Can vinegar be used as a disinfectant?

All Purpose Cleaning Solution

Any vinegar is an excellent solution for cleaning walls, faucets, sinks, screens and other plumbing fixtures in the shower. Any surface that may be subject to some degree of limescale contamination will shine if you just start using vinegar in a timely manner. Housewives know that this product is also an excellent assistant in the fight against dirty surfaces in the kitchen, refrigerator, windows, and even mirrors. This antiseptic can be useful especially for those who have animals at home. It does an excellent job of removing most organic contaminants, such as vomit from your beloved pet.

The sequence of actions when cleaning with a solution is as follows:

Mix water and vinegar in a special spray bottle. The proportion can be 1 to 2 or 1 to 1.
Add about 20 drops of essential oil to the resulting disinfection solution. If 20 drops seems insufficient to you, you can add a little more to your taste.
Spray the resulting antiseptic onto any existing dirt and leave to soak. The soaking time depends entirely on the degree of contamination. For a fresh small area, 10 minutes of soaking will be enough. If you are struggling with old limescale, then it is better to leave the product for at least a couple of hours.
Wipe the surface with a slightly damp cloth. There will be no trace of dirt left.

If you need to remove any small dirt that has formed on the kitchen countertop, you can use the following solution: 3 tablespoons of water and 1 tablespoon. vinegar. This tool will do the job perfectly.

Cleanliness is the key to health

Due to its increased acidity, vinegar should be considered a product that helps in solving issues of cleanliness. This is an excellent solution for removing scale. Also, due to the properties of acid, vinegar is able to break down dirt.

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However, you should not rely entirely on this solution alone. Particularly dirty areas will not be able to be cleaned properly using vinegar alone. Nowadays there is a huge selection of all kinds of products that can cope extremely effectively with any type of pollution. In addition, most modern cleaners contain disinfecting components.

How to descale a kettle

One of the most popular questions among most girls is the method of removing scale that has formed in a kettle using simple vinegar. This is done really very quickly and, most importantly, effectively.

Sequencing

Empty the kettle and rinse it with cold running water.
Prepare a cleaning solution in a 1:1 ratio of water and vinegar.
Pour the resulting product into the kettle to the maximum level or 1 cm below.
Turn on the kettle until the solution is almost boiling, but turn off the kettle about halfway through the cycle. Leave the vinegar solution to soak for 40 minutes.
After about 40 minutes, turn on the kettle again, but wait until the water has completely boiled.
Drain the solution and boil running water in a kettle three times. Between boiling cycles, be sure to let the kettle cool down a little to prevent overheating.
Wash the kettle thoroughly, inside and out, using any dishwashing liquid. Lightly rinse the kettle with water.

A similar method can be successfully used to clean the reservoir of a home coffee maker.

Antivirus hype

Currently, as the coronavirus situation worsens, not only certain products, but also most disinfectants and antimicrobial agents are disappearing from store shelves. Acetic acid was also not spared by panicked buyers.

Increased demand for means of protection against bacteria and viruses has led to the fact that this type of product has become scarce. People, giving in to panic, try to protect themselves in every possible way. But what is the role of vinegar in this fight?

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Cleaning the microwave with vinegar

In order to clean the microwave yourself, you need to mix ½ glass of vinegar and ½ glass of cold water in a glass bowl. After this, place the bowl with the product in the microwave and bring the resulting solution to a boil. Remove the bowl from the oven and carefully use a rag to wipe down all the walls. Thanks to this simple procedure, you can easily loosen food residues that have dried out right in the microwave. After that, they can be easily removed in just a couple of minutes.

How not to use

There are many natural ingredients that are safe to mix with vinegar, but there are some that should be avoided.

Bleach and Vinegar

Vinegar should never be mixed with bleach. When bleach comes into contact with acidic products such as vinegar, some glass cleaners, dishwashing detergents, and even toilet bowl cleaners, the vinegar can cause the release of chlorine gas.

Exposure to even small amounts of chlorine gas can cause adverse reactions such as:

Burning eyes, watery eyes
Irritation of the ears, nose and throat
Runny nose
Cough
Labored breathing
Pain and blisters (after skin contact)

If you are exposed to chlorine gas for a longer period of time, you may experience chest pain, severe breathing problems, vomiting, pneumonia, and even death.

Hydrogen peroxide and vinegar

While vinegar and hydrogen peroxide are safe alone, they can cause adverse effects when mixed together. The combination of compounds may cause irritation to the eyes, nose, throat and skin. Exposure to this combination may also cause breathing problems, so keep them separate.

Baking Soda and Vinegar

It's safe to combine baking soda and vinegar in a cleaning solution that you'll use right away. But do not store a solution containing both ingredients because it may become explosive.

Once you're done using a tile cleaner with vinegar, water and baking soda, for example, pour out what's left.

Cleaning the iron

Have you ever had to struggle with the fact that after ironing, terrible brown stains remain on your clothes? Most housewives encounter this very often. To save yourself from such situations, you need to clean your iron steamer.

To do this, do the following:

Pour a 1:1 solution of water and vinegar into the water chamber of the iron.
Take any soft fabric and iron it using the steam setting.
Place the turned-on iron in a vertical position and leave it for about 5 minutes. It should cool down. After this, you can drain the solution from the water chamber.
Repeat this cleaning procedure again, but with water.

If you need to clean the iron heating plate itself or remove carbon deposits from the iron, it is better to wipe them with a solution of vinegar and salt in a ratio of 1 to 1.

Disinfecting a room with vinegar

Vinegar has been known for a long time as an affordable disinfectant. It can be used for cleaning premises, washing things, and disinfecting many items.

Due to its pronounced acidic environment, it destroys bacteria, viruses and fungi. For example, it is active against tuberculosis pathogens and viruses of the herpes family. The substance is used for gardening as a natural herbicide - it is sprayed on weeds.

Table vinegar is used as a disinfectant; 70% essence will not work. It is too aggressive to surfaces; if it comes into contact with the skin, a chemical burn occurs. The concentration differs for different purposes; the most commonly used are 3% and 6%.

How to prepare the necessary vinegar disinfectant solution at home:

from 70%, a 9% concentration is obtained by diluting the essence in a ratio of 1 to 7, 6% - 1 to 11, 3% - 1 to 14;
9% acetic acid is made into 6% by adding water in a ratio of 1 to 1.5, 3% - 1 to 3;
A 3% solution is prepared from a 6% solution, diluting it 2 times.

Adding hydrogen peroxide to vinegar produces the compound peracetic acid (PAA). It is used as a disinfectant in the garden - for disinfecting the soil before planting, as well as treating walls and floors. Produced on an industrial scale, used according to instructions.

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Cleaning the toilet

A solution of 3% vinegar is suitable as a disinfectant for disinfecting a toilet bowl. To do this, pour the liquid into a spray bottle or you can moisten a piece of cotton cloth and wipe the rim and lid with it. The toilet must first be washed with your usual detergent.

Disinfection of children's toys

Table vinegar is suitable both for disinfecting toys and for removing stains and washing. If they are made of plastic, then just wash them with laundry soap, then soak them in 1 liter of warm water with the addition of 50 ml of product.

When the toy is soft, make a solution:

9% vinegar – 50 ml;
water – 100 ml;
lemon juice – 2 tbsp. l.

To remove greasy stains, apply the resulting liquid to them, leave for 20 minutes, and wipe with a dry, clean cloth. In case of washing, pre-soak it in it or add it to water.

Cleaning door handles

Door and car handles are objects that are often handled by different people. Since the transmission of pathogenic microorganisms often occurs through fingers and palms, it is the handles that require the use of a disinfectant.

3% vinegar is also suitable for these purposes. Using a spray bottle, apply it to objects or wipe with a rag soaked in the solution. For heavily soiled door handles, a concentration of 6% is suitable.

Floor cleaning

The liquid is added to warm water when washing floors at the rate of 1 glass per 10 liters. This allows you to create a budget disinfectant with your own hands.

To reduce the smell, you can drop any essential oil. To enhance the disinfecting effect, chlorine-containing liquids are added.

Cleaning the bathroom

The humidity in the bathroom is constantly high. This creates favorable conditions for the growth and reproduction of bacteria and fungi. Not only the bathtub itself, but all the items require cleaning.

How to use vinegar as a disinfectant:

For toothbrushes. Prepare a 1.5% solution (dilute 3% in equal proportions), soak the accessories in it overnight. In the morning, rinse with running water. Frequency – 1 time per month.
Clean the mirror without streaks. You can remove traces of hard water, soap splashes and shaving foam by wiping with a 3% vinegar solution.
Disinfect the bath. After cleaning, wipe it with a solution of 3% concentration, leave for 20 minutes, and rinse with warm water.
Disinfect the washing machine. A 3% vinegar solution is poured into the rinsing compartment and the “rinse” mode is set. Carry out with a frequency of 1 time every 2–3 weeks.
Clean tiles. Dilute ¼ tbsp in 1.7 liters of water. soda and ½ tbsp. vinegar, rub the walls and floor with it.

Disinfection of upholstered furniture

To prepare a disinfectant, prepare a solution from the following components:

vinegar 3% – 100 ml;
water – 100 ml;
essential oil of tea tree, juniper or lemon – 3 drops.

Mix everything and pour into a container with a spray bottle. Use as needed, shaking first.

Removing stains

Stains on a carpet or things are particles of dirt, food, as well as microorganisms that multiply intensively in a nutrient medium.

To get rid of them, you need to spray vinegar on fresh greasy or dirty stains and leave for an hour. During this time, the disinfectant will corrode the contamination and destroy multiplied microbes. Then the items are washed in a machine or by hand.

Pets can also create stains on your carpet. How to remove them and disinfect them:

Treat fresh stains with a mixture of 2 tbsp. l. salt mixed in 1 tbsp. 9% vinegar;
rub old ones with a paste of starch and 9% vinegar, combined in equal proportions, rinse off after 48 hours.

Watch a video about cleaning using the product:

Cleaning carpets with vinegar

A few more ways to use the product are to clean home carpets.

You can quickly get rid of unpleasant odors. To do this, you need to prepare a product with the following composition: 1 tsp. baking soda, 1 tbsp. vinegar, 2 glasses of warm water. By spraying the product with a spray bottle, you will quickly forget about unpleasant odors.
Remove stains. If you notice that an unwanted stain has appeared on the carpet, blot it quickly with a rag or napkin. After this, spray a solution consisting of water and vinegar (1 to 1) onto the area with the stain. Leave it for a couple of minutes and blot again with a napkin. You can also sprinkle a small amount of baking soda on the stain beforehand. This will help some of the pollution to be absorbed a little.

It is important to check how stable the color of the carpet is in an inconspicuous area before using the product. This product can only be used on carpets made of synthetic fibers.

The cleansing power of products that contain vinegar lies in its acidity. However, don't rely on him alone. If you need complete disinfection of any surface, you need to choose a stronger composition, but the product will do an excellent job with light disinfection.

Is it possible to disinfect surfaces against coronavirus with vinegar?

Table acetic acid is used for many household tasks. With its help, you can clean hard salt deposits on the walls of dishes, remove old rust and complex stains on metal and ceramic surfaces. Another area of application for vinegar solution is home disinfection and elimination of unpleasant odors. For example, table acid can be used to thoroughly clean a refrigerator or stove, clean an old cutting board, or deal with mold stains in the bathroom.

How to wash the floor with vinegar without consequences?

The vinegar solution is ready: the water is at the required temperature, and the amount of vinegar does not exceed two tablespoons. You can start cleaning the floor.

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The sequence of proper floor cleaning with vinegar solution:

Soak a soft cloth in the solution and wring it out well. Remember: too wet rags will cause new stains or permanent fading of the enamel. Therefore, the rag for washing the floor should be damp, but not wet.
After carefully washing no more than 3 m2 of floor, you need to change the solution to fresh one. And so on until the entire freshly painted surface is washed.
Under no circumstances should you re-rinse an already clean surface. It's better to do this in a few days. Rubbing the surface is also not recommended, because vinegar, even in low concentration, remains too active a substance that can break down some paints and varnishes.
After the area has been treated with a vinegar solution, you should carefully wipe the floor with a cloth soaked in clean water, without adding any detergents.

It is better to use soft rags for cleaning floors and replace them after several procedures. Dirty rags with small or large debris will be the first cause of scuffs and scratches on a newly painted floor.