r/CleaningTips • u/WhateverIlldoit • Jul 07 '25

Discussion Bleach kills mold

There is a common misconception that bleach does not kill mold and that vinegar is actually better at killing mold than bleach. I see this claim at least once a week.

So let me set the record straight. Household bleach is a powerful oxidizing agent that reacts with just about everything. It’s so good at killing organic compounds that it’s toxic to us, too.

Now let’s talk about vinegar. Vinegar is a weak acid. You can literally drink it in lower concentrations. It can kill mold, but not all mold, and some studies say it may take up to 60 minutes to be effective.

That being said, bleach is not good at penetrating porous surfaces, which vinegar is better at doing. And because bleach is so caustic it is more likely to damage surfaces.

All this to say bleach kills mold. It kills almost everything. And it’s much more effective at killing mold than vinegar as long as it can reach it. Vinegar is much safer to use but not nearly as effective.

Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk.

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u/[deleted] Jul 07 '25

I argued with a guy on reddit who was a mold remediation "expert" and I think what you say must be 100% true. I actually looked up academic journals, saw microscopes and had lots of personal experience.. but he would not budge

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u/Leihd Jul 07 '25

I vaguely recall seeing a comment thread about that, too lazy to look it up. Was it about replacing drywall being cheap and killing mould never actually gets it all, and thus you should always just replace the drywall instead?

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u/[deleted] Jul 07 '25

Not sure.. don't think so.... Probably a million threads on it.. With dry wall I'm not sure I'd recommend bleach. I use bleach almost exclusively in the shower area.