The Best Household Uses for Vodka, Besides the Obvious

Vodka is a bar staple you’re likely already familiar with when it comes to cocktails, but did you know it has plenty of uses outside of drinking? You can use vodka around your home for a variety of things, from removing stains,to pepping up a bouquet of flowers to soothing pain and shining up your hair. Here are some of the most useful—but unexpected—things you can do with vodka.

Best uses for vodka around the house

• Eliminate mildew: Vodka can be used to kill mildew and help remove the stains it leaves behind—because alcohol is a solvent, it will help wash away the marks that mildew leaves even as it kills the mold to stop it from spreading. In addition to removing the stain, vodka will also help take the damp smell out of fabrics. Make sure to dry the area you’re cleaning before applying vodka for best results.
• Revive cut flowers: To revive cut flowers, add a few drops of vodka and a teaspoon of sugar to the water in your vase. It is thought that alcohol prevents the production of ethylene, which ripens plants, keeping flowers from moving quickly on to their next life stage in an attempt to produce viable seeds. Meanwhile, the sugar helps feed the flowers and keeps them vibrant for longer.
• Get rid of sticky residue: Alcohol is the key to breaking down sticky residue, which is why some hairsprays work great for getting price tag gunk off your new stuff. Vodka, of course, works too, and we’ve recommended it for this purpose before. Soak a cloth in the stuff and rub it over any sticky residue you need gone.
• Freshen linens and clothes: Mix some vodka, which has disinfecting properties, with some essential oil, which smells nice, and add it to a spray bottle for a wonderful fabric freshener, according to Tasting Table. Spritz it on sheets, pillows, curtains, and other fabrics to give them an instant boost of clean scent.
• Clean your glass: Alcohol is really helpful in cleaning glass, from weed pipes to windshields. Vodka is great for this, too. According to DIY Natural, all you need to do is mix one cup of high-proof vodka, one-fourth cup of white vinegar, and a little water (plus half a teaspoon of liquid soap if your windows are really dirty) and in a spray bottle. Now you have a solution for a streak-free shine.
• Remove red wine stains: If you have a fresh wine stain, you can use vodka (or any high-proof liquor) to remove it. Pour the liquor right on the stain and soak up as much of it as you can with a rag. Here’s our full guide on how to do it, but it’s pretty simple and effective.

If you’re like, “WTF, I just want to drink the stuff”…

• Here’s a basic set of 12 tall shot glasses to get you (and a bunch of friends) started ($14.99) 
• This vodka serving set chills six shot glasses and says “In vodka we trust” on the side ($59.49)
• If you’re classier than that, this set of four vintage-style lowball glasses are nice ($26.99)
• Keep it simple with these four old-fashioned rocks glasses ($17.95)
• Or add a splash of color to your next vodka martini with this set of six glasses ($24.99)

Best outdoor uses for vodka

• Remove rust from hardware: You can use vodka to remove rust from hardware by soaking it for a few hours. For this application, a higher acidity works best, so cheap vodka actually works better than the smoother, more expensive stuff. Just drop your hardware into a vodka bath and allow it to soak for a few hours, then make sure to wipe it dry afterwards.
• Polish chrome: One trick we’ve stood by for years is using vodka to polish your chrome or jewelry. Don’t use it on any jewelry that has gems or stones, but feel free to dab some on a microfiber cloth and polish up any plain jewelry or chrome you have at home.
• Battle bugs: Vodka might be effective as a bug spray, too. Think back to your last big summertime shindig. Maybe the reason you didn’t notice bugs nibbling you wasn’t just that you were too drunk to care, but what you were drunk on. Mix a cup of vodka, two tablespoons of aloe vera juice, two teaspoons of oil like soybean or castor, and one and a half teaspoons of an essential oil blend. Add it to a spray bottle and keep it on hand for the next time the mosquitos are out.
• Kill weeds: Vodka kills broadleaf weeds like dandelions, wild onions, mullien, and plantain weeds. Fill a spray bottle with vodka and spritz every weed you see—but do it carefully, as you don’t want to kill the grass around it. This doesn’t have the chemicals most store-bought weed killers do, so it’s a little better for the environment and surrounding animals. Here’s our full guide.

How to use vodka in your personal care routine

• Detangle hair: Ever woken up after a night out with your hair a tangled mess? The very thing that got you here might just be your saving grace: vodka. Peel and chop some lemons into chunks, then put them in two cups of boiling water. Simmer until half the liquid is gone, strain them out, put the liquid in a spray bottle, and add some vodka. Spray it through your hair and comb with ease. Here’s our full guide.
• Freshen your breath: Remember the Mythbusters episode where they tested out whether vodka works as a mouthwash? They found that it does work to freshen breath, and that’s because the alcohol kills some bacteria in your mouth. You can swirl and gargle it as you would any mouthwash, then spit or swallow it, depending on if you need any extra courage to lean in close to speak to someone.
• Soothe itches and stings: In that same Mythbusters episode, they also tested out how effective vodka is at reducing stings and itchiness associated with outdoor hazards like poison ivy and jellyfish. Pour it over the irritated area after an unfortunate encounter with one of these nuisances and let the alcohol inside the vodka counteract the unpleasant sensations.
• Dry out a cold sore: Another tip from Thrillist is about cold sores, which the site says you can dry out with vodka if you absolutely have to. Swig it around in your mouth, then spit or swallow, depending on your preference, or dab it on external sores with a q-tip.
• Keep razors in check: As we’ve suggested before, rest your razor in vodka after shaving to keep the blades disinfected and rust-free.
• Make an ice pack: When we say to use vodka for pain relief, we don’t (always) mean to just do some shots. Grab a Ziplock bag and fill it with one part water and one part vodka, then stick it in the freezer so you have a slushy, reusable ice pack the next time your body is aching.

How to use vodka as a helper in the kitchen

• Make vanilla extract: All you need to whip up flavorful, homemade vanilla extract is vodka and vanilla beans. Here’s an exact recipe on how to do it, but even if you don’t feel like making a whole bottle of extract on your own and prefer yours store-bought, vodka has a purpose: Rinse your empty extract bottles with vodka to add a little flavoring to the liquor before using it in your next cocktail.
• Make a delicious pie: Vodka is a secret ingredient for excellent pie crust. Swap cold vodka for water in your crust recipe to ensure a flakier, more tender crust. It’s a tip we’ve been recommending for years.