Make Cleaning With Vinegar Smell Great

Vinegar stinks. That’s right. Cleaning with vinegar is like cleaning with a skunk scared out of its mind. It’s a great cleaning product – natural, safe and effective. But boy, the smell is truly offensive. According to Google, the smell goes away once it evaporates. Well, it lied. Mr. V hates it too. In fact, if I’m ever going to be able to clean with vinegar without getting the side-eye look, I better fix this problem. How to make cleaning with vinegar smell great?

Hands down to whoever that came up with Citrus Infused Vinegar.

Get your hands on citrus peels. Binge eat the fruit, force them down people’s throats, or steal from your neighbor’s tree. Orange. Lime. Lemon. Grapefruit. Pamelo. Choose one or any combination of peels. Make sure they’re clean and dry.

I got adventurous and made two types. One with orange and lime peels. The other with orange and grapefruit peels. Ok, maybe it’s not that adventurous.

Pick a bottle that has a narrow neck. Put the peels in. The peels will float in vinegar so don’t fill all the way up. The trick here is to fill just about until the peels reach the bottle’s shoulder. Then, pour the foul smell liquid a.k.a vinegar in just enough to cover the peels.

Here is where the narrow bottle neck helps the peels stay in place. If you can’t find a narrow neck bottle, try to squeeze the peels down till it’s sort of stuck on the sides. Any peels not submerged in vinegar may just rot on you. See picture. Left, not good. Right, good.

Cover and wait patiently for 2-4 weeks depending on how citrusy you want your vinegar to be. Label it. Date it.

WARNING: It may be quite tempting to want to open and smell it.

Add more vinegar once a couple of days when you see the it lessening. Since it’s so pretty to look at, you can show them off until it loses its appeal physically. Then in it goes hidden away in some cabinet.

Once it’s ready, strain and store in any container and use away.

VERDICT: Mr. V barely noticed when I used the citrus vinegar to clean. The vinegar smell became almost non existent and what was left was a wonderful citrus smell. In fact, it was so fruitlicious that I may have sneaked in some sips.

Quick Method

what you need:

1. Citrus peels (orange, lime, lemons, grapefruit or pamelo)
2. White vinegar
3. Glass bottle

directions:

1. Prepare citrus peels (make sure they’re clean and dry).
2. Put peels in a bottle and cover them with vinegar.
3. Put the lid on and let sit for 2-4 weeks.
4. Strain and use.

PS: Vinegar has super powers. If we put vinegar on the clouds and it starts raining vinegar, the whole world will be eradicated of its diseases. Just like that. I mean, we can use it full strength or diluted to clean almost anything. Super powers indeed. My favorite is mixing it with water at 1:1 ratio, put it in a spray bottle and I’ve got a natural citrusy air freshener.

What about the leftover peels? Use them directly to clean surfaces, sinks or faucets, use as compost, or grind them in the garbage disposal.

What’s your favorite vinegar super power?