It depends on the air flow in the space. However, vinegar actively looks for things to bind to. In most cases, it won't take more than 5-15 minutes for the smell to go away.
Keep things dry with a dehumidifier in your basement, and try leaving out a bowl of vinegar for around 15 minutes to neutralize any odor.
As the vinegar evaporates, it takes those neutralized molecules with it, leaving behind no scent at all. You don't have to spray vinegar around to reap its deodorizing benefits. Just fill a small, shallow dish, stick it in the corner, and wait. After a few hours, that odor will be long gone.
While vinegar is a magical cleaner that you can use on almost any surface, its strong odor can make cleaning a little bit of a challenge. Of course, over time, the smell will dissipate, but you shouldn't have to wait around for the smell to fade.
White vinegar contains acetic acid, which neutralizes odors by killing the bacteria and mildew causing the bad smell.
Do You Have to Rinse after Cleaning with Vinegar? Rinsing is not necessary! If you're simply using a vinegar and water solution to wipe and disinfect, you won't need to rinse. However, if there's also plenty of dirt and grime you're wiping away, you may also want to rinse with some extra water.
Mix water, baking soda and lemon juice in a large bowl and stir or whisk together. The ingredients may fizz a little, so wait a few minutes until they stop fizzing. Both lemon and baking soda are traditional odor eaters, and the bonus is... most people have them on hand and they are super inexpensive!
Combine a teaspoon of vinegar with 2 cups of water in a spray bottle then lightly mist the air (you can also stir in a few drops of essential oils). It smells a bit vinegary at first but dries odorless leaving no bad smells or vinegar scent.
It has powerful antimicrobial properties that may help ease skin infections and soothe irritation. As a mild acid, ACV may also help restore the natural pH balance of your skin.
Does vinegar smell go away after it dries? Don't worry about the odor; it's never long lasting since vinegar evaporates once it dries. If you're really sensitive to the scent, you can also mix-in a few drops of essentials oil for a fresh boost of fragrance.
Several common household items (most notably baking soda and white vinegar) contain powerful properties that eliminate smells without the use of chemicals. But less-commonly known products like coffee and vodka can do wonders when it comes to eliminating, not simply covering, bad smells.
#1 - Baking soda
Baking soda is one of the best items you can use to absorb bad smells. You can leave an open box or bowl of baking soda in your refrigerator and sprinkle some in the bottom of your trash cans to neutralize foul odors that tend to develop in these places.
It will bubble up like a school science project, but that reaction is what helps loosen the residue. Make sure your sink is plugged so they stay submerged, and let it soak for 30 minutes to an hour before scrubbing away with a scouring pad, the scrubby side of your sponge, or steel wool.
“Vinegar can kill some bacteria, but it's not a disinfectant. If you want to disinfect a surface where you've had, say, raw chicken, you need to use something like bleach,” Gayman says. “Also, vinegar needs to sit on a surface for up to 30 minutes in order to reduce bacteria. You can't just spray it and wipe.”
The most common vinegar cleaning solution contains one cup of vinegar mixed with one cup of warm water. Warm water helps to dissolve grease and hard water spots more quickly. People who are filling a spray bottle that they will use over time may want to mix the vinegar with distilled water, not tap water.
Vinegar is safe and milder than caustic cleaners designed for the toilet, and those commercial cleaning agents can eat away the good bacteria in your septic system. To safely and inexpensively clean your toilet bowls, pour a generous glug of vinegar, followed by a heavy sprinkling of baking soda, into the bowl.
Breathing vapours with high levels of acetic acid can cause irritation of eyes, nose and throat, cough, chest tightness, headache, fever and confusion. In serious cases damage to the airways, a fast heart rate and eye damage can occur. An accumulation of fluid in the lungs may occur and may take up 36 hours to develop.
Washing machine
Just as it does in a dishwasher, vinegar can harm rubber parts inside a washing machine, which will eventually lead to leaks. Though laundering your clothes with vinegar is a cost-effective, natural way to soften and deodorize fabrics, avoid using it in your washer too frequently.
Some of the best odor eliminators are coffee grounds, tea, vinegar, oats, and baking soda. Leaving a bowl of any of these odor absorbers out in a room that's due for a little freshening up will help clear out the less-than-pleasant smells from the air.
Baking Soda.
Baking soda is great for absorbing the smells, but it doesn't happen instantly. -Combine with vinegar and use it in lieu of soapy water to scrub down particularly odorous surfaces.
Let it sit: Wait a few hours or ideally overnight for the baking soda to absorb the odors. Vacuum: Vacuum up the baking soda.