Is It Safe To Mix Cleaning Vinegar And Dawn Dish Soap?

Walk down the cleaning products aisle of any supermarket or hardware store and you're likely to feel overwhelmed by how many products there are, each claiming to be uniquely effective at one specific job or another. You might even wonder: Don't I already have something that will work just as well? In many cases, the answer is yes. You just need to know the cleaning hacks to get what's in your kitchen to work better for you. One safe and effective option is a mixture of cleaning vinegar and Dawn dish soap.

The combination is safe to use on many kitchen surfaces, and doesn't produce harmful fumes, like mixing vinegar with bleach, for instance. There will be a reaction — vinegar is acidic while Dawn dish soap is alkaline, so they neutralize each other's pH when combined — but both are mild enough that it isn't harmful, nor will it diminish the cleaning power of the mixture.

Each ingredient delivers a powerful cleaning punch. Dawn dish soap has a strong grease-cutting ability because of its surfactants, molecules that both attract and repel water. In practical terms, surfactants can connect to water- and oil-based substances, helping wash away grease that won't come off with water alone. Meanwhile, vinegar's strength is from its acidity (in the form of acetic acid) and, consequently, its antimicrobial abilities. It kills bacteria and neutralizes odors.

To harness the cleaning powers of vinegar and Dawn dish soap, combine approximately one teaspoon of Dawn with one cup each of water and vinegar. Instead of white vinegar, you can use a cleaning vinegar, which has a higher concentration of acetic acid and therefore greater cleaning abilities. Gently tilt the spray bottle back and forth until the ingredients are combined, as shaking it will cause it to foam and be harder to spray. Then, use it as you would a regular all-purpose cleaner. Rinsing with clean water should help to remove any residue.

In the kitchen, this cleaning spray will work wonders on greasy backsplashes, sinks, and other hard surfaces like tile floors. If the mess is stubborn, try letting it sit for a few minutes before scrubbing and rinsing. That should help you more easily get through even the most overlooked kitchen items with a lot of grime buildup.

One note of caution here: Some surfaces might not respond well to this mixture because of its acidity. "No vinegar on marble, limestone, or travertine, and I'd be careful with granite and other natural stones as well," Kathy Turley, director of marketing for Home Clean Heroes, told Martha Stewart.com. The same goes for wood, where the dish soap could strip natural oils from the surface, and cast iron, which the acid could damage.