White vinegar is such an effective cleaner. Here are 11+ powerful uses

Vinegar is a staple ingredient in many dishes, but it's also a surprisingly useful tool for using around your home. It can be used in natural, homemade cleaners, and it may just eliminate the need to buy other household cleaning items from the store.

We'll take you through some of the most effective and powerful uses for this common ingredient that we bet you already have in your pantry. Save money and keep your home chemical-free with these simple and useful DIY creations that'll make you wish you knew these uses for white vinegar sooner!

White vinegar makes a powerful cleaner, but let's just say that the smell isn't the most pleasant. Infuse it with orange peels, however, and your nostrils are in for a treat (and your home is in for a deep cleaning!). Find the recipe at Bren Did. In addition to the tutorial, she also lays out how to dilute the mixture for different purposes -- from a bathroom cleaner to a multipurpose mix.

Forget using harsh chemicals on your lawn or in your garden! Double the Batch shares a super simple, three-ingredient recipe that kills pesky weeds and allows your flowers or grass to grow naturally. All you need is white vinegar, Epsom salt and dish soap.

If you love a fresh-smelling home but don't want to keep shelling out cash for brand names like Glade or Febreze, check out the tutorial here. At just 15 cents a bottle, this simple mixture might just become a staple in your house.​

Popular brands of dusting spray like Pledge do their jobs well, but they also come packed with chemicals. To rid your home of harsh additives, try this DIY dusting spray recipe from Pins and Procrastination, which uses white vinegar, olive oil and essential oils to do just as good of a job as store-bought sprays!

Did you know that many store-bought deodorants contain toxic ingredients such as aluminum? If you want to live a more natural, chemical-free lifestyle, consider making your own all-natural deodorant that actually works! Follow the recipe and usage instructions from Whole Lifestyle Nutrition.

While we're on the topic of your underarms, here's an embarrassing question: Do you have any white shirts that you no longer wear because of the yellowish stains in the armpits? You're not alone! Try the following DIY solution:

1. Soak stained shirt in vinegar-based solution (1 part vinegar to 2 parts water) for 20 minutes.
2. Mix together 1 tablespoon hydrogen peroxide, 1 tablespoon salt, and 1/2 cup baking soda until a paste forms. Take the soaked shirt out out, squeezing out excess liquid until it's damp. Lay flat. Cover the stained shirt with this paste, and let sit for another 20 minutes.
3. Toss the final shirt in laundry with rest of whites.

Chances are you have the stains and odors that come with our four-legged companions. Try this recipe from 2 Moms Natural Skincare for a stain and odor remover that uses white vinegar to rid your home of these unpleasantries.

Water alone won't remove all the toxic pesticides from your produce, but add a bit of white vinegar and you'll be chemical-free! Fill a bucket with 1 part vinegar to 4 parts water. Use this mixture to soak fruits and vegetables before rinsing with regular water.

If you're anything like us, you absolutely dread cleaning your oven because that nasty gunk is so darn hard to remove. Not anymore! Spray dirty oven racks with white vinegar. Cover with baking soda. Top with hot water and let sit for 10 minutes. Scrub and rinse dry. It's best to do this in a large sink or bathtub!

Front-loading washing machines have benefits such as saving electricity and allowing you to unload clothes easier. But they can be notoriously stinky and leave your clothes smelling like mildew. If this sounds familiar, you'll want to make sure to regularly maintain your washing machine with these tips:

1) To clean out the gasket, mix a 1 part vinegar and 1 part water solution and wipe gasket down. Do this once a week.

2) When the washer isn't in use, leave the door open to air the machine out.

3) Run the washer with hot water or sanitize mode every few weeks, depending on how often you use the washer. Each month, do a deep clean by mixing 1 cup distilled white vinegar with 1 cup baking soda and adding it directly to the drum and running the normal wash on hot.

Here's a super simple recipe for all natural fabric softener using:
1/4 cup rubbing alcohol
3 cups white vinegar
20 drops of essential oil

Combined with rubbing alcohol (or vodka) and the essential oil of your choice (we think lavender would be amazing!), white vinegar makes a potent and chemical-free fabric softener that'll help you "go green" and save you some cash!