Why You Shouldn’t Mix Baking Soda and Vinegar for Cleaning, According to a Chemist (2024)

FAQs

Why You Shouldn’t Mix Baking Soda and Vinegar for Cleaning, According to a Chemist? ›

Baking soda is a base, and vinegar is an acid. When they're combined, acids “donate” protons to bases; in this case, it's acetic acid lending a hydrogen proton to the bicarbonate. When bicarbonate gains a hydrogen proton, it forms carbonic acid (or H2CO3) which is unstable and eventually decomposes.

Vinegar is acidic and basic soda is basic, so the by-products are sodium acetate, carbon dioxide, and water that are not toxic. The mixing reaction causes the baking soda to foam up and produce carbon dioxide gas.

Mixing baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) and vinegar (acetic acid) causes a chemical reaction that produces a salt (sodium acetate) and water, as well as carbon dioxide gas.

When vinegar (dilute acetic acid) and baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) mix together, the pair "foams up" to produce carbon dioxide gas, as well as liquid water, acetate ions and sodium ions. The carbon dioxide gas is what produces the bubbles.

Sprinkle 1 cup of baking soda onto the stain, and then pour another cup of vinegar over the baking soda. Watch the acid vs. base fizz up and let it sit for 15 minutes. Scrub the mixture into stains with a toilet brush.

Household disinfectants — vinegar and baking soda used on their own — were highly effective against potential bacterial pathogens but less effective than commercial household disinfectants.

Adding vinegar to baking soda gives you an immediate reaction. Adding baking soda to vinegar, the reaction is delayed, but then fizzes the same amount. More vinegar is better. A 12 to 1 ratio of vinegar to baking soda caused a fizzing explosion!

Diy Cleaning Hacks. Tired of stinky, retail cleaners? Try this: Vinegar Cleaner: 1 tsp baking soda 1 tsp Dawn dish soap 1 tbsp white vinegar Directions: Fill spray bottle with water. Add Dawn.

The overall chemical reaction between baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) and vinegar (weak acetic acid) is one mole of solid sodium bicarbonate reacts with one mole of liquid acetic acid to produce one mole each of carbon dioxide gas, liquid water, sodium ions, and acetate ions.

Adding vinegar and baking soda together creates a fizzy chemical reaction that can help dissolve stains and loosen up gunky messes. This makes them a handy cleaning combo, even though the actual solution left behind is basically salt water!

What can you not clean with baking soda? ›

Leaving those products in water overnight can also release fumes into your bathroom. The aforementioned baking soda and vinegar is a safer alternative for keeping your toilet bowl sparkling. You can add them to the toilet bowl at the end of the night for a good, cleansing soak until morning.

You can use straight or a diluted vinegar cleaning solution for the bathroom to clean bacteria, especially around the toilet. Cleaning with a mixture of baking soda and vinegar in the bathroom can work really well. To clean your toilet with vinegar, pour a cup of vinegar in the toilet bowl and let sit overnight.

Odor Toilet Tank FAQ

White vinegar and baking soda in equal parts is a cost-efficient and effective means of getting rid odors in a toilet. Add them to the tank, mix them in and then use the toilet brush to gently scrub the tank. Let it sit for a few hours, scrub the tank again and flush.

Leave it in the drain for an hour or two or overnight, and then flush the drain with hot tap water. For larger drains, such as tubs and kitchen sinks, use about a quarter-cup of baking soda, a half-cup of water to move the powder down, and 2 cups of vinegar.

“Of course, vinegar does eliminate some things, but it's important to note it's not a complete solution to disinfectant. It is only 90% effective against bacteria and around 80 percent effective against viruses and mold or mildew. Bleach, however, eliminates 99.9% of bacteria, viruses, and mold or mildew.

Spray full-strength vinegar on first and let it sit for a few minutes. Wipe the area with a nonabrasive cloth or sponge. If any stains remain, sprinkle baking soda on a damp sponge and scrub. Then wipe with a clean wet cloth to rinse.

Baking soda and vinegar are safe to touch. However, contact with the eyes should be avoided.

What happens? As Sciencing puts it, "the cup will soon overflow with foam and bubbles." The reason this happens is that alkaline baking soda reacts to acidic vinegar by releasing carbon dioxide gas bubbles (just like soda bubbles), according to Hyperphysics.

Does Dawn really clean bathtubs? ›

That's right: Grab your dish soap and a broom, and you might be as pleasantly surprised as we were to learn that Dawn is apparently just as effective at banishing bathtub scum as it is at removing all that grime and grease from your dishes and pans. Plus, this technique is equal parts simple and fast!

The reason? Dawn contains petroleum. It sounds counterintuitive, but it works. Vinegar removes residue and imparts shine.

1 cup white vinegar. ⅓ cup washing up liquid. 8 drops essential oil of your choice (we like to use peppermint). This is to leave your bathroom smelling nice after the vinegar smell has faded.

Mixing baking soda with apple cider vinegar may lead to a chemical reaction that produces gas, which might cause bloating in people who ingest the mixture. These two kitchen ingredients may also interact with certain medications and cause side effects of varying severity.

White and distilled are types of vinegar. They differ fundamentally in their acetic acid content. White, also known as spirit vinegar, has 5% to 20% acetic acid. This is generally higher as compared to distilled vinegar's 5%-8%.

Sprinkle, Sprinkle

Cooking smells, body odor, and pet dander can settle into fabric and furniture, but you can easily deodorize curtains, upholstery, and carpeting with baking soda.

Cleaning Grout with Baking Soda

Mix baking soda, a few drops of dish soap, and enough water to make a cleaning paste. Apply the paste liberally, let it sit for 20 minutes, then scrub the grout with a toothbrush and rinse.

Alone they each have their own benefits: lemon is a potent antibacterial and its clean citrus smell leaves behind a fresh scent that countless commercial cleaning products have been trying to recreate for years; and baking soda is an almost perfect drawing agent to pull out stains, odors and even venom from stinging ...

Citric acid

More importantly, it's probably even more effective than vinegar for getting rid of that brown stain in the toilet. Simply pour a kettle of almost boiling water into the bowl, follow up with 250ml of citric acid, and leave it for some hours – preferably overnight. The next day, scrub and flush.

How do you clean a badly stained toilet? ›

Pour a half-cup of hydrogen peroxide into the toilet and let it sit for 30 minutes. Use your toilet brush to scrub the stains. Add a sprinkle of baking soda and scrub again if the stains persist. Turn on the water and flush away stains and germs.

Baking soda and vinegar are safe to touch. However, contact with the eyes should be avoided.

For instance, vinegar is potent at fighting mold while baking soda is great at fighting wine and coffee stains. The former is a better disinfectant but the latter is a phenomenal deodorizer.

First, make "flush" a family rule. Also, make a simple routine part of your weekly cleaning: Sprinkle the toilet with cup of baking soda. Let it sit for 30 minutes, then spray or squirt with vinegar (a mild acid) to moisten. Scrub with a bowl brush and flush away [source: Niagara County].

Baking Soda + Vinegar

"Baking soda is basic and vinegar is acidic," says Bock. "When you put them together you get mostly water and sodium acetate. But really, just mostly water." Plus, vinegar causes baking soda to foam up. If stored in a closed container, the mixture can explode.

A supplement to The Journal of the American Dental Association (JADA) summarized research on the effects of baking soda on oral health and found that: It's low-abrasive and safe for daily use.

First, both ingredients are excellent at dissolving tough grime. However, vinegar alone will simply run off of most surfaces, while dish soap is too thick to use as a spray. But when you mix them together, you get an effective, sprayable cleaner that sticks to any surface!

You should use a ratio of 1:2 baking soda to vinegar. In other words, if you're using ½ cup of baking soda, use 1 cup of vinegar, or if you're using a cup of baking soda, use 2 cups of vinegar.

If a kitchen or bathroom sink drain still smells after removing trapped hair and using the baking soda and vinegar, there may be something caught in the p-trap that's causing the odor.

Is baking soda and vinegar safe for pipes? ›

With time, baking soda and vinegar may work as a natural drain cleaner on weaker drain clogs, and the benefits of regular drain cleaning can help keep your drains free of clogs. But for tough drain clogs that need to be dissolved right away, you may want to use a stronger drain cleaner, like Liquid-Plumr.

Vinegar is both safe and beneficial to pour down your drain. It acts as a natural cleaning solution and can remove blockages and harmful bacteria that cause foul odors.

Baking Soda + Salt

Mix 1/2 cup table salt and 1/2 cup baking soda together, and pour down drain. Let sit for about 30 minutes (or overnight if it's a tough clog).

For really tough black mold removal, mix two parts baking soda with one part white vinegar and one part water. Stir the mixture until it becomes a thick paste. Spread your mixture liberally onto the surface and let it dry. Scrub away the black mold and stains, and wipe down with water.