Can you use vinegar and bicarbonate soda for most cleaning?

[asblackasyoursoul]

Currently I just use Tesco antibac spray for almost everything except bleach for the toilet.

In the interest of saving some money I’ve bought vinegar to go with my baking soda, but after doing a lot of googling there’s a lot of conflicting advice on whether vinegar is an effective cleaner! Lots of websites saying it is but lots saying it’s not enough.

I’m not a germ freak but would rather kill the bad germs! Will just vinegar not be good enough?

Has anyone got any wisdom to share?? I’m also aware this is a highly boring topic for a Friday night 🤣

Well, they’re no substitute for washing up liquid.
I should think vinegar is ok for cleaning surfaces.
Vinegar may not be powerful enough
for cleaning shower screens and the like if there is a serious build up of limescale.

I’m in Scotland so we don’t get limescale here thankfully.
I suppose I just wanted to know whether it was powerful enough to clean germs really!

Yes vinegar is as powerful as chlorine bleach as an antibacterial and antifungal.

BUT don’t mix with bicarbonate because they neutralise each other. You get that lovely foaming….it’s literally the alkaline in the bicarbonate reacting to the acid in vinegar. It’s the acid in vinegar that kills germs.

Mix a spray bottle of water and vinegar with a bit of washing up liquid for all purpose cleaning because the washing up liquid is a good degreaser while the vinegar kills the germs.

I think what vinegar is good at is breaking down grease and grime, so it's really effective at cleaning. So it's like hot soapy water - you use it to wash away the germs. And for your kitchen counters and cupboards and tiles, cleaning is all you need.

If you're looking for a disinfectant - something to kill germs - then vinegar is not really the product for that.

I put vinegar and a little bit of washing up liquid in a spraybottle with some water. Works on most things.

Nancy Birtwistle (GBBO winner from a few years ago) has an amazing Instagram tip for loads of green and cheap cleaning ideas. She tends to major on citric acid, washing soda and percarbonate of soda, and has recipes for cleaning products on her books.

Agree with PP that vinegar is not a substitute for soap, e.g. washing-up liquid (surfaces) or liquid detergent (floor), and I remember reading during the pandemic that it's not effective at killing viruses. I use it mostly for keeping the bathroom and kitchen free of limescale. Wouldn't clean wood surfaces and such regularly with vinegar as it's acidic and might destroy them. In the bathroom I spray it on and leave to work its magic for about 15 minutes before rinsing it off thoroughly because it can corrode the taps.

I wouldn’t mix (acid) vinegar with (alkaline) soap or detergent.
Washing soda is a similar price to bicarbonate of soda bought in bulk, and usually more effective.

I infuse citrus peels (lemon, lime, grapefruit or orange) in vinegar for a couple of weeks and then mix with dish soap and dilute. Does the job nicely.

I wouldn't used vinegar on tiles - as the grout doesn't do well under repeated acidic exposure.

But otherwise, yes, it will clean most stuff (washing up liquid for plates tho).

Surely the one thing you need to get rid of is the antibac cleaner. That’s just a pointless waste of money.

No, vinegar is not effective at killing germs (I'm a chemist, if that helps).

I think hot soapy water is adequate for most day to day cleaning. I use vinegar too, partly because I live in an area where water is very hard. Washing up liquid and vinegar are good when hot soapy water isn't enough. I don't rate bicarbonate of soda, but soda crystals are good in hot water. As is bio washing powder for dirty floors, oven shelves, burnt saucepans and the like.

I like Method antibac cleaner for whenever someone is ill, but I'm not too fussed about germs most of the time. Hot soapy water clean is clean enough.