So, while you can use baking soda, hydrogen peroxide, and bleach on their own for cleaning purposes, we recommend that you avoid mixing them with vinegar. However, if you have accidentally mixed either of these, it is best to dispose of the mix outside immediately.
Hydrogen Peroxide and Vinegar
“Combining these two creates peracetic acid or corrosive acid, an irritant that, in high concentrations, can harm the skin, eyes, throat, nose, and lungs,” says Bock.
While cleaning vinegar can be combined with some other cleaners, like dishwashing liquid, never mix cleaning vinegar and chemical cleaners, like chlorine bleach, which, when combined, produce toxic fumes. Choose one or the other—clean your oven with vinegar and baking soda or use a good commercial oven cleaner.
The combination of dish soap and vinegar is highly effective for a few different reasons. They're both excellent at breaking down tough grease and grime, but vinegar alone will simply run off of most surfaces, and dish soap is too thick to use on its own.
Don't mix hydrogen peroxide and vinegar together in the same mixture. This can create peracetic acid, which may be toxic and can irritate your throat and lungs, eyes and skin. You can, however, alternate spraying hydrogen peroxide and vinegar on a surface. Just make sure to wipe the surface between sprays.
What's happening in there? A chemical reaction between the vinegar and the baking soda produces bubbles of carbon dioxide gas. The dish detergent in the vinegar helps the bubbles last longer than they would with just vinegar and baking soda.
Rinsing is not necessary! If you're simply using a vinegar and water solution to wipe and disinfect, you won't need to rinse. However, if there's also plenty of dirt and grime you're wiping away, you may also want to rinse with some extra water.
However, note that vinegar is acidic and ammonia is basic. When mixed together, they cancel each other out and removes their cleaning properties. You'll basically be creating a saltwater solution that's not cleaning your windows at all. It's best to avoid combining cleaning chemicals.
But common pantry essentials that are often used for cleaning — like baking soda and vinegar — shouldn't be mixed either. Unlike the bleach-ammonia mixture, combining soda and vinegar won't hurt anyone — but don't expect the mixture to do a good job cleaning, either.
The only difference between cleaning vinegar and the distilled white vinegar is their levels of acidity. White vinegar is usually 95 percent water and 5 percent acid. By contrast, cleaning vinegar contains up to six percent acid and is around 20 percent stronger than regular white vinegar.
Add full-strength white distilled vinegar to a spray bottle and spray it on the mold. Let it sit for at least an hour before wiping away mold. If you need follow-up scrubbing, combine one teaspoon baking soda with two cups of water. Pour it into a spray bottle, shake and spray it onto the mold.
Inhalation exposure to high concentrations of acetic acid vapors causes irritation of eyes, nose, and throat. People with high occupational exposure can develop conjunctivitis, bronchitis and pharyngitis, and erosion of exposed teeth (incisors and canines).
Can you clean with vinegar and bleach? You should never clean with these two ingredients combined. Mixing chlorine bleach, which contains sodium hypochlorite, with any type of acid like vinegar creates chlorine gas, a dangerous chemical that's deadly in high volumes.
As a general rule, most natural cleaning experts suggest mixing one part vinegar to one part water. These recommendations typically rely on distilled white vinegar as the cleaning element.
Additionally, vinegar's acidic nature can be irritating to the skin. For safety's sake, wear non-porous gloves, goggles or safety glasses, and a mask that covers your mouth and nose.
The set time for vinegar can be up to 30 minutes. For example, to clean the insides of food-stained pots and pans, soak them in a mixture of one-half cup of white vinegar diluted with one gallon of water for 30 minutes. Then rinse in hot, soapy water.
"When you put them together you get mostly water and sodium acetate. But really, just mostly water." Plus, vinegar causes baking soda to foam up. If stored in a closed container, the mixture can explode.
Can you leave baking soda in the drain overnight? It is safe to leave baking soda (and vinegar) to work overnight to unclog a drain.