Household Hints

Cider vinegar can be used for a lot more than salad dressing. It has excellent health and cosmetic benefits.

Pour a quart of boiling water over a cup (packed tightly) of Stinging Nettles and let steep until cool. Strain, and add a cup of cider vinegar. Use this as a final rinse after shampooing to remove soap scum and impart a sheen to your hair.

Simmering hardened paintbrushes in boiling vinegar for a few minutes, then washing them in soapy water should make them like new again.

Next time you have to do some work outside on a cold day, rinse your hands in vinegar and let it dry. The cold will not affect your hands as much.

When lime has built up in your teakettle, boiling a weak solution of water and vinegar for a few minutes should loosen it up.

A little vinegar in the water when you boil eggs will keep the whites in a cracked shell.

To make paint stick to a galvanized surface, wipe over it with a rag dipped in vinegar.

When storing water jugs, put a tablespoon of cider vinegar in each one and it will eliminate the musty smell.

A couple of spoons full of vinegar in a quart of water will clean your windows without leaving streaks.

A tablespoon each of cider vinegar and raw honey in a cup of hot water will soothe a sore throat.

If the cane seats on your chairs have sagged, rejuvenate them by sponging them with half water half vinegar and set them in the sun to dry.

A spoonful of cider vinegar in a glass of water is supposed to repel ticks, if you drink it every day.

A ¼ cup of cider vinegar mixed into an older horse's feed every day will ease the stiffness in its joints. (Wonder whether that would work for humans too… Ed.)

Cider vinegar is an excellent disinfectant for cuts and scrapes. Stings like sixty tho.

When cutting up fruit such as pears and apples, putting them into a weak solution of cider vinegar will keep them from turning brown.

Owen Newman