“Thieves Vinegar” is a cleaner that has been in use since the Middle Ages.

Legend has it that during the “black plague” of the Middle Ages there was a band of thieves who plundered the dead bodies of the plague victims for whatever valuables they could find! These thieves defied all odds in that no matter how many dead bodies they were exposed to they seemed to be immune to the plague!

When they were caught they were offered a lesser sentence if they would give up what magic it was that was keeping them from contracting the dreaded plague. They explained that it was no magic but a concoction of vinegar and powerful herbs that they both drank and covered themselves in.

Did it really keep the thieves from getting plague, who knows but in our homes it has been a useful disinfectant cleaner, especially whenever sicknesses come our way! We also use it as a tasty salad dressing, so that we are able to get the goodness of those herbs in our bodies as well.

Thieves Cleaner Recipe

Ingredients List

2 Cups of Vinegar (White or Apple Cider)

1 Lemon

1 TBSP of Rosemary

1 TBSP of Thyme

1 TBSP of Lavender or Oregano

1 Clove of Garlic Smashed

2 Cinnamon Sticks

1 Qt Mason Jar and Plastic Lid

Herbs can be dried or fresh with stems. If you are missing an ingredient you can either substitute it with another herb or leave it out. Put all the ingredients into a quart sized mason jar or any clean glass jar that you have on hand. Warm up your vinegar, 1 minute in the microwave will do or a couple of minutes on the stove just before it starts to steam. Careful not to inhale fumes, trust me you don’t want to breath in warm vinegar fumes unless you want to break out in gasping and violent cough LOL!

Pour the warm vinegar over the ingredients. Next place the lid on the jar and shake. Make sure that you use a plastic lid not metal. You can get plastic lids at Walmart or off of Amazon. You will shake your jar once a day and keep it stored in a cool dark place for a couple of weeks. After two weeks you can smell and see how potent your vinegar is.

If you have the patience to wait at about week 5 or 6 your vinegar will smell mostly like strong herbs. Once it is to your liking you can then strain it into a dark glass or plastic spray bottle. You want a dark bottle to maintain the integrity of the herbs medicinal properties. You can toss the herbs or you can just fill your jar back up with vinegar and steep again. I found that you can get a couple of qts worth the use out of those initial ingredients before you need to refresh them. I hope y’all try it out and enjoy it!