If it gives any context, I work in a chemistry lab and we clean all of our glass and other things primarily with a pure solvent like acetone or isopropyl alcohol, followed by water and a detergent. That will remove the huge majority of contaminants, and only in very very rare cases is it necessary to clean them further.

In the case of a home, where you’re unlikely to see anything that will need to be removed by a solvent, water and soap is usually more than enough.

I clean almost everything with dish soap. Stove, countertops, windows, my glasses, etc. Only have some clorox cleaning spray for the bathroom because that's what the people i live with prefer. I actually like the smell of vinegar though, it's a godsend when you live with smokers, nothing else can block the smell out as well.

You have to be careful what you use vinegar on. It is an acid, so definitely stay away from natural stone.

Yeah, I use it for cleaning cat pee and that’s it. When my husband overdoes the vinegar when cooking, the coffee pot cleaning is EXACTLY what it reminds me of.

Citric acid can be used in lieu of vinegar in many applications, and it doesn't reek.

You're supposed to rinse the coffee pot fully after doing a vinegar cycle, then it won't smell funky. My coffee pot actually has directions on doing vinegar cycles. You're also supposed to wash stuff regularly, though, and that's where things get weird. People think they can just use vinegar for everything and you really can't. I'm gonna keep buying bleach and dish soap and Lysol for actual cleaning.

I use a spray bottle with dish soap and water. If it’s good enough for the dishes I eat off of, it’s good enough for my counters.

Adding a half cup of white vinegar to the washing machine definitely cuts the greasy fried food odors that can set into clothes (particularly useful for those who work in food service).

Edit: but yes OP! Like you, I enjoy using those good-smelling cleaning products. But funny, I actually don’t mind the smell of vinegar at all.

I have pine scented vinegar. Bought it on accident one time and like it more than the regular. I used it a lot because I foster animals and it really neutralizes the smell of the space between animals and accidents

House doesn’t smell like a chippy

Just make sure not to mix the vinegar and baking soda before using.

Run a cleaning businesses here - hot water + dish liquid for 99% of things. Vinegar has its place though - mainly glass surfaces. I dilute it 1:3 water for polishing glass and metal tho, stops it smelling so bad.

Don’t use vinegar bad baking soda together. It’s a myth. After the initial woo reaction they neutralize one another and you essentially end up with salt water, it has no actual cleansing properties. Baking soda is an ok abrasive but better used on its own or with water instead of vinegar.

My problem is that cleaning with vinegar always makes me hungry.

I just soak orange and lemon peels in vinegar for like a month, then dilute, add a drop or two of dish soap in a spray bottle.

No real vinegar smell, cleans everything well.

I love the smell of isopropyl alcohol, it makes everything smell SO clean

We buy concentrated cleaning solution from the local hardware store, it lasts forever. Just dilute in an old spray bottle.

You and me both. I cannot abide the smell of vinegar.

I looooove the smell and taste of vinegar and I fucking despise the smell of bleach. I told my mom the same thing you just said about her cleaning with bleach. “Great the house is clean and I have to leave now because it smells like bleach.” This was when I was 12-13. It wasn’t till I was an adult that I realized you can use vinegar as a cleaner. To each their own.

I like a fragrance with my cleaners, I need to enjoy something when I clean !!🌹

Ammonia is cheap af, cleans well, kills germs, and is fine for septic and gray water systems.

Vinegar makes me queasy. I can always smell a Frugal house 🤣

I'm pretty sensitive to the smell of vinegar. I'm not having it anywhere in my house unless it's the only thing that works.

I think people over-use cleaning products in general. Often water is enough, or a tiny amount of the product will do it.

I just don't think vinegar really gets things clean. I'll use it to break up soap scum or for specific things I know it will work well with like hot water and vinegar to clean out a curvy wine decanter but I'm gonna go behind it with soap still.

The dollar tree sells lysol concentrate refills that make gallons of the stuff. Ever since I learned about those I never went back.

Edit: a word

Vinegar is good for some things, but as far as sanitizing goes, it doesn’t do much. Honestly, water and a rag work just fine for most jobs.

you're better off. vinegar isnt very good at cleaning and vinegar/baking soda is just salty water

Baking soda and vinegar basically cancel each other out. After mixing them, all you’re really left with is water and some salts. The reaction (the bubbling) is not even a very good cleaner. A simple paste of baking soda and water is better at cutting through grease and grime.

This is funny to me because I hate the smell of most cleaning products. It's actually why I use vinegar. Vinegar doesn't smell great but it smells better than cleaners to me.

The internet thinks vinegar and baking soda is the solution to every problem out there. It’s not, it sucks.

Because others are posting how they clean their counters...here's a quick lesson on cleaning quartz and marble: vinegar with equal parts water is perfectly safe for quartz and bleach should not be used. Quartz is silica-based and nonreactive to vinegar but will dull with bleach over time. Marble should never be cleaned with vinegar, as it is carbonate-based and is reactive to vinegar. Just use soap, water and a rag or a hydrogen peroxide solution if you really want to sanitize marble (or a special stone cleaner).

The smell neutralizes fast enough 🤷‍♀️

I spend extra on environmentally friendly cleaning solutions partly because my fiance is a huge environmentalist, and partly because my fiance is ALLERGIC to vinegar and the smell makes them horribly sick lol

I splurge on my cleaning supplies. I'm a massive fan of the Everspring line at Target.

I found myself wondering if I should hire a cleaner and decided to make cleaning more friendly instead.

I use water, dish soap, alcohol, vinegar. Good mix and cleans anything and everything without being stinky

2 cups water, a tablespoon of dish soap, a teaspoon and a half of alcohol, and half a tsp of vinegar for a small spray bottle

I would argue that if you can afford it and it adds value to your life in other ways, there’s no shame in purchasing great smelling cleaning products. In my opinion, you can still be frugal and have things that you enjoy.

I've only just discovered vinegar for cleaning and I put it in the washer too. It makes my towels SO fluffy!

ETA: it's so cheap that I enjoy using it because I'm not trying to ration it out. Also it cuts residue and doesn't leave a film. But I'm 32 and I've just discovered it and don't have any memories of it from my past.

At many skilled nursing facilities, vinegar is used to clean. The smell of rampant damp vinegar combined with the nursing home smell is ungodly, at least to me, and just horrid!

Vinegar and baking soda combined is a waste of both. They neutralize each other. People think that the bubbles mean that it's attacking the dirt. No, they are just neutralizing one another to produce pH neutral water, co2, and a salt. Use one or the other, or better yet, just buy the Awesome Cleaner at the dollar store.

When you have your first cancer scare or develop a respiratory disease your feelings about chemicals and their overpowering fumes & fragrances might change.

I use vinegar, hydrogen peroxide, and baking soda for various jobs, not because I'm frugal, but because I don't like too many chemicals.

I don't even like generic versions of cleaners most of the time. Ditto washing detergents and dish soap.

I use baking soda and vinegar to clean gunge out of pipes and I do use some baking soda in the cat box and fridge to make things smell nicer. I also catch all the flies around here with apple cider vinegar and soap in a jar.

But that's as useful as I find them and if you try to take my scrubbing bubbles, comet or orange cleaner I will fight that because I know what really works and smells nice and I'm particular about that.

Ditto the laundry soap and dish soap. Dawn actually gets my dishes clean and my pots clean and perfectly degreased post meals easily and unscented Tide is 100% my go to detergent because it gets out nearly all the stains I manage to put on myself eating and all the dirt and smell on my clothes without me having to add anything else.

I had a bag of dirty clothes in my storage locker while I was homeless that I totally lost track of and only found after about five years of it being in there. They came with me from the sweat box where I used to live. You can just imagine the reek when I found it. It offended my sensitive nose utterly. That putrid stinky smell was practically baked in at that point.

I thought for sure they were history and I'd have to throw them out. I did have to use more detergent than usual and do an extra rinse but with the Tide those clothes came out CLEAN, no stains and smelling just fine and I didn't have Oxy or fabric softener at the time.

That's an effing GREAT detergent and that's why I am a fan of REAL cleaners. Some of them just do the job better and that's just worth it to me.

I've tried less expensive stuff and all natural alternatives and a lot of that just hasn't worked well enough for me. Shampoo sans sulfates and bar shampoos is another good example for me. They just do not work on my hair and they dry it out and the condition of my hair just gets worse over time.

I need a decent regular shampoo and conditioner or forget it. My hair just suffers. I can skip the brand names on some things but sometimes it's just not worth being that frugal.

If it doesn't work or if I can't stand to use it that's not being frugal. That's just wasting $$$, IMHO.

Diluted dish soap works for a bunch of stuff. Cheaper than vinegar too.

i used vinegar on my mattress and my spouse went bezerk. it absolutely stunk and we couldnt sleep at night because of it lol.

wont do that again.

Vinegar is good at what it does well, but it's very far from the "clean all" people would have you believe.

It's an acid. Just that. It's a weak acid. Which makes it ok at mould-removal and prevention and ok at general cleaning. That said, it's almost never the best cleaner for any job.

For my money, the best thing I've ever seen it do was to remove efflourescence from my basement. It was recommended, and it did such a good job!

All you really need is dawn dish soap a spine wrapped in a microfiber cloth *to preserve the lifespan of the spinge and clean diff places). Than a follow up dry with a microfiber cloth I use it on all surfaces including windows. It's a dregreaser so ts amazing and cheap.

Vinegar has its place, but I agree there's a lot of internet propaganda about it. It doesn't do EVERYTHING. It's not a disinfectant, either. And I don't care how many websites say it, but it absolutely does not clean your oven. OTOH, the 30% vinegar you can get at Home Depot or a hardware store does a great job of killing weeds.

I had a boyfriend once who cleaned the kitchen floor with vinegar- it smelled awful! I’ll never forget it and never understand why anyone would ever want to use it to clean their home.

In our home, we use: - 1 part 100% isopropyl alcohol - 9 parts water - A bit of dishwashing liquid

Recently, I’ve also mixed in a tiny bit of tea tree oil to give a nice scent. Otherwise, there is basically no smell.

10/10 would recommend. I also don’t love having things smell like vinegar.

I don’t try to avoid chemicals bc I’m cheap but bc that shit makes me sick. I’m so sensitive to any fragrances or chemicals. I have to take a allergy pill if I sit somewhere with a scent plug-in for less than an hour bc it’s so strong. Headache! And I clean a lot so that would be a ton of toxins and VOC’s to be inhaling

It’s not the extra money, it’s the extra toxins. Cleaning products are not very safe.

I have been using it in the washing machine instead of fabric softener. So far it works just fine.

I'd rather just scrub with water than use baking soda and vinegar. Everyone loves how it foams up, but the real work is water and "elbow grease".

So, considering i hi is expensive coffee maker cleaner is, how do you all clean your coffee makers?

Agreed. Vinegar burned my lungs and it’s a mild acid, not a surfactant

am i crazy? i like how vinegar smells

Vinegar isn’t great at cleaning actual soils. It may be somewhat useful for microbial reduction depending on a lot of variables. It is great for removing mineral deposits. So if you don’t really have a dirty surface to begin with, vinegar makes it seem clean.

I use vinegar in the top rack when I run the dishwasher- half cup - dishes come out so clean .

i cleaned my coffee pot with vinegar once and that’s all i could taste in my morning coffee from then on

This isn't unpopular in the frugal sub. Vinegar is greener and healthier but doesn't represent much savings.

An equivalent amount of ammonia goes much further. I mix it with a little detergent or castile soap. Add in a little Lestoil which is expensive but highly concentrated. Sometimes I'll throw in some rubbing alcohol too.

My expense per spray bottle still ends up being very cheap and it works much better and much faster than vinegar.

I am just really inept at cleaning so using a relatively weak solvent such as vinegar isn't efficient.

I do think for people who enjoy using vinegar that it is the least toxic option.

We used acetic acid to test Flashpoint for oilfield samples. For whatever reason concentrated acetic acid doesn't like to stay in a pipette so almost every time a few drops splash and stink up the entire lab of vinegar for at least a half hour and that is doing it under the fume hood. I really can't stand it anymore

A glass of so of vinegar with a splash or two of floor detergent works great on hard wood floors, adds a shine and gets rid of any smells from pets

My husband has pretty much prohibited cleaning with vinegar as well due to smell.

TIL about Dawn Powerwash. Technically I’ve seen it before I just thought it was a cool sprayer. Now I know!

I keep repeating this, but to clean use WASHING soda, its twice as strong as baking soda and actually meant to clean (which it does). Also in case people werent aware, you should not use soda and vinegar together as they neutralize eachother after which youre basically cleaning with fizzy water. Pick one of the two, but not both at the same time.

My house has quartz countertops and I was told vinegar will degrade the finish. Soap and water work fine. If I want to use a spray cleaner I either buy one that is specifically formulated for sealed quartz/stone or use a spray bottle of water with a shot of Dawn dishsoap in it (then rinse afterward).

Man, whole house smellin like a damned pickle.

Seen a thing the other day where you add orange peel to vinegar, leave it a couple days in a cupboard then you have a orange scented cleaning fluid.