If you were to look up how to clean almost anything in your kitchen on the internet, you’d find at least one site calling for vinegar. Your coffee maker? Vinegar. Your dishwasher? Vinegar. Musty towels? Vinegar!
Vinegar is an acid, and most of the time, recipes call for distilled white vinegar added to water. Nothing special. But does it really do what it’s supposed to?
Well. Sometimes?
“The acid reacts with the organic materials in stains and dissolves them away,” says Joe Glajch in a chat with Consumer Report. So it does work with cutting through grease. It’s also an excellent disinfectant. Just think about how it keeps mold from growing during the pickling process. It’s also great at cutting through grease. It’s also great at descaling coffee makers. Vinegar is also handy when it comes to cleaning windows and leaving a streak-free shine on them.
However, it’s not an all-purpose cleaner the way many people think it is. Vinegar, either on its own or combined with water (which is just going to dilute it), doesn’t function that way. And think about the smell! We can’t speak for others, but we don’t care for the scent that using straight vinegar leaves in your kitchen.
So, to break down the myths on vinegar, let’s tackle 10 things you absolutely should not use vinegar on and just why that is.
Here are 10 Things You Most Certainly Should NOT Use Vinegar To Clean.
Electronic Screens -
Unlike windows, your computer monitor, tv and phone screens are all treated glass. Acids can damage that coating leaving your devices less responsive at best and toast at worst.
Marble & Granite Countertops or Floors-
Marble and granite when they have vinegar sit on them for any length of time will be ‘etched’ or ‘crazed.’ This means that patterns in the stone will be eaten away, leaving the spot discolored in strange patterns. Which can look beautiful if you’re doing it intentionally, but if you just paid a bundle for new countertops, maybe not?
Hardwood Floors -
Hardwood floors can also be destroyed by vinegar, but for a different reason. Here the treatment that is applied to wooden floors is being stripped away rather than portions of the wood itself.
Egg Stains -
Egg + vinegar = a fantastically coagulated and gross mess. Whether you’re hoping to clean up egg that you just got on you or something that has been sitting on the fabric for any length of time, just don’t. Just like it does when cooking when applying acids to an egg, the proteins in the egg will curdle and become more of a mess for you to clean up.
Dishwasher-
This one we were surprised by during the course of our research. We’ve suggested using vinegar before for cleaning your dishwasher. Much like for coffee makers, it makes a very effective descaling (liquid?). What we didn’t know till now is that the vinegar can eat away at the rubber pieces within your dishwasher.
Pearls-
Pearls are built up layers of sediment and nacre. Once again, this is something that is dissolved by acids. So if your pearls are dirty, don’t use anything with vinegar in it to clean them. Your best bet is to start with water and add a drop or two of Dawn dish soap. (Sadly we cannot claim that is a sponsored plug.)
Small Appliances-
While the plastic and glass surfaces on small appliances can definitely be cleaned with vinegar, the rubber, and stainless steel parts are a different matter. As we’ve said, vinegar eats away at rubber. As for stainless steel, there are different grades of it. The lower quality ones, like what’s used on most small appliances, are.. cheaper. They are more prone to rusting, and that process is sped up by acids like vinegar.
Knives -
Metals and vinegar don’t mix. Period. Game over. Tools such as knives and peelers, those with exposed edges, are especially vulnerable. Vinegar can leave the knife’s edge pitted, it can also eat away at the finish on the knife. Other metals to keep away from vinegar are aluminum and copper.
Your Clothes Iron -
While scaling can happen in your clothes iron, if you leave water in it between uses, vinegar is a bad idea to use here. Most clothes irons actually have a protective coating on the inside that vinegar can eat away at over time.
Washing Machine-
Much like your dishwasher, many posts call for using vinegar for your washing machine. It can be used to soften towels and rinse them free of built-up detergents. It can be used to descale your washer. It’s great for getting out that funky washer smell. And these things are true. But like the dishwasher, it can eat at the rubber parts of your washing machine. Which means that you’re going to end up water flooding your house eventually. Not fun! While you can use it occasionally (say maybe 4 times a year, tops?) using it consistently is going to wear down that rubber and eat away at it.
General Rule of Mixing Cleaning Supplies
We get it, everyone wants to save where they can. If you can make your own laundry detergent or soap, why not your own all-purpose cleaner? The problem here is that so often, you’re given a general recipe rather than specific amounts that can end up with a useless mess rather than a cleaner. Or people don’t research, and so you can end up mixing a congealed mess at best and a toxic chemical at worst.
Two examples of that last point are Castile soap and bleach.
If you mix vinegar and Castile soap, you’d think that you’re getting the grease-cutting power of vinegar and the cleaning power of Castile. Except you don’t. You end up with a gross, curdled mess.
Bleach, on the other hand, if mixed with vinegar, is going to give you chlorine gas. Mix up this attempt at a cleaning material, and you’ll need medical treatment for your eyes, throat, and lungs.
So, all in all, be careful and research thoroughly when you’re looking to mix your own cleaning supplies. Check that the recipes have exact amounts and that they’ve been safely tested by multiple people.
Remember, if any of your appliances have been damaged by vinegar, or just typical wear and tear, Appliance Rescue Service is here to help. Schedule an appointment today with one of our helpful technicians.
Have you tried using vinegar for cleaning in the past? Were you surprised by any of the things on our list? Do you use other green cleaning supplies or products? Let us know in the comments below or over on our Facebook page.