Re-Purpose: Vinegar

The Many Uses of ...
VINEGAR

Uses #2 (Killing Insects) and #3 (Washing Produce)

It's handy to keep a spray bottle filled with a mixture of water and distilled white vinegar. I have one next to the sink. Here are two of its uses:

A Natural "Insecticide": Living in one of the buggiest places in, at least the U.S. (I won't claim it to be buggier than, say, the Amazon) one sometimes needs to get a little nuclear on some insect-ass. Most insect repelling products, however, are filled with toxic chemicals that I certainly don't want around my kitchen or my cat. When sugar ants invade my sink area as they sometimes do, or when we have one of our semi-annual fruit fly infestations, a blast of vinegar + water takes care of the pests.

Washing Produce: While I'm certainly not above rubbing an apple on my shirtsleeve to clean it off, it is probably better to be a little more pro-active about cleansing chemicals/ E.coli from produce. The vinegar + water solution can be used for this purpose as well. Just spray the solution on the produce. Rinse the produce with water and rub.

Vinegar is awesome! Ask the tiny ants!