I use the two super cleaners, baking soda and  white (distilled) vinegar, to replace some commercial cleaning items in my home. Many of you do too.  It eliminates many toxic mystery chemicals in the home and saves a lot of money over the course of a year.

I’ve read through quite a few homemade recipes for cleaners using these products, usually dissolved in a good amount of water. To my surprise I’ve found quite a few recipes that call for both.  I had to wonder about it.  I know that white vinegar is a mild acid.  But what is baking soda?  I  discovered that baking soda has a base Ph.

Separately these two food-grade chemicals have a long list of uses.  Today we are just concentrating on their cleaning power, which incidentally, is really mighty.

White vinegar destroys nearly as much bacteria as rubbing alcohol.  It is also known as a grease cutter.

Baking soda can be used as a gently abrasive powdered cleanser and is also known for its ability to absorb odors and soften water. It boosts the effectiveness of detergent.

You can put vinegar and water and a few drops of dish detergent in a spray bottle and have a pretty good  kitchen counter cleaner.

You can make a paste of baking soda and water and clean out a greasy pan or a dirty tub,

But what happens if you put them together?  You get all those ‘scrubbing bubbles’ right?

Well…not really.

It puts on a good show with lots of foaming bubbles. What is happening when you put vinegar and baking soda together is that you are putting an acid and base together and they chemically neutralize each other.

The bubbles are carbon dioxide being released as a gas as the two chemicals combine to make something new.  What you have left is a type of salt and water.  You have neutralized vinegar’s anti-bacterial properties with the baking soda.

Now don’t get me wrong, salt and water are pretty good cleaners, but not as good as vinegar and baking soda when they are used separately.

So do yourself a favor and while you may keep these two super cleaners together in the cupboard, don’t use them in the same bottle when cleaning.  But of course they are always great together for that paper mache volcano project.  🙂  — Laura