Whats the difference between white vinegar and distilled vinegar

When you visit a grocery store, you'll discover a wide variety of vinegars on the condiments aisle—balsamic vinegar, rice vinegar, apple cider vinegar, red wine vinegar, champagne vinegar, and distilled white vinegar. All of these add brightness and acidity to recipes. Many of us also use vinegar for laundry and cleaning around the house; however, for true cleaning vinegar, you'll need to head to the cleaning products aisle or a hardware store.

Table of Contents Show

What Is Cleaning Vinegar?
Why Use Cleaning Vinegar?
How to Use Cleaning Vinegar for Laundry
How to Use Cleaning Vinegar for Cleaning
When Not to Use Cleaning Vinegar
What Is White Vinegar?
What Is White Vinegar Used For?
What Is Distilled Vinegar?
What Is Distilled Vinegar Used For?
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I Substitute White Vinegar for Distilled Vinegar?
What Vinegar Is Best for Cleaning?
What Vinegar Unclog Drains?

What Is Cleaning Vinegar?

The only difference between cleaning vinegar and distilled white vinegar is the level of acidity. They are both made through a process where alcohols are distilled from grain and allowed to ferment as microorganisms process the alcohol into acetic acid and water or vinegar.

The distilled white vinegar you see in the condiment aisle contains around five percent acetic acid and 95 percent water. Cleaning vinegar contains around six percent acetic acid. That doesn't sound like much of a difference, but cleaning vinegar is 20 percent stronger than white distilled vinegar for tackling cleaning chores.

While you can use distilled white vinegar for cleaning, do not use cleaning vinegar for salad dressings or making pickles. The product may contain impurities that are not approved for consumption and the level of acidity is too strong to be tasty.

Warning

If you are purchasing cleaning vinegar at a hardware or large home improvement store, do not confuse it with industrial vinegar. This product is used by professional landscape crews to kill weeds. Industrial vinegar contains up to 20 percent acetic acid and is dangerous for indoor cleaning because of the fumes and because it can permanently damage surfaces.

Why Use Cleaning Vinegar?

Cleaning vinegar is less toxic to the environment and less expensive than many commercial cleaning products. It is highly effective at removing odors and whitening whites in laundry, cutting through tough grime like soap scum, and unclogging sink drains.

With cleaning vinegar, you can make your own cleaning products by diluting it with water or adding some dishwashing liquid and clean nearly every surface around your home.

How to Use Cleaning Vinegar for Laundry

Cleaning vinegar will help remove tough odors like mildew, urine, cooking odors, and sweat from washable clothes. For a large load of clothes, add just 1/2 cup to the final rinse cycle. Adjust the amount if you are doing a small load of laundry.
For white, 100 percent cotton items, cleaning vinegar can be used to help remove ground-in soil and brighten the fabrics. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and then remove it from the heat. Add 1 cup of cleaning vinegar and the white socks, underwear, or towels. Let the items soak overnight and rinse well.

How to Use Cleaning Vinegar for Cleaning

To remove soap scum from ceramic tile, clean porcelain surfaces (tubs and toilets), and dirt from painted woodwork, fill a spray bottle with one part cleaning vinegar, one part dishwashing liquid, and two parts water. Spray onto dirty surfaces and allow to sit for five minutes to begin cutting through the grime and then scrub with a nylon-bristled brush or wipe away with a microfiber cloth.

Tip

When working with cleaning vinegar, wear rubber gloves. The strong acetic acid can cause irritation to skin and nails.

To unclog slow-running drains, pour at least one quart of boiling water down the drain. In a medium bowl, combine one cup of hot water, one cup of baking soda, and one cup of cleaning vinegar (Warning: there will be fizzing!). Pour the vinegar mixture down the drain and let it work for at least 10 minutes. Finish by flushing the drain with another quart of boiling water.
For cleaning windows and glass, mix equal parts cleaning vinegar and water in a spray bottle.

When Not to Use Cleaning Vinegar

Do not use cleaning vinegar or any type of acid to clean marble, granite, limestone, or any natural stone countertop or floor.
Do not use cleaning vinegar to clean cast iron or aluminum pans or surfaces. It can pit the metal.
Do not clean knives with cleaning vinegar. It can cause pitting on the thin stainless steel edges. If used at full strength, it can even pit stainless steel appliances.
Do not use on finished or waxed wood surfaces. It can remove the finish.
Do not use cleaning vinegar, even in a diluted form, on electronic screens like televisions and laptops. The acid can damage the anti-glare properties.

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Vinegar has a lot of uses both around the house and in dishes; it doesn’t even stop there, vinegar is also used in treating skin infections and even burns, but when it comes to doing each of these things, not all types of vinegar can be used for same purpose. But what is the difference between distilled vinegar vs white vinegar?

White vinegar is the ideal choice for household chores like cleaning the windows. Distilled vinegar, which is milder, is used for cookings, flavorings, food preservatives, and even food additives.

White vinegar contains about 5% to 20% acetic acid mixed with water, while distilled vinegar contains 5% to 8% acetic acid mixer after fermentation.

The good thing about both tablespoons of vinegar is that they are widely available. Some people produce their vinegar by fermenting juices and white wine.

What Is White Vinegar?

White vinegar also referred to as spirit vinegar, is produced from sugar cane through acid fermentation.

In its production, the liquid from the cane sugar is oxidized, leading to the change in chemical content, making the drink more acidic.

White vinegar can also be produced by mixing acetic acid with water. This method is sourer than the acidified type, with an acetic acid content of 5-20% making it stronger than any other method.

What Is White Vinegar Used For?

White vinegar is ideal for household cleaning since it is highly acidic. It is an eco-friendly solution for getting rid of dirt and bad odors from materials like fabrics, tiles, fur, metal, and glass and can also be used as a urine cleaner for pets.

It is also useful for agriculturists as it serves as a natural herbicide and weed killer. Since this vinegar does not contain ammonia, it cleans deeply without leaving any harmful or unpleasant smell.

What Is Distilled Vinegar?

Distilled vinegar, also referred to as virgin vinegar, is made from malt, wine, fruits, apple cider, coconut, balsamic, etc. The word distilled means separating the liquid components from the base mixture.

This mixture produces a colorless solution of about 5% to 8% acetic acid mixed with water. Since the percentage composition of acetic acid in this mixture is lower than that of white vinegar, it is relatively weaker.

What Is Distilled Vinegar Used For?

Since this vinegar is milder than its counterpart, it is suitable for cooking, food preservations, food additives, and flavorings.

Distilled vinegar can also be used as a household remedy like cleaning and removing dirt. This vinegar is also a treatment for athlete’s foot and warts.

Distilled vinegar is also good for the skin as it helps relieve sunburns and blisters but before applying this on your skin, carry out a patch test by applying a small amount on the part of the affected area.

If your skin does not react negatively in a few days, you can now use it for sunburns and blisters.

The difference between these types of vinegar is quite simple. White vinegar contains about 5% to 20% acetic acid mixed with water, while distilled vinegar contains 5% to 8% acetic acid mixer after fermentation.

The acid composition in white vinegar is more, making it stronger and more suitable for cleaning household materials than distilled vinegar.

You can also get white vinegar from natural sugar content like cane sugar and refined white sugar from barley, corn, or malt.

In terms of uses, white vinegar is widely used to clean the house’s dirt. It can also be used when baking as white distilled vinegar; even if used primarily for cooking and house additives, you can also clean coffee stains and household items.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I Substitute White Vinegar for Distilled Vinegar?

If you don’t have distilled vinegar around you and require it, you can always substitute white vinegar for cleaning.

You can also replace it in terms of cooking, but there are a lot of other better choices like the apple cider vinegar you could go with first, and when they are also not available, you can use your white vinegar as a substitute.

What Vinegar Is Best for Cleaning?

The best vinegar to use for your household cleaning is white vinegar. It contains a higher amount of acetic acid solution, making it a stronger vinegar for removing very tough stains.

What Vinegar Unclog Drains?

For unclogging drains, apple cider vinegar works best. Pour a mixture of 1 cup of vinegar mixed with a cup of boiling water to unclog blocked drains.

Conclusion

Both white vinegar and distilled vinegar are great liquids as they carry out many practical activities around the house.

The better part of it all is that they can both be used interchangeably for cooking, cleaning, or as skin irritation remedies.

You should keep raw white vinegar away from the reach of little children because they are highly acidic and may damage their system. You can get your vinegar from stores around you as it is widely available.