Newspaper articles, magazines, mom blogs, and green cleaning websites all tout vinegar as a miracle cleaner and disinfectant… cleaning myth?

According to these sources, all you need is to put a little household vinegar in water and voila – you have a great cleaning and disinfecting solution. There are cleaning services who offer to clean your house with vinegar as a safe, natural cleaning product. Some sources suggest adding vinegar to your washing machine to disinfect and soften clothes. Vinegar, it seems, is a cleaning ROCK STAR……or is it really? Let’s dig in!

A Cleaning Myth is born

Before the introduction of detergents in the 1950’s, we did all of our cleaning with soap. Unfortunately, soap leaves a residue and so every cleaning task involved washing and rinsing.

However, if the rinse water was acidic it did a better job of getting rid of the soapy residue and left the surface “squeaky clean”.

What is the most common acid available in the home? Vinegar! Thus, it became normal practice to add vinegar to the rinse water. This helped make the surface “squeaky clean” because it cleared away the soap residue. Their floors and counters felt cleaner!

Many people, not understanding the chemistry of the process, concluded that vinegar made a great cleaner. And thus, a cleaning myth was born.

Why Vinegar Is Not a Good Cleaner

Because vinegar is a fairly strong acid (2.2-3 on the pH scale) it can be used to dissolve hard water build-up and soap scum. There are many, more effective agents for this purpose. Yet vinegar has caught on because it is “natural” and presumed “green”.

Also, because vinegar is an acid, it has disinfectant qualities but not enough to be classified as a disinfectant. (True disinfectants shouldn’t be used much in the average home either.)

It should be noted that the Safety Data Sheet for vinegar (yes there is a vinegar SDS!) recommends using eye protection and a respirator when using it for large-scale cleaning like spraying down a shower. Do you use a respirator when you clean?

Vinegar In The Washing Machine: Good or Bad?

When vinegar is used with an alkaline detergent, say as a “disinfectant” in a washing machine, it is neutralized. Whatever disinfectant ability vinegar had is gone.

Your detergent is also neutralized, making it less effective at removing soil.

Best case you are diluting the vinegar so much that it isn’t really doing anything except making you feel like you did something.

Flooring Installer said Vinegar was safe for Floors

Installers at one time would recommend…. and sometimes still do… using vinegar and water for polyurethane-finished wood floors. The reason is that they did NOT want oil soaps to be used.

Oil soaps had been the primary wood floor cleaner before polyurethane finishes. However, oil soaps caused major problems when it came time to re-coat those same finishes.

Vinegar and water seemed like a safe alternative…

As it turns out the acid would degrade the polyurethane over time.  At Surfaces, a major flooring show, all manufacturers of wood flooring said “Do NOT use vinegar to clean our product.”  Several manufacturers said it would actually void their warranty.

Additionally, many vinyl flooring manufacturers also said not to use vinegar. Vinegar can damage the coating that protects the vinyl material. The installer does not always know best.

Vinegar Can Do MAJOR Damage to Stone

Vinegar, like any other acid, can permanently etch stone surfaces. This is especially true of calcium-based stone. Marble, travertine and limestone are all calcium-based stone materials.

It only takes a few seconds of contact to do permanent damage!

The lack of obvious signs of damage does not mean you are in the clear either.  Some surfaces damage gradually with ongoing cleaning. Because stone is a natural surface, there is a WIDE range of mineral content. Use a stone cleaner that is safe on the most delicate stone surfaces (not dish soap!). Better to be SAFE than SORRY.

Should I clean with vinegar?

At best, vinegar can help in removing soap scum and mineral deposits from appropriate (acid-resistant) surfaces and also as a rinsing aid.

However, vinegar clearly can do major damage to a wide range of household surfaces. The damage can be immediate or gradual. Vinegar does not disinfect well enough to be used as a disinfectant.

While vinegar is a “natural” product, there are products that will do a much better job cleaning and are safer on even the most delicate surfaces in your home. Also, your house won’t have to smell like a salad. Unless, of course, you like that. If that’s the case, here is a better use of your vinegar.

Consider this cleaning myth BUSTED

OK, So What Should I Use Instead?

Are you looking for a general cleaner? Distilled or deionized water with a quality microfiber cloth is pretty tough to beat. The water and microfiber cloth work together as a system. Tests have shown this system to be capable of performance that rivals hospital grade disinfectants!

Wood or vinyl floors? Deionized water and a flat mop with a microfiber head is great for general cleaning. If you need something more, check manufacturer recommendations. Bona makes a good cleaner for polyurethane finished floors. Oiled woods require a bit more special care. Vinyl is usually pretty hardy, but avoid acid based cleaners.

On stone surfaces, stick with a neutral pH cleaner. Again, deionized water and a microfiber is fine for general cleaning (are you noticing a trend?). Alternatively, use something that is safe on marble, as it is one of the more delicate stone surfaces. This will help ensure that you don’t damage a surface by accident. ALWAYS follow label instructions.

Have any more questions? Need your house cleaned? Contact us today!