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I use vinegar for light cleaning and dusting, and rubbing alcohol for almost all other household cleaning now. Isopropyl alcohol is basically magic — it sterili

I use vinegar for light cleaning and dusting, and rubbing alcohol for almost all other household cleaning now. Isopropyl alcohol is basically magic — it sterilizes and completely evaporates with no lingering residue or fragrances. And a steam mop for the floor.

txcwpalpha 9y ago
In case someone reads your comment and takes it to heart: isopropyl alcohol is not as magic as you're making it sound. It is a disinfectant but isopropyl alcohol does not sterilize. Some bacteria and spores are not killed by isopropyl alcohol, and depending on the surface you are cleaning, it can be ineffective at even disinfecting. >Alcohols are not recommended for sterilizing medical and surgical materials principally because they lack sporicidal action and they cannot penetrate protein-rich materials. Fatal postoperative wound infections with Clostridium have occurred when alcohols were used to sterilize surgical instruments contaminated with bacterial spores. [1] It's probably fine for most household uses, but it does not sterilize like you said it does, and if you're trying to clean something that you know is contaminated by disease-causing bacteria (eg cleaning the bathroom after someone has had the stomach flu) or someone immuno-suppressed lives in your house, you probably should reach for something stronger. Isopropyl alcohol also, like you mentioned, evaporates quickly. You mention this as a benefit, but fast evaporation also means that you are likely inhaling a lot of alcohol particles as you clean, which is not good for your lung health either. 1: https://www.cdc.gov/infectioncontrol/guidelines/disinfection/disinfection-methods/chemical.html https://www.cdc.gov/infectioncontrol/guidelines/disinfection...
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
- JohnJamesRambo 9y ago
  Alcohol kills most things very well. I'm a scientist that handles lots of nasty things like MRSA and gram negative organisms that have killed their human hosts and we spray our gloves with 70% ethanol and spray down our biosafety hoods with it as do almost all labs in the world. This is all moot probably because homes don't need disinfection (hygiene hypothesis implies you probably need the opposite) but alcohol will certainly kill most things. It would be extremely rare for you to need to kill exotic things like bacterial spores that need nuclear options like autoclaving to kill.
  - DoreenMichele 9y ago
    Eh, the GP did mention provisos like immuno-suppressed individuals. That's perhaps more common than you think.
  - txcwpalpha 9y ago
    As you're a scientist, I'd defer to your expertise, but I will mention that the situations where alcohol falls short are with spores and when cleaning certain materials. AFAIK, MRSA does not form spores, and so alcohol would work well for disinfecting it. Your gloves and hoods are also probably made of a material that is effectively cleaned by alcohol. On the other hand, C. difficile (a bacteria responsible for diahrea/stomach flu) does produce spores which are not killed by alcohol cleaners. Similarly, viruses like norovirus (also responsible for "stomach flu") are not effectively disinfected by alcohol, which is why I mentioned that if you're trying to clean up after a bout of stomach flu, you might want to reach for something stronger (like a bleach based cleaner).
    - st26 9y ago
      C. diff is pretty much only killed by bleach, and not something most people deal with frequently, or you know, ever. These seem like rather special cases to be bringing up.
      - txcwpalpha 9y ago
        What? C. diff is one of the most common disease-causing bacterias [1]. Other examples like norovirus or C. perfringens (another spore-forming bacteria responsible for stomach flu) are also among the most common [2]. They aren't special cases at all. 1: https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2015/p0225-clostridium-difficile.html https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2015/p0225-clostridium-di... 2: https://www.foodsafety.gov/poisoning/causes/bacteriaviruses/index.html https://www.foodsafety.gov/poisoning/causes/bacteriaviruses/...
        st26 9y ago
        Huh, I had always heard C. diff was a pretty common presence but very rarely symptomatic.
AlimJaffer 9y ago
Isopropyl alcohol is a godsend when it comes to smelly athletic gear. If you want to clean hockey gear, some of the worst smelling athletic gear in existence, put it in a spray bottle in a 50/50 mix with water and spray profusely. It does a remarkable job at getting rid of the smell.
Someone1234 9y ago
Me too. I put a white vinegar and water mixture into one of those inexpensive reusable spray bottles found in the cleaning aisle. If you need something a little stronger scrub with baking soda then squirt on vinegar, the two react together (base + acid) creating CO2 and further loosening grime as it bubbles. I'd like rubbing alcohol, but the local supermarkets only sell it in the pharmacy and the bottles are a little small/expensive to use for cleaning ($2/ea for ish 500ml size). Only chemical product I still use is toilet cleaner, since I've not found a safer alternative that actually works. Any suggestions there would be welcome. Random pro-tip: They sell these spray bottles which release an ultra-fine mist. They're designed for hair/beauty but are absolutely fantastic for cleaning too. Just only put water in them as they're quite expensive relative to normal sprayers look up "Flairosol Mist Sprayer." You hand pump it a couple of times to compress, and then it mists like a deodorant. They're fantastic. Also great for hair.
forgotmypw 9y ago
It's not that good to inhale...
code_duck 9y ago
When possible, I prefer to use ethanol over isopropyl. Isopropyl alcohol is toxic in a rather unpleasant way, while ethyl alcohol’s toxicity is well understood and tolerated.
exodust 9y ago
Isopropyl is too expensive where I am (Australia) for general household cleaning. Otherwise I probably would use it more often.

txcwpalpha 9y ago

In case someone reads your comment and takes it to heart: isopropyl alcohol is not as magic as you're making it sound. It is a disinfectant but isopropyl alcohol does not sterilize. Some bacteria and spores are not killed by isopropyl alcohol, and depending on the surface you are cleaning, it can be ineffective at even disinfecting. >Alcohols are not recommended for sterilizing medical and surgical materials principally because they lack sporicidal action and they cannot penetrate protein-rich materials. Fatal postoperative wound infections with Clostridium have occurred when alcohols were used to sterilize surgical instruments contaminated with bacterial spores. [1] It's probably fine for most household uses, but it does not sterilize like you said it does, and if you're trying to clean something that you know is contaminated by disease-causing bacteria (eg cleaning the bathroom after someone has had the stomach flu) or someone immuno-suppressed lives in your house, you probably should reach for something stronger. Isopropyl alcohol also, like you mentioned, evaporates quickly. You mention this as a benefit, but fast evaporation also means that you are likely inhaling a lot of alcohol particles as you clean, which is not good for your lung health either. 1: https://www.cdc.gov/infectioncontrol/guidelines/disinfection/disinfection-methods/chemical.html https://www.cdc.gov/infectioncontrol/guidelines/disinfection...

deleted 9y ago
[deleted]
JohnJamesRambo 9y ago
Alcohol kills most things very well. I'm a scientist that handles lots of nasty things like MRSA and gram negative organisms that have killed their human hosts and we spray our gloves with 70% ethanol and spray down our biosafety hoods with it as do almost all labs in the world. This is all moot probably because homes don't need disinfection (hygiene hypothesis implies you probably need the opposite) but alcohol will certainly kill most things. It would be extremely rare for you to need to kill exotic things like bacterial spores that need nuclear options like autoclaving to kill.
- DoreenMichele 9y ago
  Eh, the GP did mention provisos like immuno-suppressed individuals. That's perhaps more common than you think.
- txcwpalpha 9y ago
  As you're a scientist, I'd defer to your expertise, but I will mention that the situations where alcohol falls short are with spores and when cleaning certain materials. AFAIK, MRSA does not form spores, and so alcohol would work well for disinfecting it. Your gloves and hoods are also probably made of a material that is effectively cleaned by alcohol. On the other hand, C. difficile (a bacteria responsible for diahrea/stomach flu) does produce spores which are not killed by alcohol cleaners. Similarly, viruses like norovirus (also responsible for "stomach flu") are not effectively disinfected by alcohol, which is why I mentioned that if you're trying to clean up after a bout of stomach flu, you might want to reach for something stronger (like a bleach based cleaner).
  - st26 9y ago
    C. diff is pretty much only killed by bleach, and not something most people deal with frequently, or you know, ever. These seem like rather special cases to be bringing up.
    - txcwpalpha 9y ago
      What? C. diff is one of the most common disease-causing bacterias [1]. Other examples like norovirus or C. perfringens (another spore-forming bacteria responsible for stomach flu) are also among the most common [2]. They aren't special cases at all. 1: https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2015/p0225-clostridium-difficile.html https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2015/p0225-clostridium-di... 2: https://www.foodsafety.gov/poisoning/causes/bacteriaviruses/index.html https://www.foodsafety.gov/poisoning/causes/bacteriaviruses/...
      - st26 9y ago
        Huh, I had always heard C. diff was a pretty common presence but very rarely symptomatic.

AlimJaffer 9y ago

Isopropyl alcohol is a godsend when it comes to smelly athletic gear. If you want to clean hockey gear, some of the worst smelling athletic gear in existence, put it in a spray bottle in a 50/50 mix with water and spray profusely. It does a remarkable job at getting rid of the smell.

Someone1234 9y ago

Me too. I put a white vinegar and water mixture into one of those inexpensive reusable spray bottles found in the cleaning aisle. If you need something a little stronger scrub with baking soda then squirt on vinegar, the two react together (base + acid) creating CO2 and further loosening grime as it bubbles. I'd like rubbing alcohol, but the local supermarkets only sell it in the pharmacy and the bottles are a little small/expensive to use for cleaning ($2/ea for ish 500ml size). Only chemical product I still use is toilet cleaner, since I've not found a safer alternative that actually works. Any suggestions there would be welcome. Random pro-tip: They sell these spray bottles which release an ultra-fine mist. They're designed for hair/beauty but are absolutely fantastic for cleaning too. Just only put water in them as they're quite expensive relative to normal sprayers look up "Flairosol Mist Sprayer." You hand pump it a couple of times to compress, and then it mists like a deodorant. They're fantastic. Also great for hair.

forgotmypw 9y ago

It's not that good to inhale...

code_duck 9y ago

When possible, I prefer to use ethanol over isopropyl. Isopropyl alcohol is toxic in a rather unpleasant way, while ethyl alcohol’s toxicity is well understood and tolerated.

exodust 9y ago

Isopropyl is too expensive where I am (Australia) for general household cleaning. Otherwise I probably would use it more often.