The Surprising Versatility Of My Dawn And Vinegar Cleaner
My readers are always coming up with great ideas, including new ways to use homemade cleaning solutions like my vinegar and dish soap cleaner. OGT reader DrewRose wrote me an email a while back that included some unconventional uses for the Dawn and vinegar cleaner I’ve found so effective as a tub and shower cleaner.
Those ideas got me thinking about other ways to put this cleaning duo to good use, so I put on my thinking cap and put together a whole list of great ideas! In fact, I even use Dawn and vinegar to make a DIY Dawn Powerwash Spray for dishes! But before we get to the new stuff, I thought I’d offer a quick refresher about what this versatile cleaner is and how it works.
How To Make Dawn And Vinegar Cleaner
Homemade cleaning recipes don’t get much simpler than a 1:1 ratio! Here’s what you’ll need:
- 1 part Dawn dish soap (or homemade dish soap)
- 1 part white vinegar
Just warm the vinegar in your microwave, pour it into a spray bottle, then add the dish soap. Replace the spray top, gently swirl the bottle to mix the vinegar and dish soap, and it’ll be ready to use!
How Does This Cleaner Work?
The combination of dish soap and vinegar is highly effective for a few different reasons. They’re both excellent at breaking down tough grease and grime, but vinegar alone will simply run off of most surfaces, and dish soap is too thick to use on its own.
But when you combine the two, you get an effective, sprayable miracle cleaner that clings to surfaces. Just spray it on, let it sit for a while, then scrub lightly and rinse, and you’ll be amazed at the results every time!
How Do You Use It?
I typically put this cleaner in a spray bottle, but you can also keep it in a dish scrubber to make it even quicker and easier to use.
I should also note that this Dawn and vinegar cleaner is thick and sudsy, so it’s best to use on surfaces that are easy to rinse, like your tub or shower. If you plan to use it on surfaces that aren’t easy to rinse, or for any of the tips I’ve listed below, I suggest adjusting the ratio so that it’s closer to 1 part Dawn to 6 parts vinegar, rather than using equal amounts.
9 Surprising Things You Can Clean With Dawn And Vinegar
1. Patio Furniture
Spray the cleaner onto patio furniture like chairs, tables, the exterior of your grill, and even your patio or deck itself. Let it sit for a few minutes, then rinse everything well with your hose. Perfect for any time, and especially at the end of the season when you need to clean and store your outdoor furniture.
2. Planters
Before you plant your flower pots and planters, use this to clean them up and make them look brand new. Just spray the cleaner all over them, let it sit for a while, then rinse well with your hose. (It’s best to do this when the planters are empty, because if any of the cleaner were to splash onto your flowers or plants, the vinegar would likely kill them — after all, it’s the main ingredient in my homemade weed killer!)
3. Garage Door
Are you wishing for a garage door makeover? If the door is just looking grungy, give it a spray down with the Dawn and vinegar cleaner, then rinse well with your garden hose or a power washer. It will look so much better!
Related: 10 Surprisingly Useful Ways To Repurpose Your Old Garden Hose
4. Sinks
Use the cleaner to dissolve gunk, mineral deposits, and soap scum in the bottom of your sink. Just spray it on, let it sit, then use a wet sponge to wipe it clean. No scrubbing required! The vinegar is a bathroom cleaning powerhouse ingredient that is even one of the two things I use to unclog a sink!
5. Toilets
Have hard water stains or rusty deposits in your toilet bowl? This cleaner will make short work of them! Turn off the water to your toilet, flush the remaining water out, then spray the cleaner liberally inside the bowl. Let it sit for 20-30 minutes, then scrub with your toilet brush. Turn the water back on and flush the toilet a few times to rinse.
More Ideas You'll Love
Related: These 9 Problem-Solving Toilet Hacks Are Weird, But They Work
6. Bathroom Mildew
No matter where mildew is lurking in your bathroom, you can use this dish soap and vinegar cleaner to cut through it. Spray it onto your shower curtain liner, tile surfaces, or the bottom of your bathtub! Rinse well, and wave goodbye to unsightly mildew. Vinegar is also a big part of a natural way to get rid of mold.
7. Fridge
Use the thinned-out Dawn and vinegar cleaner to give the interior and exterior of your fridge a much-needed facelift when it’s time to clean and organize the refrigerator! It’s great at breaking up those tough, sticky messes that collect on your fridge shelves and bins. (But I would not recommend using this cleaner on the exterior of a stainless steel fridge, as it could leave splotchy marks on the finish.)
8. Anything With Hard Water Stains
If you live in an area with hard water, then you’re already intimately familiar with hard water stains on your faucets and tubs. The vinegar in this cleaner makes it excellent for dissolving those mineral deposits. You can even use it to cut through hard water stains on your windows! Just let the cleaner sit on hard water stains for a while, then rinse clean. Bonus tip: use vinegar in the dishwasher to remove hard water spots from dishes as well.
9. Trash Cans
Spray this cleaner liberally into the bottom of your kitchen or outdoor garbage can. Let it sit, then rinse well with your hose. It’s the easiest way to take care of grimy residue and unpleasant odors and a great first step in avoiding a stinky garbage can altogether!
One more thing: if you’re ever in doubt about what surfaces you should use this cleaner on, do a spot test first. Apply a bit of the cleaner to an inconspicuous area, wait a minute or two, then rinse it off. Check for discoloration, and if you don’t see any, you should be good to go!
Try It For Yourself!
It’ll be even easier to make more shower cleaner with a set of my cleaning recipe spray bottle labels. With these stick-on labels (designed for use on dark-colored bottles), you’ll never have to go searching for the recipe ever again!
The Cleaning Recipes feature seven labels printed with the name and recipe for my favorite DIY cleaning sprays, including an all-purpose cleaning spray, my favorite window and mirror cleaner, granite cleaner, and dusting spray.
OGT readers love these labels! Here’s what just three of them had to say:
The bottles with the labels are perfect! Even my husband has been impressed with the shower cleaner. Now our shower doors are sparkling!
BRHMore Ideas You'll Love
I love that the recipe label sticks right onto the bottle. Anyone in the family can make more when the bottle is empty! And they all learn how easy it is to make your own cleaning products at home.
Jodi
These labels are awesome! Wonderful to have them labeled, but to have the recipe right on that label is above and beyond! Don’t have to be concerned about finding the recipe as it’s right there! Love it!
Judy
Have you tried cleaning anything with Dawn and vinegar yet?
Love your daily letters!!!!! I’ll try this to get the water (?) stains off the glass lids to my saucepans. I’ve tried everything else.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I just had a rental property go empty and decided to try this combination on several cleaning challenges. Bottom line, I found you do not need anywhere near the amount of dawn dish soap this recipe is calling for (1 part vinegar to 1 part dawn). Hot vinegar alone easily handles nearly all of the cleaning. A follow-up wash with hot water and several drops of dawn were all I needed to tackle the rest. I also found the 1:1 recipe needed extensive rinsing to remove all of the dish soap residue, which used a lot of water and time. So, you can save both time and money if you experiment as I did. Give it a try.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Dawn dish soap neutralizes vinegar when added to it. The dish soap is doing all of the cleaning all on it’s own. You’re essentially cleaning with soapy water. There’s no point in adding vinegar to this solution at all. Sorry. It busted my bubble when I found this out, too.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Hi JIllee. What is the purple thing inside the trash can? It’s the last picture at the bottom of the blog.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.It’s called a liner pocket. It came with my trash can. You can keep a few trash bags in it.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Nothing surprising on this list at all, and way too many ads. This is such a terrible reading experience and makes no consideration for an audience. Your attempts to monetize your blog make it absolute garbage. Do less, give more, and stop with the misleading titles.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.i did today and It worked awesome on my bathtub
Please log in or create a free account to comment.So I use it as a stain remover on clothes. Works great getting greasy stains out even ones that have been set or already been washed and dried.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.The scent of Dawn makes me nauseous, can ANY other dish detergent be used?
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Any dish soap will do the trick, Dawn is just my favorite one! :-)
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I have used the thinner version on areas where wasps like to build nests (under: eaves, decks, stairs). The dish liquid makes surface too slick for nest to stick. BTW, be sure to thoroughly rinse horizontal surfaces where you walk or stand [patio/deck, porch, garage floor, driveway/sidewalks, tub/shower floor, etc] because dish liquid is slippery.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.For years, I have used this combo of Dawn and vinegar in a spray bottle to wash one or two dishes in the sink that don’t go into the dishwasher and don’t require a full sink of soapy water. I probably use this spray bottle more than I use the large bottle of Dawn. Quick, water-saving and time-saving!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Where do you buy the spray lids for mason jars? Amazon has poor reviews of what they sell.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I buy them here: http://bit.ly/2S3AhFL
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Thank you for answering, as I had the same question!
I use it as a spray on clothes as well in particular for grease stains that have been set in ie already washed and dried but for some reason I didn’t notice it before hand. I’ve never had it not get one out.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I have an acrylic showers this mixture safe for that?
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Yes!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I have used the vinegar and dawn on my shower and doors. When the vinegar is warm it works well. Once it is room temperature it isn’t as good. Should I reheat it?
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I find it just as effective once cooled, but feel free to reheat it each time if you prefer!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.What about the microwave? Will this work for that too?
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Definitely! Although I would use the thinner formula that I mention in this post :-)
Please log in or create a free account to comment.A great way to clean your microwave is to heat about a cup of water in a glass bowl or glass measuring cup for several (about 3-4) minutes. You can also add a little lemon juice to help with odors, and I think vinegar works as well. After the microwave stops, let it set a few minutes so the steam created can do its work to soften the baked on food spatters and spills. Remove the glass container (carefully, as it may be hot) and wipe out the interior (I carefully remove and wipe the glass tray as well) with a clean cloth or paper towels. Works fabulously! For a quick cleanup, you can dampen a paper towel, wring slightly but leave fairly damp, and microwave for about 30 seconds. Give it time to cool and then use the paper towel to wipe it out.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I would add the top of the stove and hub caps/wheels of the car. Let it sit a bit on both before rubbing/rinsing!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Great suggestions, Pat!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I don’t think mixing an acid (vinegar) with ammonia (Dawn) is particularly safe. I think it even says so on the bottle.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.The bottle of Dawn says not to add bleach. Dawn contains amines, not ammonia. While I would never add bleach to Dawn, adding vinegar is safe. Rest assured, I do plenty of research before sharing my tips :-)
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I add lemon juice and water to the mix.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.We used this a few months ago on our tub and shower. I t did a good job., I’m definitely going to show these ideas to,my mom.,
Please log in or create a free account to comment.If you have any leftover mixture do you have to warm that back up or just at combination time?
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Just when mixing for the first time. After that, it’s always ready to go. If it separates a little, just give it a quick shake or swirl and it mixes back up!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.No need to reheat! :-)
Please log in or create a free account to comment.In the U.K. we don’t have Dawn Dishsoap. Will any other beand work for your homemade cleaners etc.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I’m also in the UK, so I would probably use Fairy washing up liquid, but I would have thought any washing up liquid mixed with vinegar would work.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Fairy Liquid is the equivalent to Dawn :-)
I’m in the States, and Dawn is known for its grease-removing ability. I don’t know what the ingredient is. Having lived in Europe, Fairy is what I would try first.
I believe you can order Dawn dish detergent at Amazon.com
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Fairy Liquid!
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