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February 2020

danger sign because someoneasked will cleaning vinegar kill mold

Will Cleaning Vinegar Kill Mold? Our Answer and Solution

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Mold is something that can be extremely unsightly to view while also posing many health risks. As such, removing it should be done on a high priority basis. Mold can be quite stubborn to remove which is why some of the chemicals that are available commercially to remove mold are too strong and can cause their own set of health problems. That is where vinegar comes in. It is organic and has no ill-effects on your health. However, this does lead to the obvious question “will cleaning vinegar kill mold?” Before we answer this question, we will explain why you need to remove mold.

Mold is bad:

Most people look at methods to remove mold mostly because it can look really ugly. However, aesthetics are the least of your worries. Mold can also affect the well being of the people inhabiting the house. It can aggravate allergies and cause respiratory tract infections and irritations. Now that it is clear why mold should be removed, let us find out if vinegar can be used to remove it.

Will cleaning vinegar kill mold?

Vinegar being a natural acid means that it has the potential to kill mold and the good news is that cleaning vinegar will kill mold. What follows is a step by step instruction on how to use vinegar to kill mold.

You will need cleaning vinegar, gloves, a spray bottle, warm water, and a few pieces of clean cloth.

Step 1: Proper preparation

Get cleaning vinegar and do not dilute it. Wear gloves as prolonged exposure to vinegar can cause skin irritation. Fill the spray bottle with enough vinegar to cover the entire mold-affected area.

Step 2: Apply the vinegar

Use the spray bottle to completely cover the mold-affected area. Just ensure that the surface you are spraying the vinegar on isn’t unsealed stone or anything similar that can get etched by vinegar. Let the vinegar sit for an hour.

Step 3: Wipe off the dislodged mold

Using the cloth, wipe off the dislodged mold. This should be easy if the vinegar had enough time to work its magic. Dilute vinegar might take more time to work. If the mold problem is serious then it can be difficult to remove the mold with a single application and that is where the next step comes in.

Step 4: Repeat if needed

If you find mold remaining or being too stubborn then you can repeat steps 2 and 3. Don’t try to remove the mold by applying force. If it still doesn’t come off after a couple of tries then the mold problem might need professional intervention.

There you have it. This is quite an uncomplicated way of combating mold problems. There are a few precautions you do need to take though. The first is, as we alluded to earlier, ensuring that the vinegar is safe to be used on the mold affected area. Next would ensure that none of the dislodged mold particles enters your breathing tract. Vinegar will also leave an odor behind but it will subside in a few hours.

person in a lab showing how to concentrate bleach

How to Concentrate Bleach the Right Way

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Bleach is a great thing to have. Apart from its capabilities in washing clothes and other household items, it is a very efficient disinfectant. Being quite cost-effective and widely available are added bonuses. The bleach that we can get commercially has a concentration of 5.25%. This is more than adequate for most applications. In fact, you have to dilute it to make it suitable for most everyday tasks. However, there might arise a situation where you might need bleach of a higher concentration. How to concentrate bleach would be the obvious question here. Can it be done? Should it be done? Let us find out.

Can bleach be concentrated?

Bleach is nothing but a solution of sodium hypochlorite. It is purposefully mixed down to a concentration of 5.25% during the manufacturing process. This is done for many reasons. This is the most stable concentration of sodium hypochlorite from a storage point of view. Any higher or lower and it will degrade very quickly. It is also the safest concentration at which the disinfecting powers of bleach are retained. As we mentioned, bleach is purposefully mixed down to this concentration by mixing water. Technically, the bleach can be concentrated more by removing some of this water. However, this is easier said than done as we shall find out soon.

How to concentrate bleach?

In theory, as long as you can reduce the amount of water in bleach without affecting the sodium hypochlorite, you can concentrate bleach. The obvious way forward might seem like heating bleach to boil the water off. This is most definitely not recommended. You will cause chemical reactions that will spew harmful fumes of chlorine gas at an alarmingly dangerous rate. The heat will also affect sodium hypochlorite more than water thus defeating the purpose of this endeavor. The correct way to do so is to reduce the pressure to a point where the water starts boiling at a much lower temperature. The setup required to carry out this operation is usually out of the reach of most folks thus making it quite the impractical solution.

A more feasible option would be to buy commercially available concentrated bleach. This is a bleach solution at a concentration of 8.25%. This is not as readily available as regular bleach but the effort needed to find and buy concentrated bleach is so much more acceptable than trying to be a chemistry wizard.

Should you concentrate bleach?

Most, if not all cleaning applications of bleach does not require concentrated bleach. If you are looking to concentrate bleach to boost its disinfecting capabilities then there are more practical, less labor-intensive and a lot safer ways of doing so. Supplement the bleach with some natural options like tea tree oil, thyme oil, lemon, etc. You can also opt for a specially manufactured disinfectant. These might be costlier but not remotely as dangerous as trying to concentrate bleach by you at home. After all, the point is to kill microbes with bleach and not yourself.

factory showing how is bleach made

How Is Bleach Made? Our Most Detailed Explanation

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Bleach is one of the most underappreciated components of a cleaning kit. It is relatively inexpensive but quite effective as a disinfectant. It is readily available and pretty straightforward to use as well. When something has so many great qualities, it is only natural to ask the question, how is bleach made? Let us answer that question today.

Types of bleach

Before we delve into the details of bleach, it is important to understand that there are different types of bleaches out there. We will talk about the most commonly available bleach. Keep in mind that there has been an influx of eco-friendly bleaches of late. The composition of these bleaches can vary a lot and they usually contain some form of organic ingredient such as lemon juice, tea tree oil, thyme oil, etc. Read our article on “how to disinfect without bleach” to find more about bleaches you can make yourself. Today we will look at the most common type of bleach – industrial or chemical bleach.

So, what is bleach made up of?

Bleach works its wonders by releasing chlorine onto the surface which results in what is called disinfecting. Bleach is made up of a solution of Sodium hypochlorite. The stuff is widely manufactured which explains its affordability.

The raw components of bleach are chlorine gas, caustic soda, and water. The caustic soda solution is diluted to about 25% using water. The chlorine gas is then circulated through the caustic soda solution and this results in the formation of Sodium hypochlorite. Of course, there are finer elements to this entire process. This is just an overview.

The sodium hypochlorite thus obtained can contain different impurities and these are removed by employing a series of filters. It is also cooled to prevent any further reactions.

The sodium hypochlorite thus obtained is way too strong for use as bleach and is diluted to 5.25%. This is then poured into bottles and containers, sealed and shipped.

A reputed brand will use high-quality raw materials and will ensure that the manufacturing process is followed precisely. Finally, no corners will be cut when it comes to testing and quality control to ensure that the bleach you get is of a great standard.

There are other chemicals as well that have properties similar to that of sodium hypochlorite and can be technically used as bleach. However, these aren’t quite as suited to home use as sodium hypochlorite is.

It is also important to remember that contrary to popular belief, bleach won’t last forever. Always buy the most recently manufactured bleach that you can lay your hands on. It is also important to store bleach as per the manufacturer’s instructions. This is very important as it can mean all the difference between an effective disinfectant and a useless bottle of liquid. Finally, understand the risks associated with chemical bleach and never use it in a manner that can be harmful to you or those around you.

Also, a word of warning. Do not try to replicate the manufacturing process mentioned here at home. It releases a lot of heat as well as dangerous fumes.

picture of a home for sale with man asking does cleaning house help appraisal

Does Cleaning the House Help With Appraisal? Our Honest Answer

Getting your home appraised can be anxiety-inducing as you want your house to be valued well and even the smallest things that could bring this value down will cause a lot of regrets. Knowing the factors beforehand can help you get your house valued really well. It is here that you might wonder “does cleaning house help appraisal?” Let us shed some light on that.

It shouldn’t make a difference but it does

The simple matter of the fact is that your home’s cleanliness should not affect its value during an appraisal but the hard truth is that it really does. The biggest reason is the cleaning costs that would be involved if the house is dirty which the appraiser will deduct from the value of the house. Then there is the perception. Its basic human nature to place more value on things that are aesthetically pleasing and a clean and well-maintained house will be valued higher than one that is dirty even if there are no structural differences between them. So, the answer is a big yes! Cleaning house does help appraisal.

DIY or professional?

Now that we have figured the need for cleanliness in a house that needs to be appraised, the next course of action is deciding how you want to go about it. The two options available to you are either hunker down and do it yourself or get some professional help if the former isn’t feasible for you.

When to do it yourself?

This is a great course of action if you want to take a hands-on approach to cleaning. You will be in absolute control and can do things at your own pace. The obvious downside to this approach is the sheer amount of effort involved. This is especially true if the house is really dirty. Other issues you could encounter is finding it really difficult to clean certain areas that would need specialized cleaning tools, methods, and chemicals. We recommend cleaning the house all by yourself before an appraisal only if the house isn’t too dirty and has been looked after quite well.

When to get the help of a professional cleaning service?

There are some houses that can be an absolute pain to clean. It is also these types of homes that will fetch a far lesser value than it is supposed to during an appraisal. Trying to go the DIY route with such a house can be so frustrating that you will just give up and accept whatever value is thrown your way. This is where a professional cleaning crew can come in really handy. They will have the necessary know-how, experience, equipment, and other resources to ensure that the house looks spotless within a short time-frame. This will require some spending but usually, it will be far less than the amount you would lose if the house is appraised in its dirty avatar.

Cleaning a house has many benefits and it can be extremely helpful even when you are looking to sell a house. A good impression goes a long way and a clean house will instantly be considered more valuable than one that is not.

does bleach expire

Does Bleach Expire? Here’s What We Found Out

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One of the biggest ironies of human existence is the fact that things like food and other amenities that we wished didn’t expire do while things like plastic that we wished did not last forever actually don’t expire. Then there are some things that are a bit ambiguous when it comes to their operational life and one of them happens to be bleach. A common doubt among those who use bleach in their cleaning regime is does bleach expire? Let us find out.

 

Why it is hard to detect when bleach has gone bad?

Unlike other cleaning agents, bleach’s primary function as a disinfectant works at a microscopic level. This means that unless you examine the spot you just cleaned under a microscope, there is no way of knowing if it worked other than waiting to see if you get sick or not. That is why it is absolutely necessary to know the shelf life of bleach so that you can be confident that it had the desired effect on the germs rather than making your cleaning efforts a farce.

What is bleach made up of?

Before looking into the haste with which bleach goes bad, it is important to understand its composition. Most bleach that you can buy is a dilute solution of some form of hypochlorite. This solution releases chlorine which is what kills the germs. Ideally, the chlorine should only be released under specific conditions. However, a small amount of chlorine is constantly released by bleach which means that eventually, it will run out of chlorine.

 

Does bleach expire?

Yes, So it should be pretty clear to see that bleach indeed does expire. Once it can no longer produce chlorine on demand, it ceases to have any effect on the germs. At this point, using it as a disinfectant is as effective as using plain old water.

 

How long does bleach take to expire?

Now that we know of bleach’s propensity to eventually run out of juice, it is important to understand its viable lifetime so that you can be sure that the bleach you are using can still work effectively as a disinfectant.

There are multiple scenarios that can affect the expiry date of bleach. It has a shelf life of 6 months. What this means is that it won’t lose any of its strength for the first six months provided you do not open the bottle. The belief that bleach can last forever if kept in its original packaging is a myth. Post-six months, it will start degrading and lose 20% of its efficacy with each passing year. This means that an unopened bottle of bleach will be worse than useless in 5 years.

Say you open the bottle. Now its longevity depends on how you store it. If you keep it in the original bottle and screw the cap securely after every use while ensuring that no water or pretty much anything else gets into the bottle then you can expect a viable period close to an unopened bottle of bleach. It is also important to keep it in a cold and dry place away from direct sunlight. However, if you are careless with its storage then a bottle of bleach can be rendered totally useless in as little as two weeks.

Finally, we have to talk about dilution. For most practical cleaning purposes, you need to dilute bleach and some might feel that it is clever to dilute the entire bottle of bleach and storing it instead of diluting a part of it every time you need some. This is a big no-no. A diluted bleach solution of 10% (1 part bleach and 9 parts water) will degrade completely in a single day. Yes! You read that right. The more diluted the bleach is, the faster it will degrade. Therefore, always store it at its default concentration and dilute it only when needed.

cleaner asking if i can you use swiffer on tile floors

Can You Use Swiffer on Tile Floors? Here’s What We Found

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Yes, you can use a Swiffer on tiled surfaces. We as humans have this incredible urge to constantly make things better and this can result in some truly ingenious solutions to problems faced by all of us. One of these happens to be Swiffer. It can cut your cleaning time by a lot while also reducing the effort required in cleaning significantly. However, like with anything this good, there can be certain unknowns and one of them happens to be the suitability of Swiffer on tile floors. If you have been asking “can you use Swiffer on tile floors?” Do not worry, we have the answer for you.

It can be used on most tile floor but there are exceptions

A lot of effort has gone into making Swiffer so good. It also means that it should work on a wide range of floor types. It works really well on most types of tile surfaces but there are some exceptions. Here are some tiles surfaces that might not be adequately cleaned by using Swiffer.

Non-sealed or unfinished tiles: These tiles are rather delicate and can get damaged or etched quite easily. The Swiffer might end up removing more than just the dirt and grime and leave an irreparable mark on the tile. Something very delicate should be used to clean such tiles.

Marble tiles: Marble can look and feel incredible and class up the aesthetics by a high degree. The downside though is that it can be easily damaged. This can leave you with a costly repair bill. Swiffer isn’t suited to be used on marble tiles as it can cause a chemical reaction and start eroding the surface. This can also happen very quickly and it might be too late by the time you realize what is happening. There are cleaning products specifically made for marble tiles. Use them instead of Swiffer.

 

Rough tiles: There are certain tiles that are meant to be used in places that can be very harsh on regular tiles. These include outdoor areas, patios, and walkways. The tiles meant for such places can be very rough and we don’t recommend using Swiffer on them as the Swiffer itself can be damaged here. You can use a wide variety of tools to clean such tiles and finding an alternative to Swiffer should be fairly easy.

Laminates: The good news is that Swiffer won’t damage laminate tiles or get damaged itself. The reason we have included laminate tiles here is that Swiffer isn’t as effective on such tiles as it is on most others and something meant specifically for laminate floors should be used.

Tiles laid in intricate patterns with tight corners: The shape of Swiffer is such that it isn’t the easiest thing to get into a tight corner. Here, it doesn’t matter what type of tiles is used. If the Swiffer cannot reach the corners, they will stay dirty no matter how thorough you are with the rest of your cleaning regime. This can give the impression of work poorly done. To avoid that, use something old-school to clean tight corners or deep grouts.

 

 

how to disinfect without bleach in your home

the Complete Guide on How to Disinfect Without Bleach

Of the many chemicals that have been a part of a cleaning kit, few have had the enduring power to stand the test of time as bleach has. It is one of the best disinfectants out there and has many other advantages. It is inexpensive, is very effective and pretty uncomplicated to use. However, it is not the safest disinfectant out there and if you are wondering about how to disinfect without bleach then read on to find out about some excellent alternatives but before we do that, it is a good idea to understand why we need to look at alternatives for bleach.

Bleach is more harmful than you realize

While there is no doubt that bleach is an excellent disinfectant and sanitizer, it is the health concerns it possesses that makes looking for an alternative a worthwhile endeavor. It has been known for a long time that bleach can emit harmful fumes that can have long term respiratory issues. It can also cause allergies and other forms of skin irritation among a host of other health issues. In short, if you can find a safer alternative then that is the best course of action.

Vinegar and baking soda

This is perhaps the easiest to procure alternative to bleach. Both vinegar and baking soda can be bought off the shelf and you probably have some lying around the house already. How to mix them will depend on the cleaning power you need. For bathrooms and sinks, you can make a thick paste. For lighter applications, you can make a more diluted solution.

Lemon juice and borax powder

This is another wonderful combination that can work wonders when it comes to replacing bleach. Getting lemon juice is a pretty straightforward process that does not require much elaboration. Borax powder is commonly available at most hardware stores. Using this combo is pretty straightforward. You can squeeze the lemon juice and then mix it with the amount of borax powder that would give you the required strength. If you are in a hurry then you can simply cut a lemon in half, squeeze it slightly, dip it into some borax powder and then apply wherever you want to disinfect.

Vinegar and Hydrogen Peroxide

Vinegar pops up again, this time in the company of Hydrogen Peroxide. This combination can be used in places where disinfecting is critical such as in bathrooms and in general during flu season. It can match bleach’s disinfecting prowess without subjecting you to any of its harmful side-effects.

Tea-tree oil

This is one of the lesser-known disinfectants out there. However, its relative anonymity does not make it any less of a worthy alternative. In fact, it is one of the nicest alternatives to bleach. It has a pleasant smell and all you have to do is mix this with some warm water and spray it over the area you wish to disinfect. Again, the concentration depends on the potency you need.

Castile Soap

This is another lesser-known option to replace bleach. It is made of olive oil and is completely bio-degradable. Just dissolve it in some water and spray it wherever necessary. If you want something out of ordinary then this is a great alternative to bleach.

 

nature water drops of water liquid why is it important to dilute chemicals

Why Is It Important Dilute Chemicals? Here’s Why

The use of cleaning liquids is a nuanced thing and isn’t as simple as splattering some of the liquid over the spot you want to clean and wiping it off. One of the finer details associated with the use of cleaning liquids is dilution. This is necessary for a number of reasons and we will look at each one of them today.

Using cleaning chemicals without diluting is wasteful

Modern science and technology have made great strides in many fields and one of them happens to be the field of chemistry. The properties of some chemicals are nothing short of miraculous. This is especially true for cleaning chemicals. They are extremely effective at cleaning and are so good at what they do that using them at their default concentrations is overkill most of the time.

This means that you will end up using way more cleaning liquid than you need to. This is an incredibly wasteful manner of going about cleaning both from the point of view of money as well as cleaning resources. Keep in mind that cleaning fluids are meant for a wide variety of stains and spots and their default concentration is meant for the most stubborn cleaning requirements. You won’t encounter these all the time. Most cleaning requirements don’t require such potency.

 

Different surfaces need different concentrations

Cleaning is a much more delicate operation than it might appear to be at first. You will encounter a wide variety of surfaces on your cleaning journey and they all react differently to different concentrations. It is absolutely critical to ensure that the cleaning liquid is properly diluted or else, you could end up permanently damaging the surface. Even if permanent damage does not occur, the possibility of leaving streaks is very high.

This will only make the cleaning operation more tedious, exactly counterproductive to the purpose of the cleaning liquid in the first place. Figuring out the right concentration for a particular surface isn’t very difficult. Most cleaning liquids will come with the ideal dilution ratio for different surfaces. Sometimes, when the need for a stronger concentration arises due to a stubborn spot, always use the concentrated solution on an inconspicuous spot first to see if it adversely affects the surface.

 

Dilution allows you to be very versatile

Like in any other avenue of life, it is very helpful if you can be versatile when it comes to cleaning. One of the best ways to achieve this is by making your cleaning kit have a minimal number of components. If you can put the same cleaning liquid to multiple uses all with the help of some dilution then that will make your work so much simpler and your cleaning kit more frugal and hassle-free.

 

Some tips on dilution

The best help is the label on the cleaning liquid. It will usually have the recommended concentrations for different surfaces. If that is not the case then you can go for the trial and error method. Make small samples of different ratios and choose the highest dilution that works. Eventually, it will become second nature. One glance and you will know how much dilution is needed.

dirty yellow duck with stains wondering does vinegar disinfect

Does Vinegar Disinfect? Here’s What We Found Out

In a world afflicted with the ill-effects of global warming and environmental harm, the use of something biodegradable and natural to disinfect our homes can be the ideal option. However, there is a lot of confusion surrounding this and people generally aren’t sure what has the ability to disinfect and what doesn’t. We will help you get a clear and well-defined answer to the question – does vinegar disinfect?

What is a disinfectant?

This is where a lot of the confusion seems to originate from. Many people tend to confuse a disinfectant with a cleaning agent. Even though both are used for cleaning, they play different roles in the cleaning process. While a regular cleaning agent is used to remove visual blemishes and spots a disinfectant cleans at a microbial level. There are millions of microbes inhabiting the very places we come in regular contact with and many of them have the potential to be harmful. It is these microbes that a disinfectant can get rid of which is not always assured when using just a regular cleaning agent.

Is vinegar a disinfectant?

From the above definition, it is quite clear that anything that can combat and kill harmful microbes is a disinfectant. As vinegar does possess this ability, it is very much a disinfectant. What can vary is its efficacy. You see, the vinegar that can be bought off the shelf is only 5% acetic acid. This is potent enough to still be able to kill 80% of microbes and this number can be increased by a number of different methods. We will discuss those in the next section.

Methods of making vinegar even more potent for germs

Store-bought vinegar while being quite useful can always be improved upon as a disinfectant by employing a few simple methods. The first is to heat it up slightly so that the concentration is increased slightly. Keep in mind not to overdo it. Another more straightforward method is to use multiple passes of vinegar over the surface you are trying to disinfect or if possible, letting the vinegar sit on it for a little while. Another novel way to make vinegar lethal for most germs is by adding a bit of salt to it. Finally, if you want to get to that magic figure of 99.9% then you could consider using vinegar followed by a thyme oil spray. This has been proven by verified research to be as good as an industrial disinfectant.

Can you replace your disinfectant with vinegar?

It depends on how you use it. If you simply buy it off the shelf and apply it then you might need to use a regular chemical disinfectant once in a while. However, if you employ one of the methods mentioned above to boost the disinfecting power of vinegar then you can most definitely use it as your primary disinfectant. While large manufacturers will drum up their products as the most ‘green’ and bio-friendly option out there, the surest way of going eco-friendly is by making the disinfectant by yourself from natural ingredients and vinegar helps you do just that.

Does Cleaning the House Count as Exercise

Does Cleaning the House Count as Exercise? Here’s What We Found

The fitness industry in the USA alone has an annual revenue of $32 billion. That is a massive amount of money and all of this is generated through people looking to lead healthier and fitter lives through exercise. What if you could achieve your fitness goals while having a clean house? That would be a true win-win situation. So, does cleaning house count as exercise? Let us find out.

Let us talk numbers

The number of calories burnt during a workout session depends on a wide variety of factors such as the person’s weight, type of exercise, location, etc. However, for the purposes of simple analysis, let us take a ballpark value. A 30-minute session of the workout will burn anywhere between 90 calories and 130 calories. These are, again, moderate estimates that will vary from person to person. Let us now come to the activity in question – cleaning. This again can have a lot of variabilities.

The effort you need to put in will depend on the tools you have available to you, the present state of the area you are cleaning and the methods you are using. Again, for the sake of convenience, let us assume that you have standard cleaning agents and tools and the area you are cleaning is moderately dirty (the kind, a regular household can become in a couple of days without cleaning). In the same half an hour period, you would burn between 70 and 90 calories. If the cleaning involves stubborn spots then this number will go up. The point is, even moderate cleaning will expend about two-thirds the energy you would if you worked out at a gym for the same amount of time. That is quite a significant number and definitely makes cleaning houses an exercise.

Glamour and peer pressure

There are a couple of big driving forces behind people joining gyms. One of them happens to be the perception that working out at a fitness center is the ‘it’ thing to do. Another big reason is peer pressure. Many join a gym just because someone close to them does. These aren’t great motivators when it comes to sustaining your drive to keep working on your fitness. Cleaning house, on the other hand, is something that will always be required. If you can stay fit while keeping your home clean, what more is needed?

Functional training

One of the buzz words of the fitness industry is functional training. These are workout routines meant to mimic real-life activities. Why mimic something when you can do it for real. Cleaning is the ultimate real-life functional training method accessible to everyone.

Should you stop working out completely?

If you are already following a fitness regime then it does not mean that you should forsake it if you start cleaning your house. As we saw, numbers are close but not the same as an actual workout. It also does not require your entire body which means that all your muscle groups won’t get the same level of workout. The best way to look at it is as a supplement to your regular fitness routine that will help you reach your goals a little quicker.

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