. To clean out a glass decanter, put about a cup of vinegar and half a cup of sand or rice inside it. Leave this mixture to sit inside the decanter, then shake very, very vigorously. Rinse well. Much safer for you than the traditional method of cleaning glass decanters used by old-fashioned butlers and maids - swirling lead shot and brandy around the inside (How To Poison Your Employer 101).
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