Regina is an architect who lives with her husband and children in Lawrence, KS. As a LEED Accredited Professional and longtime contributor to Apartment Therapy and The Kitchn, her focus is on healthy, sustainable living through design.
Regina Yunghans
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I use white vinegar to clean my cutting boards, bathroom sinks, and toilets, and to erase soap scum from my glass shower doors, among many other things. I love that I don’t have to worry about the kids getting into it and that it can be used in so many different ways all over the home.
Using it on everything, I always thought of vinegar as having disinfecting properties — then, I paused to ask myself: Does white vinegar really disinfect surfaces? And does it actually kill bacteria and viruses? I did some digging to find out exactly how vinegar can, and should, be used around the home. Here’s everything you need to know.
The National Sanitation Foundation (NSF) puts it this way: “While vinegar does work as a disinfectant to some degree, it is not as effective as bleach or commercial cleansers when it comes to killing germs. If you are going to use vinegar as a cleanser, it’s important to decide whether your goal is to clean, or to disinfect.”
Cleaners physically remove dirt, debris, particles, and some germs from surfaces. They may kill some germs, but not all. Disinfectants kill germs on contact, including harmful pathogens, viruses, and bacteria that could make you and your family sick.
You should be disinfecting frequently touched surfaces on a regular basis such as door knobs, light switches, desktops, remote controls, and smart phones.
However, you don’t want to use vinegar on surfaces like granite, marble, cast iron, or wood as its acidic properties can actually damage them. You should also never mix vinegar with bleach because it can create harmful, toxic fumes. (Your home should always be well-ventilated when cleaning regardless of what you’re using.)
Good news! Yes, vinegar can kill salmonella, E. coli, and listeria, which is great for the kitchen as these bacteria are the cause for many food borne illnesses. However, it can’t kill viruses like COVID, so it’s always best to clean and then disinfect with another product or solution to make sure your surfaces are shiny and bacteria-free.
Next, make sure you use the disinfectant properly. Finally, read and follow usage instructions for the specific cleaning product you’re using, which you can find on the label or online.
If you’re looking to disinfect, vinegar should not be your go-to, but you can mix it with something that is. Mix vinegar with equal parts rubbing alcohol, since rubbing alcohol is a disinfectant, and you can even add a few drops of essential oil to make it smell a little nicer. While this is an easy mix, it’s typically best to clean with your vinegar solution first and then disinfect afterwards.
Shifrah Combiths
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There are a lot of opinions and “rules” when it comes to cleaning cast iron skillets. Don’t ever use soap! Just a little bit of hot water is all you’ll ever need! Use a potato! Of course, everyone has their own method they swear by, so I decided to settle this once and for all.
I researched to determine five of the most commonly recommended cleaning methods on the internet, then tried them all out in a side-by-side test. There was a clear winner, and it’s the one everyone should adopt at home. According to my tests, here’s exactly how to clean a cast iron skillet with minimal effort (using ingredients you likely already have!).
To start, we looked into how most people clean their cast iron skillets via other websites, reader letters, comments, chat rooms, and more. Once we picked our five methods (a few of them are iterations of themselves, but boy, do they have different results!), I dirtied up five cast iron skillets and got to work.
We cooked up lots of chicken and made sure each cast iron pan had stuck-on bits of food and oil and were as equally dirty as possible. In addition to judging effectiveness and time spent, for this test, we also wanted to be sensitive to any changes we saw happening to the pan that might affect the perfectly seasoned surface.
The ratings: Each method received a rating of 1 to 5; a 1 was given to the least effective method, and a 5 went to the most effective. Along with the rating, you’ll find notes on how easy or difficult the method was, how much we liked or disliked it in general, and how much time it took to do its thing.
The method: Pour 1 cup coarse kosher salt into a still-warm skillet. Use a folded paper towel or kitchen towel to scour. Discard the salt and rinse the skillet with hot water.
How it went: Although salt can be extremely effective, this method was a complete mess. A whole cup of coarse kosher salt is a lot of salt — too much salt, it appears. There was so much that we couldn’t see the bottom of the pan well enough to know where to scour.
It did a good job of soaking up any oil left behind from cooking, but the folded-up paper towel didn’t allow for a lot of control and salt ended up spilling over the sides of the pan before finishing the job, making even more of a mess than we had to start with. In the end, the pan didn’t come clean enough. Even if we had used less salt, this step wouldn’t be effective enough on its own.
The method: Cut a potato in half, lengthwise, and dip the cut side into a dish of baking soda. Then rub it around the pan to clean.
How it went: This sounded wacky, so I had to look into it. The reason for using a potato is because it contains oxalic acid, which breaks down rust — and if it can break down rust, a little food should be no problem, right? Ehh… sorta.
I had very low expectations, so I was impressed when it kinda-sorta did a little bit of something. The baking soda soaked up all grease and oil quite nicely, but even though it’s a mild abrasive, it wasn’t abrasive enough to clean bits of food that were stuck on to the bottom of the pan. Overall, it just seemed like a waste of a potato.
The method: Fill the pan with a few inches of water and boil over medium heat. Use a wooden spoon to scrape off the burnt-on bits.
How it went: This method worked well for removing cooked-on food bits, however, it only really worked on the bottom of the pan. It was difficult to scrape the sides of the pan in the boiling water with a wooden spoon.
Additionally, this method didn’t seem to remove the oil and grease as well as when another component like salt or baking soda was added. The bottom of the pan was really clean, but the sides were still a bit dirty. This is a nice bonus step, but when used on its own, it didn’t cut it.
The method: Add a dime-sized dot of dish soap (I used ECOS dish soap) to the bottom of the pan and clean with hot water and a stiff bristled brush.
People passionately debate whether or not it’s okay to use dish soap on a cast iron skillet. Most nay-sayers say nay because dish soap obliterates grease, which means it also cuts through that hard-earned seasoning you’ve built up, making the cast iron more susceptible to rust and taking away its nonstick qualities.
The Kitchn’s stance is that it’s totally fine every now and then! Additionally, eco-friendly dish soap isn’t as harsh as other dish soaps, and therefore is best for this purpose.
How it went: The cast iron skillet I tested had a decent seasoning job and a dime-sized drop of dish soap visibly changed the surface. The pan came clean, but it definitely looked dried out — much more so than after any other wash. Depleted is the word we’re looking for.
With that in mind, I wouldn’t make this your everyday cleaning method. Instead, use this method sparingly, and only on a pan that really needs a lot of help. Then season it really, really well.
The method: While the pan is still warm, get to cleaning. Wash the skillet by hand using hot water and a stiff brush. To remove stuck-on food, scrub the pan with a paste of coarse kosher salt and water.
How it went: Once the pan had a chance to cool a little, I took it to the sink and ran it under a steady stream of hot water, scrubbing the bottom and sides of the pan with a stiff bristle brush. Next, I drained the water from the pan and sprinkled in roughly 2 tablespoons of coarse kosher salt and scrubbed away at any leftover bits.
It took about a minute or two, but the pan came perfectly clean without much effort. Once the hot water hit the pan, most of the grease and any loose bits came right up. The salt acted as an abrasive and removed anything else that was stuck to the bottom or sides of the pan.
Do you use one of these methods? Let us know in the comments below!
Ashley Poskin
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