Bleach and Vinegar
Julie and John just moved to a new apartment. Julie is planning to clean the kitchen and wonders if she should use vinegar or bleach. John notes that it may be more effective to use both at the same time and recommends using that solution for cleaning. Julie is suspicious of this idea. She notes that vinegar contains acetic acid (weak acid) and bleach contains sodium hypochlorite (strong oxidizer). She wonders how these compounds will act when combined.
Explore properties of acetic acid and sodium hypochlorite and explain why they are used as cleaning and disinfectant agents.
Identify other acids and oxidizers routinely used for cleaning purposes.
Determine whether Julie should follow the recommendation provided by John. You will need to write an equation for the reaction between acetic acid and sodium hypochlorite. Identify products of the reaction and discuss their safety.