Home remedy - 10 very effective uses for distilled white vinegar

1. Ringworm

I have raised many pets in my lifetime and there is a very common fungal infection that humans get from pets. It's called ringworm, but it's not a worm. It's a skin infection and it is very easily cured!

Just soak a cotton ball with distilled white vinegar and gently clean the area that shows the typical round, red irritation. Be careful around the eyes! This works for cats, dogs, humans, horses, or even inanimate objects. Vinegar's main component is acetic acid and fungal infections do not like acidic environments! This is a safe and effective treatment that will not harm you or your pets. It does take a few weeks to totally get rid of the fungus, but keep after it for best results. Remember, cats hate the smell of vinegar, so you might want to wrap kitty in a towel before treatment!

2. Athlete's foot

Athlete's foot is also a fungus. Vinegar cures this too! It's cheap enough to use daily to soak your feet in for a few minutes. If your toenails are infected, it will kill that fungus also! Now, this really does take time, maybe even months, but if you make it a habit to dip your feet into vinegar once a day, you'll never have to worry about athlete's foot again.

After dipping your clean feet, just pat them dry and go about your daily routine. You might want to dust your shoes lightly with corn starch to keep your feet nice and dry. Moisturize your feet at night to keep them soft.

3. Insect bites

Did you know that white vinegar is one of the best treatments for the sting of insect bites? Strangely enough, packing a small bottle of vinegar is a good idea when going to the beach too. Jellyfish stings are stopped instantly with vinegar. Ant bites, bee stings, and other biting or stinging insect sites can be treated with vinegar. Pain go away!

4. Yeast infections

Back in the old days, women used vinegar douches to cure yeast infections. The idea is a good one and it will work today. There are commercial preparations that you can buy at the drugstore or you can make it yourself. Just mix 1 Tablespoon of vinegar to a cup of warm water and flush the vagina with this. Don't overdo it and if the infection is a big one, it would be safer to see your doctor.

Some people get yeast infections in the folds of their skin. Straight vinegar is good way to cure these outbreaks. Just dab it with a soaked cotton ball as in the ringworm treatment. Keep doing this daily and for a few days after the infection clears up. This will eliminate yeast growth on the skin. You can also put a cupful of vinegar in your bath water for those hard to reach places.

5. Stop cats from spraying the furniture

Cats really don't like the smell of vinegar and even in low doses, you can apply vinegar to the lower parts of your furniture once a week to keep cats from spraying. You can liberally use it outdoors to keep cats out of your gardens and from spraying the edges of your house.

Cats spray to mark their territory and when they smell vinegar, they don't want to claim that particular area.

6. Strawberries are good for you

Everyone knows strawberries are good for you. We know wine is good too. You can combine the two using red wine vinegar to soak strawberries in. Very interesting taste that is really good for you on the inside!

7. Lose weight with apple cider vinegar

No one is really sure why this works. Vinegar is just good for the inside and outside of a person. Mix a Tablespoon of apple cider vinegar and a cup of water and drink daily. Somehow this helps your intestines to absorb good minerals and nutrients from the food you eat and eliminate the fat.

Some studies have shown that this really works for weight loss. Well, you've tried everything else haven't you? Why not give this a shot. Apple cider vinegar is cheap and easy to find even in your grocery store. There are also supplements containing apple cider vinegar that you can buy that claim to work for this purpose too.

8. Clear a clogged drain

You know that experiment that they do in science class to make a volcano and make it erupt? Well, big secret here, they use vinegar! (and baking soda). You can use this same principal at home (no not the school principal) to clear a clogged drain.

Just pour about a cupful of baking soda down the drain, let it settle, then add a cup of warm vinegar (heat in the microwave for about a minute). Use a glass container to heat the vinegar in. Voila', the drain will clean itself. Flush with hot water after the bubbling stops.

9. Cure dandruff and head lice

You can do one or the other or even both at the same time! Wet hair, pour on vinegar, let soak, then shampoo as usual for dandruff. For head lice, use a nit comb on the vinegar soaked hair to remove all of the head lice. The vinegar makes them come off of the hair shaft easily, so you can get them all. No more horrible lice treatments!

10. Cure chronic heartburn

This works for most people, but if you have an ulcer, I would seek a doctor's advice. Just down a tablespoon of vinegar daily. You can put the vinegar in a cup of water or just bite the bullet and get it down. Some folks swear by this cure. It may even help you lose weight!

Bonus - Keep your CPAP humidifier holder free of mold

You can use this for any humidifier. I sleep with a CPAP device and I have to rinse out the water holder daily. My respiratory therapist said to rinse it with a little vinegar daily also to keep the mold and mildew out of it. Then just turn it upside down to dry. Works like a charm. You have to rinse the vinegar out at night just before use or it will smell like vinegar, but it doesn't take much to rinse it. I use filtered water.

Leave comments below if you think of other great uses for this cheap and plentiful home remedy!