The Kitchen Ingredient You Should Be Using To Clean Your Brita Pitcher

Brita pitchers are a fairly popular kitchen accessory. For usually around just $25 or less, they help deliver clean, filtered, and great-tasting water to your home, without all the extra cost — not to mention the negative environmental impacts — of purchasing bottled water. But while its purpose is to keep water pure, it is a good idea to ensure the pitcher itself is clean as well.

The Brita pitcher can be an easy item to overlook when it comes time to deep cleaning your kitchen, especially because it only holds plain, cold water, which is not something that one tends to think of as especially dirty. However, the pitchers can still become contaminated with dust, germs, and even mildew over time, so it is important to give them a thorough cleaning every once in a while.

It is probably not a good idea to load the pitcher that holds your drinking water with the harsh chemicals or strong cleaning products that you might use to clean other areas of your kitchen. So how do you make sure your pitcher is really clean? Luckily, there is one common ingredient that you probably already have in your kitchen that will help remove mildew, mold, and other gross ingredients you don't want getting into your drinking water from your Brita pitcher, while still making the results entirely safe for consumption.

According to The Kitchn, plain white vinegar can work wonders when it comes to cleaning off mildew and germs, with no harsh chemicals required. To give the entire pitcher a thorough washing, they recommend taking the entire pitcher apart, washing each piece with regular dish soap and warm water, and then giving the parts that need a little extra TLC a second run-down with a white vinegar mixture. To ensure the pitcher is completely clean, combine one teaspoon of white vinegar with one cup of water, soak a sponge into the liquid, and give the pitcher another once-over. Then simply rinse, allow the pieces to air dry completely, and voilà — you'll have a perfectly clean, mildew-free pitcher. Of course, it is always a good idea to replace your Brita water filters regularly as well.

White vinegar is a natural disinfectant that can also be used to clean a number of other kitchen areas, including your microwave, blender, stovetop, floors, and even the kitchen sink, per Bon Appétit. Simply make a mixture of one part vinegar and one part water, and use it to spray down your appliances, stove, floors, and sink to cut through tough grease and get your kitchen spotless. As long as you have a bottle of regular white vinegar on hand, you can ensure your whole kitchen, including the Brita pitcher, is clean and safe enough to eat — and drink — off.