Is It Safe To Add Dawn Dish Soap To Vinegar?

Are you obsessed with watching CleanTok videos? If you find yourself spending more time scrolling than scrubbing, you've undoubtedly come across so-called cleaning experts mixing all kinds of products together in sinks, toilets, and scrub buckets. The resulting concoctions may be super bubbly and satisfying to watch, but they can also be seriously unsafe. Before you get inspired to deep clean your entire house, it's important to remember that there are many cleaning products you should never mix, to avoid the risk of creating toxic fumes that can cause serious respiratory distress in less time than it takes you to swipe to the next reel. 

Bleach is one of the most common culprits. Mix it with ammonia, and you'll create hazardous chloramine gas. Combine it with rubbing alcohol, and you've got chloroform. Even seemingly harmless "natural" cleaners like hydrogen peroxide and vinegar can become dangerous thanks to their acidic combination. On its own, vinegar is an eco-friendly, effective way to clean and deodorize a variety of surfaces. Some professional cleaners swear by combining vinegar with Dawn dish soap, but although the combination is generally safe, others note that the opposing pH levels of both ingredients are more likely to cancel each other out before helping you cut through the crud.

If you're considering trying this popular trend yourself, there are a few things to keep in mind. Make sure the room you're cleaning is well-ventilated. Test your mixture in an inconspicuous area to make sure it won't damage any precious surfaces. And, no matter how tempting it may seem to replicate what you see in your feed, avoid adding any additional cleaners to the mix.

Although mixing Dawn dish soap and vinegar is unlikely to cause the same dangerous mistakes you can make when cleaning with ammonia or bleach, not every professional cleaner agrees with TikTok enthusiasts who love the method. "That home recipe cleaning concoction you're making? It's pointless," Melbourne-based cleaner Kacie Stephens told Kidspot Australia. "Use one or the other — not both," she recommended, because when combined, they cancel out each other's cleaning properties.

Other professional cleaners, like Beaver Maids, disagree, claiming that dish soap and vinegar are a synergetic duo that bring more than one capability to your cleaning routine. Extolling its non-toxic and eco-friendly virtues, they highlight dish soap's ability to break down grease and oils alongside vinegar's powerful performance as a disinfectant and odor neutralizer. The scientific basis makes some sense, since soap traps grease, so it can be rinsed off everything from dishes to duck feathers. And vinegar can destroy certain germs, like E. coli and Salmonella. 

While mixing Dawn and vinegar is safe enough for specific applications like cutting through soap scum or deodorizing small spots, you shouldn't rely on the neutralized mix for every mess you make. For stubborn buildup, tough stains, or areas where bacteria really thrive, you're better off reaching for a targeted cleaning product that's designed for the job. If the eco-friendly aspect of this viral trend appeals to you, there are plenty of powerful and sustainable cleaning products that will leave your home smelling fresh.