The Science Behind Why Vinegar Is Such A Good Kitchen Cleaner

Keeping your kitchen clean is important for eliminating bacteria for health and safety reasons, but while a quick wipe-down can be helpful, it's essential to do a deep clean periodically. Since store-bought cleaners can be offensive to the nose and skin, many people look for more natural solutions, such as vinegar. Using the liquid as an all-purpose cleaner is a vinegar hack you'll wish you knew sooner because the acetic acid in it breaks down dirt, grease, and mineral deposits without being toxic to you or the environment.

There are different types of vinegar, each with their own uses, but as a multipurpose cleaner, you want to stick with white vinegar because it's colorless and won't stain surfaces like colored alternatives. It's often made from fermenting distilled alcohol to the point that it contains about 5% acetic acid, which is similar to store-bought cleaners.

Understanding how vinegar works requires a little chemistry. Vinegar is highly acidic  — white vinegar has a pH of about 2.5,  about the same as a lemon juice — but still gentle enough to remove lime soap and mineral deposits from kitchen sinks and drains without damaging the surface. For instance, vinegar works great on limescale, which is mostly calcium carbonate, since the acid breaks it down and turns it into calcium acetate (a salt) and carbon dioxide. The calcium acetate is easily wiped or washed away. Additionally, acetic acid can inhibit the growth of food-borne pathogenic bacteria that can't survive in acidic environments, such as E. coli. Unfortunately, it does not kill off salmonella. 

There are a few things to keep in mind when cleaning your kitchen appliances and surfaces with vinegar. The most important tip is to always dilute vinegar with water first because of its high acid content. A good rule of thumb is to mix one part white vinegar and one part water in a spray bottle, and use a microfiber cloth to wipe down the surface. When it comes to countertops, this solution is safe to use on butcher-block and laminate surfaces. However, you should avoid using it on porous materials, including natural stones like granite and marble, and concrete because it can remove the sealant, dull the finish, and create marks throughout the surface.

This same mixture ratio is safe for cleaning glassware, sinks, and the interior and exterior sides of appliances, too. Just remember to unplug them first, and allow them to completely dry before plugging them back in. You can use it to clean the inner walls of your dishwasher, but never as a rinse aid since it can ruin rubber components like hoses and gaskets.

When it comes to cleaning tough mineral deposits and soap scum, though, you might need a stronger mixture. In those cases, white vinegar can be combined with other ingredients — like baking soda, dish soap, and salt — to create effective cleaners for other surfaces. For instance, vinegar makes unclogging the kitchen sink way easier when you combine it with baking soda because the foamy chemical reaction helps break up minor clogs – the same reaction you get when making a volcano for a school project.