Vinegar is a remarkable substance that can kill bacteria and restore the shine to any faded or dull glass object. While its distinct smell does require extra rinsing, its properties of removing mineral deposits are well-worth the trouble.
Cleaning and descaling your coffee maker
During the pandemic, the financial situation of many people has declined. As we try to cut back on daily expenses, many people will try to minimize the number of purchases they make. For example, you can save a respectable amount of money by brewing your coffee instead of buying it from a store.
Given this situation, our coffee making machines are seeing more and more use, to the point where they need to be cleaned way more often. These household appliances can be burdensome to clean due to certain areas being hard to reach.
Thankfully, it is not impossible, and this article is meant to teach you how to clean your coffee making machine properly.
First, you should disassemble the appliance, separating each removable part from the main body. Clean these components with warm, soapy water and leave them to dry. After, be sure to clean the machine’s exterior using the same soapy water and a wet sponge.
This operation doesn’t take much time and should be attempted at least twice a week.
However, that is not the end of the maintenance process. Wherever you have stale water and moisture, you will have fungal and bacterial growth. It is not uncommon to find find a bacteria-ridden film of gunk sitting at the bottom of the machine’s reservoir. Many reservoirs are narrow and do not allow for a human hand to fit in easily.
It is best to avoid that bacteria build in the first place. In addition, you can also have mineral deposits coating the walls, left behind by the evaporated water.
To stay on top of the situation, use a non-toxic descaling solution or just simple white vinegar. Ten ounces of either should be enough. Just turn on the machines, letting it run its cycle. Repeat for about 2-3 times. After, repeat the process for another two times using regular water to rinse the system.
This will disinfect the coffee machine and remove any mineral debris.
Brighten glassware
While we’re on the topic of using vinegar to remove mineral deposits, we should also mention glassware. When they are new, transparent glasses can be a sight to behold. Yet, as we wash and age them, their brightness fades. Even though they are perfectly clean, somehow, they lost their near-perfect transparency and light refuses to play on their surface like it once did.
This loss in shine is due to the minerals in the water. Minerals don’t evaporate, so they are left behind long after the water has been dried away.
To resolve the issue, get a container that can hold a lot of liquid and fill it with white vinegar. Then leave your glasses to soak in there for about 5-10 minutes.
After the brief soak, each glass should be rinsed by hand, and excess moisture absorbed using a particular cloth made especially for glasses. You should avoid using a regular kitchen towel or cloth, given that it can often leave behind lint deposits and scratch the delicate glass.
Using vinegar for your washing machine
Your washing machine is one of your most expensive and essential appliances. Taking care of it will increase its lifespan and protect your clothes and your plumbing.
Few things get wet more often than the interior of a washing machine, and as we’ve learned by now, dried water leaves behind mineral deposits. These deposits form a crust that can hinder movement, stain clothes, and damage components. It is also hard to see when wet, tricking us into thinking that the drum is perfectly clean.
It would be a good idea to fill the drum with 2-3 gallons of white vinegar every six months, select the program with the hottest washing temperature, and let it run. This will cycle the vinegar thought the system, rigorously cleaning, disinfecting, and descaling your appliance.
After the cycle is done, rerun it with just water to rinse any excess vinegar smell.
Conclusion
In many ways, vinegar is a miracle substance. It is a sterilizing agent that also removes limescale and other mineral deposits. Of course, the store-bought cleaners do smell nicer, but they are more toxic.
Vinegar is a very cheap, all-natural solution to many of our household problems. There is no better choice for those with breathing conditions triggered by the chemical fumes resulting from store-bought solutions.
