These two common household materials can serve as natural cleaners to remove grime and keep your surfaces clean. Because vinegar and baking soda are on opposite ends of the pH scale, they can be combined and used as effective cleaning solutions.
Baking soda + vinegar
If you mix acidic vinegar with basic baking soda and stow them away in a closed container, the mixture can be quite explosive—literally. That's because vinegar causes baking soda to foam up and explode.
Baking soda and vinegar react to neutralise each other ( vinegar is an acid and baking soda an alkali ) releasing carbon dioxide which is the bubbles of gas you see. If you add a little washing up liquid ( dish soap ) the foam becomes thick, a little like lava!
Here's how to make the cleanser:
Mix 1 2/3 cups baking soda and 1/2 cup liquid soap in a bowl. Dilute with1/2 cup water and add 2 tablespoons of white vinegar. Stir the mixture with a fork until any lumps dissolve. Pour the liquid into a spray bottle.
The first reaction is the acid-base reaction. When vinegar and baking soda are first mixed together, hydrogen ions in the vinegar react with the sodium and bicarbonate ions in the baking soda. The result of this initial reaction is two new chemicals: carbonic acid and sodium acetate.
These are some of the places you should avoid using vinegar as a cleaning solution: Natural stone tiles or countertops: It can stain and cause the material to disintegrate. Hardwood flooring: It can eat away at the finish of your floors. Unsealed grout or damaged grout: It can damage vulnerable grout or the area ...
Mixing bleach and vinegar creates a harmful chemical reaction that releases chlorine gas.
When baking soda is mixed with vinegar, the acid breaks down baking soda, releasing carbon dioxide gas that can help lift dirt from the surfaces being cleaned. Here are some recipes to try. Freshen your sink by mixing one part of baking soda with two parts of vinegar.
Household disinfectants — vinegar and baking soda used on their own — were highly effective against potential bacterial pathogens but less effective than commercial household disinfectants.
Important caveat: If you do choose to use vinegar as a cleaning agent, never mix it with bleach, ammonia, or hydrogen peroxide because any of these mixtures will create toxic gases.
“Never mix vinegar with other cleaning products like bleach or ammonia or those 'blue' window cleaning products [like Windex], because they can create dangerous chlorine gas,” Gayman says.
As you see, you don't have to worry again if you ever spilled some extra vinegar into your dish. We can actually fix it by adding counteract flavors like sugar, diluting with a liquid, increasing the portion size, or adding a dash of baking soda.