If you spend a lot of time in your kitchen, then it’s more than likely that you have noticed your cupboards feeling sticky or grimy.
This is naturally going to happen, particularly if you are a keen cook, as frying or sautéing will send grease particles into the air, where they will find their home on any nearby surfaces.
To tackle the grease head-on, you can mix your own grime-busting cleaning solution with equal parts white vinegar and warm water. Lightly spray it on the cabinets and let it sit for a few minutes before wiping it away with a microfiber cloth.
If the grease is proving harder to remove than you had expected, you can add some dish soap. However, you should be careful not to use undiluted vinegar as this can cause damage or wear to your cupboards. So it’s vital to dilute the vinegar first.
The water and vinegar solution is safe to use on most surfaces, including natural wood, painted surfaces, laminate, and plastic, according to The Takeout. You can always test the solution on a small patch of your cabinets before using it on a larger area, if you’re worried about how they will react.
Vinegar is a great cleaning tool thanks to its acidity which is mild enough not to cause damage to fabrics and surfaces, but is strong enough to cut through stains and dirt.
It can also be used to remove stains in items of clothing, clean dishwashers, and shine stainless steel. You can also use it as a tool to help unclog drains, clean windows, and deodorise rooms.
However, you should actually avoid vinegar if you have stone countertops made from materials like marble and limestone. This is because the acid can dull natural stones and slowly dissolve them, according to experts.
When mixed with water, the mild acid in vinegar helps to loosen dirt and oil from the surface. Dr Eric Beckman from the University of Pittsburgh, said that while vinegar is popular, due to its gentle nature, it should not be relied upon for cleaning.
“Vinegar is one of the safest and smelliest options, but it is one with a high risk—we just don’t know that it’s effective against bacteria and viruses. When it comes to killing the virus, the gentler the compound is, the less effective it probably is,” Beckman explained.
You should avoid mixing your white vinegar with a base such as bicarbonate of soda as the two will react which will form a mixture of diluted salty water and carbon dioxide, say cleaning experts Purdy and Figg. You should also never mix vinegar with hydrogen peroxide and bleach as this will create a toxic solution.
