Ode to Vinegar

I love vinegar...salt & vinegar chips, loads of mustard on sammis, pickles and especially pickled okra.  But what I've come to love most about vinegar is it's cleaning power.  Before I got pregnant, I had just started investigating some green cleaning techniques because I was wondering how those toxic chemicals used to clean our floor was affecting our pets.  Now that I've had a baby and she's all over that floor, there is a lot more incentive to think about what is used to clean it.  Although our house is nowhere near considered green, I've made a few small steps here and there...and most of those steps include plain white vinegar. 

Per my various google searches:  vinegar will kill approximately 99% of mold, bacteria, and other germs.  It isn't quite as effective as commercial products, but there usually isn't a huge need for those super-strength products.  If you want something clean, usually soapy water is enough.  If you want to disinfect, vinegar can be used to do that.  Unless you have someone in your household with open wounds or immune system problems, vinegar should be enough.

I wash Millie's toys in hot, soapy water with a healthy splash of white vinegar.  This helps to disinfect after multiple playdates or if she's had a runny nose or cold.  It's also good for baby bathtubs and bath toys.  And when the floor needs a quick sponge mop, I've been using about a half cup of white vinegar to a gallon of hot water.  It makes me feel a lot better knowing that she won't be ingesting any bleach or hard-core cleaning chemicals, especially since she eats cheerios off the floor daily.

Anyhoo, I just thought I would share my love for vinegar in case anyone else is looking for a cheap, easy, green way to clean for your kiddos.  And let me just say one more time...TGFG (thank god for google)!  Now, if I could just soak Beansie in some vinegar...