My aunt told me to stop buying fancy cleaners and just use vinegar, and I owe her an apology

Jamie Coleman · 2026-11-01T18:05:05.117648+00:00

I rolled my eyes so hard when my aunt Carol told me this at a family dinner in Toledo last spring. I had just spent $14 on a bottle of some "boutique" counter spray because the label looked nice on my kitchen shelf. She said plain white vinegar and water would do the same thing for about 50 cents a bottle. I ignored her for weeks, mostly because I liked the smell of my expensive stuff. Then my sister stayed over and used my last bit of the fancy spray on a greasy stove mess, and I was too cheap to rebuy it right away. So I tried Carol's mix, half vinegar half water in an old glass bottle, and it cut the grease faster than the $14 stuff ever did. I've been using it for 4 months now and my counters look the same, except my wallet is fatter. Now I'm wondering what other "you need the special product" advice I've been falling for. Has anyone else had a cheap hack from a relative actually work better than the pricey version?

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My aunt told me to stop buying fancy cleaners and just use vinegar, and I owe her an apology | Broke to Bougie - Hub Chatter