Household chores: mixing vinegar and baking soda as a cleaner?

Tutoring chemistry, everyday applications come up. The tutor mentions one.

I’ve oft heard people mention mixing vinegar and baking soda together to make a household cleaner. That sounds counterintuitive to me, and here’s why:

What makes baking soda a cleaner is that it’s a base: as such, it can attack grease. Vinegar, on the other hand, is an acid. When you mix baking soda with vinegar, the two will neutralize each other: the baking soda will cease to be a base. Then, its cleaning power will be gone.

One possible advantage of mixing the two might be clearing a drain. In that case, the sudden production of bubbles as the two react might loosen the clog.

For general, everyday cleaning of grease or stubborn, baked-on food, baking soda with water works. It’s even how I clean the oven (see my post here).

Source:

apartmenttherapy.com