Clean With Vodka: Trade the Martini Glass for a Spray Bottle

We arrived at the drive-through window of the liquor store at 11:00 A.M., still in our pajamas and sitting sweetly in the family-friendly, white minivan. My mother smiled at the nonplussed employee and chirped, “I need the biggest bottle of your cheapest vodka!” Interestingly, Mom’s not a drinker … but she had a craving for that vodka so she could fulfill a vital need: a clean home. My mother had just discovered the benefits of cleaning with vodka — and not much can stop her from using the alcohol to clean just about everything.

You can freshen your laundry with vodka; simply spray it on your clothes and hang to dry; the vodka kills bacteria that cause bad smells. Vodka also shines bathroom/kitchen fixtures on your sink. A mixture of vodka and sugar will keep your bouquet beautiful for longer, or skip the sugar and spray it on your skin to repel bugs. You can add vodka to your shampoo for lush locks — and while you’re at it, you may as well spray it in your shower or tub to do away with mold and mildew. If you’re feeling a bit dentally dismal, swishing a shot of vodka in your mouth will aid with toothache relief.

You may prefer your vodka with an olive, but when you’re done with that martini glass, hand it to me: I’ll clean and disinfect it with my vodka-saturated cloth.

For more information on cleaning your home naturally, check out these simple, natural nontoxic cleaning ingredients. You can also keep a wabi-sabi cleaning cupboard, or if you’re pressed for time, check out environmentally safe commercially available products like Method.

Photo by Adrian Hoffmann