8 Interesting Uses for Vodka

I never drink a drop of alcohol. But yet, I always have Vodka in my house. Don't worry, that wasn't meant to be a riddle. Being somewhat of an herbalist, vodka is an essential staple in my kitchen. It is a way for me to preserve my herbs. Over the years, I have discovered many other handy uses for vodka.

Ice Pack - Add 1/2 cup of vodka and 1/2 cup of water to a sandwich bag and place it in the freezer overnight. Alcohol doesn't freeze and, of course, water does, but when you combine them together it turns soft and slushy, giving you a soft ice pack to cool and soothe bruises, inflammation or over stressed eyes.

Cure for smelly feet - If you have really bad, hard to get rid of the smell, smelly feet, try soaking them in vodka. Vodka will kill the bacteria that causes the odor. Sure, your feet will smell like a bar afterward, but it is better than the way they smelled before. Actually, the vodka odor will dissipate as they dry.

Tincture - My number one use for vodka is to make herbal tinctures. All you need is 80 proof vodka and you are on your way to preserving herbs and plants for a variety of uses.

Freshen clothes - Add some vodka to a spray bottle and keep it on hand in your laundry room. When you need to freshen up a piece of clothing, spray it all over with vodka and let it dry. The vodka smell will be gone when it is dry. I like to make a tincture, like mentioned above, and use lavender. The lavender will give an even fresher scent to your clothes.

Add a little shine - You can shine up your faucets by wetting a washcloth with vodka and buffing away. It also works on chrome or glass. It can even be used, in the same way, to clean up eyeglasses.

Tackle mold - If you have harmless, but unsightly mold growing in your bathroom fill a spray bottle with vodka and spray it all over the area with mold. After spraying, let it sit for at least 15 minutes, then scrub it off with a scrub brush. The vodka works by killing the mold.

Poison Ivy and Jelly fish - There is not a good chance that you will run into these 2 thing together anywhere, but for either or, vodka is good to soothe the painful sting. Pouring vodka on a fresh poison ivy rash can help relieve the uncomfortable symptoms, by drying up the offending oil left on the skin, by the plant. But, I have heard that only 100 proof vodka works for poison ivy. Pouring vodka directly on a jellyfish sting can also relieve the painful stinging it causes. I don't often, or ever for that matter, carry a bottle of vodka around with me, but carrying a small spray bottle of some can be very convenient for these rare but possible occasions.

Clean hair - Add about 1 - 2 ounces of vodka to a bottle of shampoo, to get squeakier clean hair and scalp.