Baking Soda and Vinegar Together?

Dear Annie,
I have been cleaning with vinegar for years. Now people are adding baking soda? Don’t they just neutralize each other?
—Shamana

Dear Shamana,
Yes, children are taught about acids and bases using baking soda and vinegar because they are opposites. They make a fun “volcano” with a heap of baking soda (mountain) and vinegar, which is added in a drizzle down the top, resulting in “lava.” When combined, baking soda and vinegar neutralize each other in a safe bubbly, hissing kind of way.

Baking soda is alkaline, a base, with a pH of around 8.1. Vinegar is acidic, and most commercial distilled white vinegars contain 5 percent acetic acid and has a pH of about 2.4. Neutral is 7.0.

There is one instance when I recommend combining baking soda and vinegar, and that is in the drain. Sometimes the bubbling and hissing in the drain when you combine these two is enough to dislodge hair and gummy buildup. (I recommend a cup of baking soda down the drain, followed by a cup of vinegar.)

Otherwise, readers take note that when you combine baking soda with vinegar you end up with a neutral liquid that isn’t much use for cleaning.

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of
Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

Mary T.

6:18PM PDT on May 1, 2013

use baking soda and vinegar all the time to help with the kitchen drain

May 1
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Amar A.

4:20AM PDT on Apr 25, 2013

When we are using vinegar and baking soda for drains, we use this recipe:

1. Pour about half a cup of baking soda into the drain. Leave it as long as possible in there.

2. Pour about half a cup of distilled white vinegar into the drain. Close the drain with some cloth to prevent the foam from escaping out. Again, leave it that way as long as possible.

3. Boil the water, then slowly pour it down the drain. Don't spare on the hot water.

You can safely repeat this process as many time as you need, it is not harmful for your pipes. We have great results with it, especially speeding up the slow drains!

April 25
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Frances D.

4:13PM PDT on Apr 23, 2013

Also, separately both vinegar and baking soda are good for getting rid of smells in cupboards.Also coffee granules. Just put one of these into a bowl and place on shelf.

April 23
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Geetha S.

12:55AM PDT on Apr 16, 2013

Thanks for explaining.

April 16
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Katie K.

9:51AM PDT on Apr 15, 2013

Throw a lemon in with the vinegar and baking soda and you can pretty much clean your entire home and eliminate all the toxic chemicals associated with the products in our markets that are horrible for us all.