Does vinegar hurt wood finish?

While household vinegar has a plethora of uses in the home, it is not appropriate in a variety of scenarios. Vinegar’s acidity causes it to erode wood and stone, as well as degrade wax, kill plants, and cause other problems.

Surfaces That Shouldn’t Be Scrubbed Vinegar

Hardwood floors, furniture, and other wood surfaces — Because vinegar is acidic, it can destroy hardwood floor coatings, making them look dirty. Use a cleaner designed for hardwood floors or a solution of soap and water. This approach should be used on wood furniture as well as any other wood surfaces. Here are some suggestions for preventing water damage to hardwood flooring.

• Waxed surfaces should not be cleaned with vinegar since it degrades the wax. If you want to remove an old coat of wax from a surface, vinegar is a good choice. Instead, use a wax cleaning solvent.
• Stoneware made of granite or marble can pit and corrode when exposed to vinegar. As a result, never use vinegar to clean stone. A solution of mild dish detergent and warm water should suffice.
• Most laptops, cellphones, tablet screens, televisions, and other sensitive electronic surfaces have an oleophobic coating that is harmed if vinegar is sprayed on them.
• Plants infested with bugs while vinegar can be used as a weed killer, spraying it on bug-infested plants will most certainly harm, if not kill, the plants.
• Egg spills — when vinegar reacts with the proteins in the egg, the acidity causes the egg to congeal, forming a sticky substance that is difficult to remove.
• Always use caution while combining vinegar and bleach. Both of these compounds are effective cleaners, but combining them produces chlorine gas, which is harmful to your health.
• Grease stains vinegar’s acidity will not help you eliminate grease from any surface. Use a standard dishwashing detergent or another alkaline cleanser to clean oily patches.

PH Effect

Vinegar is an acidic substance that can eat away at or damage a hardwood floor’s finish over time. If vinegar is combined with very hot water, the process can be accelerated. Cloudy, drab, or white patches will appear on your floor as a result. If you insist on using vinegar, dilute it by mixing 1/2 cup white vinegar with 1 gallon of lukewarm water.

A moderate cleaning solution with a neutral pH is the safest option for your hardwood floor. As long as you don’t use too much water or flood the floor, a neutral cleanser won’t harm the finish on hardwood flooring.

Also, what is the effect of vinegar on wood?

The vinegar + metal combo apparently combines with the natural tannins in wood to produce an immediate stain (some woods have more tannin than others).