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I love using bleach because it kills like alllllll the germs and makes your house smell clean and fresh, but recently I've been told to use vinegar, but vinegar stinks, but I haven't tried it yet.

2007-01-01 06:41:05 · 8 answers · asked by Anonymous in Home & Garden Cleaning & Laundry

8 answers

it REALLY matters as to WHAT you're trying to clean.

first and foremost, no matter what household cleaner you're using, it's best to *clean* first, then *disinfect*. which is to say: remove all the organic debris (the scum, the old food, the dirt, etc), then apply a disinfectant solution to your countertop (or whatever you're cleaning). most household disinfectants do not effectively penetrate this debris, so getting it out of the way first means that your germ-fighting concerns will work a lot better.

vinegar is great to dissolve hard water deposits out of sink fixtures, or buildup out of coffee makers. vinegar will also remove some stubborn stains. it's a weak acid, so that's why it works in this way. dilute it a little bit (about 1 part vinegar to 3 parts water works well) to use. vinegar is neither a potent virucidal nor bacteriocidal chemical, so it's not great for disinfections.

bleach, on the other hand, is a potent germ-killing compound...except that the way most people use it is completely wrong. straight bleach out of the bottle SMELLS like it's working, but it really isn't. without going too in depth to the chemistry of it all, bleach just doesn't work very well as a 100% solution...the little bleach molecules are so busy sticking to themselves to have much effect sticking to anything else. bleach NEEDS to be diluted out into water, which effectively breaks up the bleach from itself, freeing up both "ends" of each molecule to get to work. if you're using anything stronger than a 1:4 solution (which means one cup of bleach + 4 cups of water), you're only exposing yourself to the toxic fumes, but not really doing any good. for most household disinfecting purposes, a 1:10 solution is best...both most effective (yes, it's really true, DILUTE bleach works BETTER than straight out of the bottle), and reduces the toxic exposure in your house. a rule of thumb is that if the place smells "bleachy" after you're done and everything is dry, you used too strong of a solution. just think of the one tiny cup of bleach you pour into the washing machine with a load of whites, and how many gallons of water it's diluted into for it to work as well as it does. by the way, even more so than some other chemicals, bleach is inactivated by remaining organic debris...so if you have stuff crusted all over your countertops, bleach doesn't disinfect what was lying under the crust...get it all scrubbed off, then wipe over with a small amount of bleach solution as needed.

2007-01-01 07:49:09 · answer #1 · answered by koi_pond_girl 2 · 2 0

Vinegar is better. It smells strong inside the bottle, but it is very neutral after you use it. Also, bleach is unhealthy for humans and animals to breathe and ingest, so vinegar is a healthy alternative.

2007-01-01 06:44:07 · answer #2 · answered by treehuggersunshine 2 · 1 2

I know this sounds strange, but use hydrogen peroxide. Do some research on it. It kills germs and it safe to use. That is one of the main ingredients in color safe bleach even. Hospitals and doctors' offices use peroxide to clean so it will disinfect and won't have the smell of bleach. Bleach always has a clean smell, but at times it is overwhelming. This is one of the websites that has different uses of hydrogen peroxide. http://www.angelfire.com/az/sthurston/hydrogen_peroxide.html It floorboarded me when my mother-in-law told me about it. It really works!!!

2007-01-01 07:46:06 · answer #3 · answered by mother_of_a_princess 2 · 1 1

my mother used to use vinegar and hot water to clean the kitchen floor with. most of the cleaner for bathroom use have bleach in them to kill the mold and fungus that forms in and around fixtures. bleach is not too good to inhale. everything you inhale has to be cleaned our of you system by you liver. liver cancer is a terrible way to go.

2007-01-01 06:52:11 · answer #4 · answered by johnmiriani@sbcglobal.net 4 · 0 0

Apple Cider Vinegar eBook : http://AppleCiderVinegar.siopu.com/?gpr

2016-06-22 01:49:34 · answer #5 · answered by ? 3 · 0 0

Vinegar .... bleach is very bad. ... and goodness knows it is not good to mix bleach and ammonia...
Vinegar is relatively harmless ... remember, it is that stuff you make salad dressing with and bleach is not!

2007-01-01 07:35:09 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0 0

bleach water. it also kills germs.

however, if you are trying to get pet oder out - vinegar is best.

2007-01-01 10:20:01 · answer #7 · answered by Patti 3 · 0 0

use bleach vinagar will work on surfaces but i twill add bacteria to the air

2007-01-01 06:51:07 · answer #8 · answered by GuNthEr'S_girl►♦♠ 2 · 0 2

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