All my life I grew up watching adults add bleach to dishwater, and felt better after I read “experts’” advice to add white vinegar, instead. Decades later, it finally “Dawned™️” on me that detergent is basic, somewhere on the alkalinity scale between 8 and 9. So it’s the soap that bleach interacts with to create the problem, not the alkalinity. On the other hand, I’ve noticed white vinegar killing the suds and having to use more elbow grease to clean greasy cooking pans. After having done only the most basic chores after a couple of months, I’m working slowly, in increments to clean up a disgusting mess and have been in the kitchen a couple of days, and this realization hit me while thinking about greasy residue on countertops from making drip coffee and the air frying and pan sautėing (steam), so in order to clean and disinfect, it’s necessary to clean with dishwater and rinse with white vinegar. This after I’ve already “cleaned” ¾ of surface space in my kitchen! 😠 I ran the thoughts about bleach, vinegar to dishwater by qwen by asking “Is it okay to add bleach or vinegar to dishwater to add extra efficacy and disinfection for kitchen use?” And it confirmed.

I feel stupid, for decades.

The same for bathrooms. How many times have you heard to mix a tablespoon of dish detergent to a cup of white vinegar and quart of water to effectively clean and descale the sink, tub and shower, and toilet? You’re going to want to clean with detergent first and follow up with a white vinegar and water soak and scrub, then rinse with white vinegar and water, then squeegee off/dry surfaces to prevent mold and scaling cycle beginning with the rinse!

I’m open to any time, money, and ecological budget friendly options anyone can offer, what a pita. Thank you for reading my rant.