Clean 'round the bend
Only two years have passed since Zaria Gorvett and two like-minded licence fee spongers
While Gorvett et al churned out 1200 words, an average of only 400 each, Zimmer has managed 1700 seemingly all on her lonesome. That's value for licence fee payers' money, right there.
Not only that, but unlike Gorvett she didn't laud the use of vinegar to mask the smell of putrid fish. Big ups to you, Katie!
Now, let's not get too excited. Anyone with even a basic understanding of chemistry will know that any acid is good for removing limescale, because duh! Those with a little more knowledge will see why lemon juice is better in some circumstances—in addition to dissolving carbonate, citric acid chelates metal ions thereby making them more water-soluble. And Zimmer's thesis doesn't get much further than that. When put in those terms, 1700 words seems almost overkill.
But those extra words are needed to explain why commercial household cleaning products, while they may be superior under some circumstances, may not be as good for health or the environment. As in so many cases, the arguments are simplified almost to the point of just supporting the narrative. Then again, this has to be written for a lay audience. It's a pity that it wasn't checked by someone who could join the dots better though.
Terpenes for instance, easily react with ozone in the air, creating miniscule particles. In general, inhaling particles of this size has been linked to lung and heart disease.
Katarina Zimmer, 'Its strength is its simplicity': The benefits of cleaning with vinegar, BBC Future
This is where we hit a problem. There's nothing wrong with the first part, terpenes will react with ozone. There's nothing wrong with the last part, inhaling fine aerosols has been linked to disease in some cases. The problem lies with the bit in the middle, implying that the reaction between terpenes and ozone creates miniscule particles
; because it doesn't.
The minuscule particles
—actually aerosol droplets—are already there. They're formed from the spraying action. The reaction between terpenes and ozone doesn't form these droplets, it oxidises the terpenes within them, changing them to something less benign.
But vinegar, by contrast, only consists of water and acetic acid (and a few other substances that make the difference between red and [white] wine vinegar, for instance).
Katarina Zimmer, 'Its strength is its simplicity': The benefits of cleaning with vinegar, BBC Future
Dedicated cleaning vinegar doesn't even have that; it's simply an aqueous solution of acetic acid.
All that pettiness aside, it's nice to know that vinegar is not just for chips. Although using malt vinegar, which is best for chips, as a cleaning agent would be a real waste. Stick to cleaning vinegar for toilets, sinks, and kettles. Or the cheapest white wine vinegar if that's all that's available to you.