The short answer is that you should not use vinegar for carpet cleaning. There is truth to the idea you can use vinegar as a natural disinfectant for cleaning but it cannot remove dirt or soil from a surface or from carpet.
To treat your carpet, mix white or apple cider vinegar with warm water in a ratio of one part vinegar to two parts water. Spray your carpet evenly and let it air dry. The strong smell of the vinegar will dissipate as it dries, taking the nasty odor with it.
Leave the vinegar/water solution on the carpet if you're removing odors, or dab it off with a white cloth or paper towel if you're using it to remove stains. Your house will smell like vinegar for a while, but the smell quickly dissipates. Be sure to use white vinegar. A colored vinegar could further stain the carpet.
If you're looking for a natural and inexpensive way to clean stains and odors from your carpets, then you can't go wrong with baking soda or vinegar.
Do You Have to Rinse after Cleaning with Vinegar? Rinsing is not necessary! If you're simply using a vinegar and water solution to wipe and disinfect, you won't need to rinse.
Vinegar Carpet Cleaner
For synthetic carpets: Mix one cup of white vinegar with two cups of water. For natural fiber carpets: Mix ¼ cup of white vinegar with ¼ cup of water.
Mix equal parts white vinegar and warm water in a spray bottle and shake it well. Add in the dish soap. Spray the solution on the carpet and let it air dry. The vinegar will neutralise any unpleasant odours and also disinfect the area.
As a cleaner, white distilled vinegar is a great choice. It contains 5 percent acetic acid, a compound that can dissolve dirt, debris, and grime.
Use a 1:1 ratio of diluted vinegar and water and store it in a spray bottle. Then you can spritz and disinfect your kitchen sink, counters, or any other spots that you'd normally use bleach but want to be food-safe. To counteract the vinegar smell, you can use soapy water to rinse the sink afterward.
The only difference between cleaning vinegar and the distilled white vinegar is their levels of acidity. White vinegar is usually 95 percent water and 5 percent acid. By contrast, cleaning vinegar contains up to six percent acid and is around 20 percent stronger than regular white vinegar.
It has powerful antimicrobial properties that may help ease skin infections and soothe irritation. As a mild acid, ACV may also help restore the natural pH balance of your skin.
There's no set time that the vinegar smell will linger. It depends on the air flow in the space. However, vinegar actively looks for things to bind to. In most cases, it won't take more than 5-15 minutes for the smell to go away.
“Vinegar is a good cleaner because it's acidic, but when you add dishwashing liquid/dish soap to it (which is a base or neutral) - you neutralise the vinegar. You take away the very thing that makes it work well. “The dishwashing liquid works that well on its own. Adding the vinegar is a pointless step.”
Vinegar has antifungal and antibacterial properties, and it can be a cheap and effective treatment for many types of mold. Household white vinegar typically contains about 5 to 8 percent acetic acid.
Vinegar is an excellent substitute for laundry detergent — it's inexpensive, effective, and earth-friendly. It can be used for a range of detergent needs, including as a bleach, deodorizer, and a fabric softener.
The most common vinegar cleaning solution contains one cup of vinegar mixed with one cup of warm water. Warm water helps to dissolve grease and hard water spots more quickly. People who are filling a spray bottle that they will use over time may want to mix the vinegar with distilled water, not tap water.
Use Less Vinegar in Your Cleaner
Dish liquid is a perfect additive to limit the vinegar smell. Mix a milder solution than the standard 1:1 vinegar and water spray, and add a few drops of dish soap. Shake the bottle gently to mix the ingredients.
Mix one part lemon juice, one part white vinegar and two parts water in a spray bottle. Replace the nozzle and give it a shake. Spray the solution on smooth surfaces you want to disinfect, such as in the kitchen or bathroom.
A diluted solution of white vinegar can be sprayed onto carpeting that doesn't smell its freshest. Mix one teaspoon of baking soda, one tablespoon of vinegar, and two cups of warm water in a spray bottle and once the fizzing settles, spray onto your carpet. Remove stains.
Vinegar is one of the best ingredients to make a pest control spray out of. It is effective in repelling ants, mosquitoes, fruit flies, and many others. Creating a mix is quite simple.
Distilled vinegar has less acetic acid in it than white vinegar. White vinegar is a powerful DIY green cleaning product because of its grime-dissolving and disinfectant properties. A cleaning solution with vinegar rivals any commercial cleaner for effectiveness and can be used throughout your home.
Vinegar doesn't work well as a disinfectant. According to EPA standards, a disinfectant should be able to kill 99.9 percent of disease-causing bacteria and viruses. Vinegar only works against some germs, like E. coli and Salmonella.