Green Daily

I'll admit it: I'm cheap. And, I'm a skeptic. When it comes to cleaning fruits, vegetables, sinks, windows, and even my kitchen floor, I just can't bring myself to invest in pricey organic or "gentle" washes. Not when I have plain old (and cheap) white vinegar!

This morning I was pleased to hear my ways validated in a study on cleaning fresh produce on NPR. The editors of Cooks Illustrated magazine used four different methods to clean apples and pears: antibacterial soap, a vinegar and water solution, scrubbing with a brush, and just using plain water. Not only did squirting produce with a solution of three parts water, one part vinegar work the best, it was by a landslide -- it removed 98% of bacteria, compared to 85% for scrubbing.

In a separate study, researchers at the Tennessee State University compared a vinegar-water solution to Veggie Wash (sold for around $4 a small bottle in my grocery store). Vinegar won that battle too, and it's interesting to note that the old-fashioned method of polishing fruit on your shirttails was better than nothing.

Best of all, vinegar is harmless to your body, your pipes, and the planet. Sometimes the cheap way and the green way are one and the same.