A spray bottle filled with vinegar can be an invaluable tool when cleaning your house. A few spritzes of the pungent stuff is an excellent all-natural alternative to expensive chemicals for cleaning windows, eliminating grass stains from clothes, freshening laundry, wiping out carpet stains, and even washing produce. However, before you go hog-wild blasting everything in your house, you should know about a few things that you definitely shouldn’t use vinegar on.
After scrubbing those dirty windows with vinegar and a paper towel, it can be tempting to apply the same technique to y our granite or marble countertops. However, the acetic acid in vinegar can erode all types of natural stone over time. This includes the stone floor tiles in your bathroom. Ammonia can be damaging as well — stick to dish detergent and warm water or special stone soap, instead.
Many experts argue that vinegar can also strip the finish from your shiny hardwood floors. Others find that vinegar gives them a beautiful sheen. Still, it’s better to be safe than sorry. A cleaner specifically formulated for hardwood floors will keep them in tiptop shape, and you won’t have to worry about any damage.
Some vinegar believers have found that it’s not great for egg spills — or egg-related teenage vandalism — either. Pouring vinegar onto a raw egg, or any other protein-based spill, like yogurt, causes the egg to coagulate, making it cling to whatever surface you’re trying to clean.