Handy vinegar tips for wellness

- To remove calcium buildup on kettles and electric jugs, boil the kettle with half a cup of white vinegar and leave to soak for a while. Rinse with fresh water, reboil with same and your kettle should now be calcium deposit free.

- Place a small container of vinegar in your toilet and bathroom to eliminate odors.

- A half cup of vinegar added to a toilet bowl left overnight removes bowl odor. The smell of the vinegar will also dissipate overnight.

- A cotton ball soaked in vinegar and appled to bruises for an hour is said to speed up the healing process.

- Vinegar on minor burns and many sorts of stings can alleviate pain.

- For cleaning your dishwasher, vinegar frozen into ice cubes, then a couple added to the bottom of the dishwasher just prior to a cycle is an effective alternative to using heavy chemical cleaners.

- Old, stiff paintbrushes can be revived by dipping them into heated white vinegar for a couple of hours, followed by a rinse in soapy water. Beats using turpentine!

- Vinegar can be used as a nappy soak; simply add half a cup of white vinegar to the water in the nappy bucket

- Use it as a broad leaf weed killer - spray it neat onto the leaves of weeds, being careful to avoid plants you wish to keep. A mix of vinegar and salt can be used to keep weeks and grass out of driveway cement joins.

- Vinegar can be used as a benchtop disinfectant; but it's a good idea to wipe over at night in order that the smell dissipates.

- For pet owners, white vinegar poured onto pet urine mishaps on carpets, then blotted up with paper towel will prevent staining and odor.

- Save money on washing pre-spray by spraying neat vinegar on deodorant and other stains on garments just prior to washing.

- Spray a 50/50 mix of vinegar and water onto soap scum on shower screens, leave sit then wipe or rinse off.

- Neat vinegar sprayed onto mould affected bathroom/shower tiles will kill the mould.

- Vinegar can be used as a fabric softener by adding half the amount of vinegar as you would of your usual softening agent.

- I've seen many suggestions that a tablespoon of vinegar can be used as a replacement for hair conditioner.

- Vinegar can also be used as a glass cleaner either mixed with water or used neat in a spray bottle.

- Use full strength vinegar to polish chrome and stainless steel

- Use a 50/50 vinegar and water mix to clean your iron. Add the mixture to your iron and allow it steam itself clean

- Pour boiling white vinegar down a clogged drain to remove the obstruction

- Used in an fine atomizer, vinegar is effective as room deodorizer

- Ants hate vinegar; so spray it around doorways and other areas they frequent to repel them

... not to mention vinegar is great for chips and salad dressings.