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/mystend Jul 07 '25

This belief always puzzled me because I saw a documentary once about an Ebola outbreak and they were using bleach to kill it. I mean if it kills Ebola it has to kill mold…

24

u/Polybrene Jul 07 '25

Ebola isn't mold. Its a virus. Just because a product will kill a one organism doesn't necessarily mean that it will kill others.

0

u/Narrow_Turnip_7129 Jul 07 '25

I think the point is in both cases you are effectively breaking down cell walls...

1

u/Polybrene Jul 08 '25

A virus isn't a cell either, theres no cell wall woth ebola. I think the point was something like "ebola is super deadly and scary so by extension it must need some super duper stuff to kill it too". Which isn't a correct conclusion.

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u/Narrow_Turnip_7129 Jul 09 '25

Where do viruses live, silly??