Vinegar: It's magic

[KidNiki1]

i shake baking soda down all my drains and then pour vinegar down after, cleans the drains and gets rid of any funky smell. also makes a nice fizzy reaction the kids like...they actually want to help clean

do it once a month for fresh drains.

 

[Phokus]

The baking soda won't do anything. The baking soda on its own can be a mild degreaser, but sodium carbonate (soda ash) would probably be better for that. The acidity of vinegar is a great cleaner, as it will oxidize stains and denature proteins. Combining the two, however, will simply create dilute sodium acetate, which is as good as table salt for this purpose.

Most likely, you aren't throwing in enough baking soda to neutralize all the vinegar, so you are just cleaning with acetic acid.

Thanks for the heads up, won't use baking soda next time.

 

[eits]

Nope, the baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) just neutralizes the acid

i was talking about how concentrated the solution would be. i don't think the baking soda would be able to neutralize all that vinegar.

 

[sonambulo]

I gave up shampoo and switched over to the baking soda/vinegar one-two punch instead. I only need to wash my hair once a week with it. No poo method is amazing.

i shake baking soda down all my drains and then pour vinegar down after, cleans the drains and gets rid of any funky smell. also makes a nice fizzy reaction the kids like...they actually want to help clean

do it once a month for fresh drains.

Never heard this before but it sounds pretty neat. I'll give it a shot. Better than dumping Drano down there, that's for sure!

 

[KidNiki1]

I gave up shampoo and switched over to the baking soda/vinegar one-two punch instead.

i do a vinegar rinse once in a while on my and my daughter's hair. just pour on vinegar and let it sit for a few minutes and then rinse with warm water. makes your hair look great. never tried the baking soda tho. will have to give it a shot!

 

[FeuerFrei]

I'll have to see how this works on asbestos shingles. I've got mildew on the north side as well.
The bleach I tried removed the mildew but also the white surface. Not straight bleach, but probably too concentrated.

 

[Squisher]

I use vinegar to wash exterior windows, a cup to a gallon of water and a couple drops of dish soap (old Dawn works best). I used to substitute ammonia for vinegar for the inside windows until I got window tint, now I just use water with a drop of dish soap.

 

[BeauJangles]

It's also really good for removing odors.

 

[Modelworks]

I keep two things in the home for cleaning everything. Ammonia and vinegar.
Ammonia is about $1 a bottle, get the kind that is just pure ammonia no additives. A few drops of ammonia + distilled water makes a great glass cleaner. It has to be distilled water otherwise it will leave spots. For oven cleaning heat the oven to about 300F , turn it off. Put a bowl of ammonia in the oven and close the door, leave overnight and do not open the door until the next day. The ammonia will produce a vapor and loosen any grease.

Vinegar I use for disinfecting, make sure to leave on the surface about 10 minutes before wiping off. Drain cleaning I use boiling hot water + vinegar. The hot water melts away sludge and the vinegar kills the smelly germs.


Edit: In case some didn't know, NEVER mix ammonia with other cleaners, especially bleach unless you want burned throat, nose, and possible death.

 

[McLovin]

i shake baking soda down all my drains and then pour vinegar down after, cleans the drains and gets rid of any funky smell. also makes a nice fizzy reaction the kids like...they actually want to help clean

do it once a month for fresh drains.

i do a vinegar rinse once in a while on my and my daughter's hair. just pour on vinegar and let it sit for a few minutes and then rinse with warm water. makes your hair look great. never tried the baking soda tho. will have to give it a shot!

Anyone else impressed that he's been almost a year and his first 2 posts on a tech forum are about cleaning with vinegar?

/coolstorybro

 

[Apathetic]

Interesting. I may try that.

Any brands of vinegar and baking soda will do?

Make sure you use a white vinegar (any brand)

Dave

 

[uclaLabrat]

i was talking about how concentrated the solution would be. i don't think the baking soda would be able to neutralize all that vinegar.

Commercial vinegar is only a 5% solution of acetic acid....it won't take much bicarb to neutralize that.

 

[uclaLabrat]

I keep two things in the home for cleaning everything. Ammonia and vinegar.
Ammonia is about $1 a bottle, get the kind that is just pure ammonia no additives. A few drops of ammonia + distilled water makes a great glass cleaner. It has to be distilled water otherwise it will leave spots. For oven cleaning heat the oven to about 300F , turn it off. Put a bowl of ammonia in the oven and close the door, leave overnight and do not open the door until the next day. The ammonia will produce a vapor and loosen any grease.

Vinegar I use for disinfecting, make sure to leave on the surface about 10 minutes before wiping off. Drain cleaning I use boiling hot water + vinegar. The hot water melts away sludge and the vinegar kills the smelly germs.


Edit: In case some didn't know, NEVER mix ammonia with other cleaners, especially bleach unless you want burned throat, nose, and possible death.

No doubt effective, but you're releasing large amounts of ammonia gas, which is toxic as all hell. Be extremely careful.

An yeah, mixing ammonia with bleach makes chlorine gas. Even more fun.

 

[piasabird]

Use Vinegar, salt, bakingsoda to clean drains, helps to get rid of drain flies. Those drain flies are really hard to get rid of. Have to attack the drains and use a fogger. Twice.

 

[Phokus]

Use Vinegar, salt, bakingsoda to clean drains, helps to get rid of drain flies. Those drain flies are really hard to get rid of. Have to attack the drains and use a fogger. Twice.

Drain... flies? Ewww, i've never heard of that before

 

[BladeVenom]

Yup, some magic stuff. Plus it never breaks down. A bottle now will be the same in 50 years.

I spray it on my windshield in winter, ice comes right off.

Vinegar's freezing point isn't much lower than plain water. Maybe you should do a head to head comparison. I don't think the vinegar is going to be much better.

Try a propylene glycol mixture instead.

 

[waggy]

i love threads like this. some good and honest advice and tips.

 

[Moonbeam]

I use vinegar mixed with olive oil to wash off the mild taste of lettuce tomatoes and avocados so as to make my head explode.

I would skip the baking soda because adding it to vinegar essentially changes the PH of each to water.

And don't use propylene glycol to wash your windows. It can kill animals and pollutes the environment. It will kill your kids too and it tastes sweet so they like it.

 

[IGBT]

does it kill weeds??

 

[BladeVenom]

And don't use propylene glycol to wash your windows. It can kill animals and pollutes the environment. It will kill your kids too and it tastes sweet so they like it.

You're thinking of ethylene glycol which is toxic. Polypropylene glycol is used as a food additive.

 

[eits]

Commercial vinegar is only a 5% solution of acetic acid....it won't take much bicarb to neutralize that.

gen chem was never my strong subject.

 

[Moonbeam]

You're thinking of ethylene glycol which is toxic. Polypropylene glycol is used as a food additive.

Yes

 

[KidNiki1]

Anyone else impressed that he's been almost a year and his first 2 posts on a tech forum are about cleaning with vinegar?

/coolstorybro

sorry bro...she's not really much of a talker.. maybe people like you are why.

i come here a lot to learn stuff, which i have. for once there is something i feel i have semi-productive input on. sorry its not for something that impresses you more. :\

 

[crashtestdummy]

sorry bro...she's not really much of a talker.. maybe people like you are why.

i come here a lot to learn stuff, which i have. for once there is something i feel i have semi-productive input on. sorry its not for something that impresses you more. :\

He wasn't insulting you. He was just remarking that you're unusual. The fact that you're a woman makes you even more unusual, hence his assumption there.

 

[Fenixgoon]

Doesn't the baking soda neutralize the acid in the vinegar?

correct.

vinegar = 5% acetic acid

baking soda = sodium bicarbonate