Martini, Bloody Mary and Cosmo - these lovely drinks would not be the same without dear old vodka. As well as creating a delicious tipple, vodka can also help you clean your home!
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1. Keep flowers fresh with vodka
Feed vodka to flowers to keep them beautiful and fresh for longer! Add a couple of drops and a teaspoon of sugar to the vase before pouring water in. Every day, change the mixture.
2. Use vodka like Febreeze
This is a good tip if you've run out of odour eliminating, freshness product. Spray vodka onto upholstery or rugs. You can even spray it on curtains and it will get rid of horrible odours and will not leave a scent once it's dried.
3. How to clean glass in your home with vodka
Attend to dirty mirrors, glass furniture and windows with your trusty spray bottle filled with vodka. With a scrunched up bit of newspaper, rub the area and enjoy the shine! Did you know that vinegar is also great at cleaning windows?
4. Freshen your clothes with vodka
Get rid of that strange smell omitting from your t-shirt by spraying some vodka onto it. Now when you're in a rush but smell something strange on your clothes, you don't have to rummage around in your drawers.
5. Use vodka to clean your jewellery
If your favourite diamond rings or necklaces have lost their shine, try popping them in vodka to soak for five minutes. The alcohol will get rid of any grease or dust. Give it a rinse under water and dry them off. Grab those sunglasses, the sparkle might be too much!
6. Ease cold sores with vodka
Mix a few drops of peppermint with 1/8 oz vodka and dab it on your cold sore. Use this 5 times a day for 4 days. The peppermint will relieve the pain and dry the cold sore out.
7. Clean taps & handles
Apply some vodka onto a cloth and then use it to polish chrome and porcelain fixtures. They will look lovely and new while the vodka gets to work!
8. Help stinky feet with vodka
Do you have smelly feet? Crack out the vodka bottle - the high alcohol content will kill odour-causing bacteria. Grab a flannel, pour a little vodka on it and then wipe your feet.
9. Cure bad breath with vodka
MythBuster Adam Savage has tested out a homemade mouthwash recipe. Mix 1 cup of vodka mixed with 9 tablespoons of cinnamon and keep in a sealed airtight container for two weeks. The cinnamon will fuse with the vodka to create a mouthwash that freshens your breath.
10. Vodka for poison ivy
If you have come into contact with poison ivy, apply vodka to the area. The alcohol will wash away urushiol oil which causes the irritating itchiness.
11. Remove sticker gunk
When you've purchased a new item and you're pulling that sticker off, sometimes some gunk will be left behind. Have no fear, vodka
12. Get rid of weeds with vodka
Mix together 1 cup of vodka and 6 cups of water with a little squirt of washing up liquid in a spray bottle. Spritz the liquid onto any pesky weed leaves and say farewell.
13. Relieve a jellyfish sting
Help combat the pain of a jellyfish sting by treating the wound with vodka. The pain will be relieved as the vodka will help to dry out the stingers.
14. Keep your hair frizz-free using vodka
Add a shot of vodka to your deep conditioner and apply as normal. Vodka balances the scalp's pH levels and seals the cuticles on the hair shaft. Now look forward to frizz-free hair and shine!
Nostrovia! I hope you enjoyed reading about the many uses for vodka.
wow!
Just cleaned my earrings- they have polished up a treat!
Hi Susan. It really does bring them up a treat! Glad you liked the tip :)
As a long-time sober member of AA, I certainly don't keep any form of alcohol in the house. So I'm surprised and disheartened to see any sort of household use of vodka in these tips and tricks newsletters. Vodka stinks! Why would anyone use it at all?! If I smelled it in any of the uses mentioned, I would think the person had a drinking problem and question their judgment. There are so many other less expensive, nonalcoholic alternatives (such as white vinegar, witch hazel, hydrogen peroxide) available, so why bother using vodka?
That's true, Lucie! We only want to show all of the different ways you can use it, to save it going to waste if someone has some that they don't want to drink.
I just pour boiling water on weeds and it works a treat, even with the hardiest and most persistent weed. And if you leave it for a couple of days, you don't even need to worry about digging up the remains, they disintegrate.
Excellent idea, Carol!
Vodka is too expensive in the UK to use like this....
You're right! Though it could be useful for someone with a leftover bottle that they don't plan on drinking.