http://www.care2.com/greenliving/vinegar-kills-bacteria-mold-germs.html
Vinegar Kills Bacteria, Mold and Germs
Vinegar is a mainstay of the old folk recipes for cleaning, and with good reason. The vim of the vinegar is that it kills bacteria, mold and germs.
Heinz company spokesperson Michael Mullen references numerous studies to show that a straight 5 percent solution of vinegar—thekind you can buy in the supermarket—kills 99 percent of bacteria, 82 percent of mold, and 80 percent of germs (viruses). He noted that Heinz can’t claim on their packaging that vinegar is a disinfectant since the company has not registered it as a pesticide with the Environmental Protection Agency. However, it seems to be common knowledge in the industry that vinegar is powerfully antibacterial. Even the CBS news show “48 Hours” had a special years ago with Heloise reporting on tests from The Good Housekeeping Institute that showed this.
Just like antibiotics, common disinfectants found in sponges and household sprays may contribute to drug resistant bacteria, according to researchers of drug resistance at Tufts New England Medical Center. Furthermore, research at the Government Accounting Office shows that many commercial disinfectants are ineffective to begin with, just like antibiotics.
Keep a clean spray bottle filled with straight 5 percent vinegar in your kitchen near your cutting board, and in your bathroom, and use them for cleaning. I often spray the vinegar on our cutting board before going to bed at night, and don’t even rinse, but let it set overnight. The smell of vinegar dissipates within a few hours. Straight vinegar is also great for cleaning the toilet rim. Just spray it on and wipe off.
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68 comments
add your comment »is it possible that the air condition can be making me sick with respiratory problems? i am renting condo whose owner used half and half of vinegar and water in the air condition.
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MY FAMILY HSA USED VINEGAR FOR OVER 100 YEARS .I WAS RAISED VINEGAR IS GOOD IN AND OUT OF YOU .MLAURALEE
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Wine vinegar will kill bacteria but like malt and balsemic vinegar, its own color will leave a stain
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can beer kill bacteria also?
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Can wine kill bacteria also?
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Malt vinegar does but the advantage white vinegar has is that it lacks color. Malt vinegar could stain some items.
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Does Malt Vinegar have the same cleaning/antibac effect or does it need to be clear/white vinegar
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For Mark Dixon: I was reading your problem about the damp clothes,I hope you find a solution,sorry I can't help but I would appreciate you keeping me informed.Good luck!
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For Mark -- I have added Oxyclean to my vinegar/detergent formula when dealing with really mildewy towels. Try that.
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I recently left some clothes in a damp basement for a year and upon my return the clothes all smelled moldy. I read all about vinegar and tried the following as my first attempt:
- Fill the laundry machine with clothes, water, and 1 cup of white vinegar.
- Let it sit for 1 hour
- Run the wash as normal
- Once finished, run the wash again with laundry detergent this time, and I added more vinegar for good measure.
- Dry the clothes and smell 'em.
After this first attempt I'd say I got rid of 80-100% of the mold smell, depending mostly on the absorptive quality of the clothing. Older, more well worn clothes retained the smell less than newer, softer, fuzzier clothes. I also noticed some little mildew stains on the clothes-- those didn't seem to be removed by the process.
So, I'm back online looking for a way to remove the remaining 20% of the mold smell. I might just try the same process again with twice the vinegar and twice the soak time during the first wash.
Has anybody had a similar experience? How much of your mold smell was removed by vinegar? Are there other natural products that I can add to the mix that will help me eliminate the lingering mold smell? I also recently read about boiling clothes. Anybody know if that works for mold?
Also, I've heard of people having respiratory problems from breathing moldy air. Does anybody know if it applies to folks wearing moldy clothes as well?
Thanks to everybody for their knowledge about this!
Best,
M
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