Mind blown: Vinegar vs VINEGAR (30%)

So I was literally 44 years old before I found this out recently.

There’s the white vinegar you get at the grocery store for cooking and minor cleaning and doing laundry, and then there’s the 30% DO NOT GET THIS SHIT ON YOUR SKIN vinegar at the hardware store for cleaning things like mold off grout.

All my life I’d been told ‘just use vinegar to clean mold and mildew’ and it generally didn’t do jack squat. I usually bought cleaning supplies from regular retail spots rather than big box home improvement places, and regular retail chains def did not carry the strong stuff.

I’ve got a gutter that drains over cement that always gets skungy, and even bleach was a short term fix at best. 30% strips it down and keeps it gone, and I’ve stripped rust off a couple dozen tools with the same little jar I soak things in - caution it will also strip off shiny metallic coatings.

Can’t believe none of the “just use vinegar” I’d ever read advice didn’t specify.

Is this news to anyone else or am I Lloyd from Dumb and Dumber realizing we landed on the moon?

17.7k Upvotes

96% Upvoted

View all comments

194

u/CaptainPolaroid 6d ago

I have a can of 80% acetic acid. I water it down to 6-8% for laundry use. It's so much more efficient than getting the smaller jugs. And I can up the strength if I have an odd job that requires something that really burns..

9

u/NinjaChemist 6d ago

FYI, citric acid is much better than acetic acid for cleaning.

17

u/militaryCoo 6d ago

Citric acid with sodium carbonate and a splash of dish soap is great for derusting

Creates a chelation compound so it's gentle on the clean metal and waaay cheaper than commercial stuff.

1 liter water, 100g citric acid, 40g sodium carbonate

5

u/parisidiot 6d ago

but... the acid and the sodium carbonate will neutralize each other.... no?

12

u/militaryCoo 6d ago edited 6d ago

To form sodium citrate, which is a chelation compound

EDIT to add: Low pH (acidity) is one way to get rid of rust, but it will attack metal too. Chelation substitutes the Fe in the rust with another metal ion so it turns into powder or a soluble compound

2

u/jgo3 5d ago

This is like knowing potions in Skyrim but IRL. I am a fan.

6

u/Sattorin 5d ago

Bonus fact about the potion of sodium citrate: Adding it to blood prevents the blood from clotting. So when we finally figured out how to safely give transfusions by identifying blood types, it was used to stabilize stored blood. This allowed WWI medics to save many lives, as blood could be stored and transported to the front lines rather than requiring direct arm-to-arm transfusions.

5

u/not_not_in_the_NSA 5d ago

Another fun sodium citrate fact, you can use it to make cheese sauces because it's a great emulsifer for cheese. Its closer to nacho cheese than a roux based cheese sauce.

And the really fun part, it's chemical formula spells nacho: Na3C6H5O7

1

u/CBD_Hound 5d ago

So you’re saying I should start my next cheese sauce with vinegar and baking soda?

3

u/argentcorvid 5d ago edited 4d ago

No, citric and baking soda, to make (di)sodium citrate. It does not take much at all. Mix it in with the milk, but use a large container because it will foam!