Household cleaning tips with vinegar may sound strange, but read on. Smart women today are looking for ways to clean that are effective and "green", but limit the use of harsh chemicals. Vinegar, a naturally acidic substance, kills most bacteria, germs and mold and is inexpensive and family-friendly. It is non-toxic to children and pets, unlike many commercial cleaners. For cleaning just about anything in the home, distilled white vinegar is very effective.

Appliance Cleaning

Fill the reservoir of a coffee maker with a solution of one part cold water to one part vinegar. Allow to sit for a few minutes, then run the machine as usual. Follow up with one or two cycles of plain water to remove all traces of vinegar. The same solution works to remove mineral deposits from tea-kettles or hot-pots. Let the solution sit overnight, bring to a boil, empty and rinse. Add one cup of vinegar to an empty dishwasher and run it through a cycle to clean and deodorize the machine. One cup of the same half-and-half mixture boiled in the microwave gets rid of odors and loosens cooked-on spatter. Simply wipe clean afterwards.

Laundry Tips

Adding half a cup of vinegar to the rinse cycle of the washing machine gives the same soft and fluffy feel to clothing and towels as commercial fabric softener. It can also be used as a whitener by adding about half a cup with the detergent. Caution: use instead of chlorine bleach. Do not use them at the same time as it produces harmful vapors. Prevent colors from running in new clothes or towels by soaking them in a half-and-half solution of vinegar and water for 15 minutes before washing for the first time. Wash wool or cotton blankets safely by adding two cups of white vinegar to warm water in a bathtub and allowing them to soak.

General Household Cleaning

Combine one part vinegar to three parts of vinegar to make a general household cleaner for countertops. For more germ-filling power use a stronger solution, or even use the vinegar straight. Full-strength vinegar sprayed in a bathroom kills most of the germs. It also helps get rid of mildew and hard water deposits on surfaces such as bathroom tile and glass shower doors. Add a little ammonia to the vinegar and water solution, and your mirrors, windows and chrome fixtures will sparkle.