When I was a kid, my mom was fond of offering up apple cider vinegar to everyone who walked in our doors. It was the special sauce of the day, every day from morning till night. “ACV,” as all in-the-know Northwestern hippies called it, was the miracle cure for everything from earaches to depression. She knew ALL the conceivable uses for apple cider vinegar.
Now that I'm all grown up, I've found some clever new uses for apple cider vinegar in my own home. I looked into the lesser-known uses for apple cider vinegar and found that my favorite ultra-filtered all-natural Heinz Apple Cider Vinegar has a 5% acidity rate that makes it perfect for canning to pickling and even sanitizing. Best of all, it maintains the healthy vinegar “mother” (and if you've read my post on kombucha, you know I have a deeply-ingrained fascination with this fermentation by-product). Best of all, it runs less than $2 for a 16 ounce bottle, and a little goes a long way.
Our Favorite Uses for Apple Cider Vinegar
- Drink two teaspoons per day to stave off the flu.
- A quick apple cider vinegar rinse after shampooing will make your hair silky smooth and extra shiny. Just add a spoonful into your post-lather rinse.
- Relieve heartburn by taking a tablespoon before meals.
- Sanitize kitchen work spaces with a spray bottle filled with apple cider vinegar.
- One of our favorite uses for apple cider vinegar is to dilute one part vinegar to one part water and use it as a non-toxic cleaning spray.
- Spritz it around the house to deter cats from spraying to mark their territory.
- Use ½ cup apple cider vinegar in your rinse cycle as a natural fabric softener.
- Use as a facial cleanser to eradicate blemishes.
- Wash vegetables with it to eliminate bacteria and make produce last longer.
- Pour it down the drain to deodorize the sink disposal.
What are some of your favorite uses for apple cider vinegar?
LOVE ACV! I’ve never had a wart in my life, and suddenly this disgusting one appeared on my thumb right by the nail one day. Someone suggested ACV. When I do bring myself to drink the stuff, I can tell the next morning that sucker has dramatically reduced in size! It definitely works!
I had a doc once tell me to rub ACV directly on a wart several times daily to keep it from spreading and help it disappear faster. Worked like a charm!
As a kid growing up in the great northwest (Washington State), we always had ACV on hand for cleaning. Now that I live in Arizona, I’m going to try it for #2 and #8 – I’m thinking if it works on blemishes, it might work on age spots too. Thanks for the tips!