As more time goes by, people are moving from toxic, chemical-based materials to organic-based ones, irrespective of the purpose. It may include cleaning, consuming, wearing clothes, using bags, etc.
This is because, every chemical-based element has a way of harming us, and our society and world as a whole–if not immediately, then after a long time.
Just like we’re moving from eating processed food to organic ones, we’re also replacing our use of chemical elements in our households with organic elements.
One of those examples is the use of vinegar and baking soda mixture for many household chores, starting from cleaning hard water stains to clearing clogged drains, and what-not.
However, let us learn if this method really works as we think it does and learn more interesting facts about the vinegar and baking soda solution.
Mixing vinegar and baking soda:
You can mix vinegar and baking soda. Since both of them are weak acids and bases, we can mix them without worrying about the consequences, as it’s not causing any harm to ourselves or our property when we do it at home. The resulting mixture can be used for cleaning, beauty purposes, etc.
Table of Contents
Vinegar (CH3COOH) and Baking Soda (NaHCO3) are both weak acids and weak bases, respectively. When they react, they form a new compound through the neutralization reaction.
This particular reaction always forms water and carbon dioxide as by-products. T
herefore, when vinegar and baking soda is mixed, the results are sodium acetate, carbon dioxide, and water. And, none of the results are toxic, hence, we can do it at home safely.
Therefore, when vinegar and baking soda are mixed, they cancel each other out since one is an acid and the other is a base, and a white liquid mixture, the carbonic acid, is formed which then starts bubbling.
These bubbles are carbon dioxide and they fly into the air.
This experiment is fun, less prone to accidents than most other experiments, and even children can take part in it since the products aren’t too toxic. This particular mixture can be used for various purposes, including, but not limited to, cooking and cleaning.
Baking soda and vinegar mixture can be used to clean a sink that hasn’t been deep-cleaned in ages, or remove stains and mildews from the clothes, and apply it in places of our skin where there are signs of hyperpigmentation.
Some even believe that the mixture (after diluting the vinegar with water) can even lose belly fat but healthcare experts advise people to not succumb to that procedure since it has more harm than use.
However, and this is a rare but possible occurrence, the right amount of vinegar and baking soda might be able to blow up and cause physical damage, therefore one must be cautious while experimenting with acids and bases.
Vinegar and baking soda: Does it really work?
Yes, the vinegar and baking soda mixture work, especially when it comes to cleaning. While vinegar (acetic acid) is an acid that measures 2 on the pH scale while baking soda (sodium carbonate) on 9.
The pH scale is basically a scale to measure how acidic or basic the water of a place is. Water is normally a neutral element, that is, it is neither basic nor acidic and is 7 on the pH scale.
Therefore, anything that is less than 7 is an acid while anything that is more than 7 is a base.
As a result, when an acid and base react, they cancel each other out through the process of neutralization and produce water and carbon dioxide.
This is exactly what happens when vinegar and baking soda is mixed together–they form sodium acetate, water, and carbon dioxide.
Here, the carbon dioxide is very important since this is what lifts the stain from the cloth and the soft abrasive nature of baking soda prevents the cloth from getting ravaged and gently cleans the cloth.
Vinegar and baking soda mixing ratio:
Not all purpose requires same ratio. Let’s find out what ratio to work with.
Cleaning a carpet: (More baking soda)
In order to use the mixture of baking soda and vinegar for cleaning purposes, we take a portion of the carpet or rug in a corner or out of view where the attention doesn’t go much should be used for the vinegar and baking soda mixture.
Here, we’ll have to create a paste with vinegar and baking soda, meaning, we will have to add two tablespoons of baking soda and one tablespoon of vinegar (2:1).
Then, the paste is applied to the stain using fingers and left to dry overnight. The next morning, it can be vacuumed off and the carpet should now be stain-free.
Freeing Clogged Drains: (More vinegar)
Before pouring the vinegar and baking soda mixture into the pipe, it is very important to prepare the drain. Then, we should pour boiling water down the drain.
Next, we mix vinegar and baking soda, always maintaining the two-part vinegar with one-part baking soda ratio, i.e. 2:1, and pour it down the drain. Then, the drain is covered by the drain plug for five to ten minutes.
Now, after taking out the drain plug, hot boiling water is poured down the pipe again, and now the drain shouldn’t have clogs left.
How long can you leave vinegar and baking soda?
Vinegar and baking soda mixture can be left for much long neither (Not more than 2 hours) in the open nor in a closed container.
Vinegar and baking soda mixture is a harmless mixture to deal with but it too has some consequences if not handled properly.
However, when this mixture is left in the open, the carbon dioxide gradually flies away, rendering the mixture useless but if the mixture is stored in a closed container, the container has the chance of blowing up.
Where to use vinegar and baking soda?
Vinegar and baking soda mixture can be used in many ways but some of them are mentioned below:
Cleaning solution:
We can clean hard water stains using this solution and the steps are fairly easy. First, we need to cover the area with a paper towel or cloth soaked in vinegar and let the cloth stay there for a few hours.
Separately, a paste of baking soda is made by mixing water and baking soda. After the cloth or paper towel is removed, the place is scrubbed with the paste.
The process is finished when vinegar is sprayed over the place and wiped clean with a cloth or napkin.
Mold:
The process is the same as the previous one, but with a few differences. Here, strong vinegar is added to a spray bottle and spritzed on the mold, and let sit for a few hours.
Then, the place is wiped clean of mold. For more effective results, a solution of one teaspoon of baking powder and two cups of water is spayed in the same place.
Cleaning washing machine:
For cleaning a washing machine, we need to pour two cups of pure white vinegar on the soap dispenser before setting the washing machine for its hottest water and longest cycle followed by sprinkling half a cup of baking soda directly on the drum and running the machine on the same settings.
The process doesn’t necessarily have to be one after the other. We can do the baking soda first and then vinegar (which is said to be more effective.) Or, we can follow only one of those steps.
Clogged drain:
For clogged drains, the two-by-one ratio of vinegar and baking soda solution is made and then poured down a drain after pouring boiling water down it.
The drain plug is placed on the drain and kept like that for 5-10 minutes before washing the drain with boiling water again.
Laundry:
Baking soda and vinegar can work great for the laundry due to their cleaning purposes along with getting rid of the odor.
First, half a cup of baking soda is added to the detergent which boosts the detergent’s lifting capability, and during the rinse cycle, if vinegar is poured, it further terminates more bacteria and works as a fabric softener as well.
And, both of these have a gentle abrasive nature which prevents them from harming the clothes and gently clean them.
Stains:
For removing any kind of stain, a paste of baking soda and water, and vinegar is used.
Here, two tablespoons of baking soda are mixed with one tablespoon of water, and the paste is applied directly to the stain before spraying that place with vinegar to make that place fizzle.
After that, the place is gently scrubbed with a sponge to get rid of the stain.
Final thoughts
Vinegar and baking soda fall in the weak spectrum of acids and bases, as a result, they don’t create any element that is toxic, and they aren’t toxic either. Thus, we can mix them in our house and not set off blow-ups or harm property. On the contrary, they can be used for cleaning purposes.