vinegar sources?

[bmwjohn]

Hi:
I understand that strong vinegar is a good rust remover, and also a safe way to kill weeds without zapping pets, etc. like weed killer does. So, I'm getting 2 one gallon plastic spray containers, one for stronger vinegar, one for water. Where is the cheapest likely place for 10-20+ % vinegar? Wal-Mart is obvious but I hate to assume everything comes to wal-mart. Spray under car, then spray water to neutralize. Spray weeds, keep water for overspray. Amazon has LOTS of choices, all plus $14 gal. shipping. Thoughts? Comments?

 

[Bandito440]

What you're looking for is an acetic acid solution; vinegar is usually a term used for the food-grade stuff that's 3-5%. Concentrations of 20% will work as a defoliant if applied during a sunny day and allowed to dry. Sometimes you'll see this labeled "herbicidal vinegar", although I don't care for that name. However, it's not systemic; it just burns the leaves. Most weeds will regrow. When properly used, glyphosate is a safer and far more effective herbicide.

I don't know how acetic acid reacts with steel or rust, but I'd be hesitant to spray it on a vehicle without investigating that thoroughly.

 

[earlyre]

while it won't burn your flesh like acetic acid, glyphosate(roundup) is HARDLY safe.
just ask my brother who was eating wild blueberries in his yard that(unknown to him) his neighbor had been spraying with roundup.

that was just before he had gastroparesis.
basically the muscles controlling moving food out of his stomach and down the intestines stopped working. so the food just sat there and started to rot, causing all sorts of "fun" distresses, and a couple months of various doctors before someone figured it out.
several years, and medications later, the muscles are working again, but he now has a Gluten sensitivity, and "leaky gut syndrome"
even the slightest amount of gluten in food and he has Diarrhea.

 

[Dyusik]

At the euro market, where I shop for home land foods, they sell a 70% strength, but in a small bottle. Why not just get a bottle of evaporust? Acid will cause rust as easy as it removes it. Acids do work, but I prefer chelation agents for a clean result.

 

[spackard]

I think one of the stupidest things Google does is return web pages saying vinegar is good for {x}.
Just append "-vinegar" into your search next time.
example: rust remover -vinegar

 

[Bandito440]

Earlyre, I'm sorry to hear of your brother's condition. My statement was that glyphosate is safer than acetic acid when used properly. I did not make an absolute statement deeming it safe, or even HARDLY safe.

Gastroparesis has not been proven to be the result of glyphosate consumption, although there are plenty of activists selling organic things and woo woo detox supplements that might want you to believe otherwise. "Leaky gut" is a pretend disease, created by Internet personalities. As unfortunate as it is, we can't draw a causation between your brother's digestive issues and his exposure. Correlation does not imply causation.

I realize glyphosate is a hot issue, and triggers strong emotions with some people. I'm just here to present some facts on a topic I'm familiar with. Using LD50 to measure acute toxicity, glyphosate is safer than the acetic acid in vinegar (even if it's fair trade, organic, gluten-free, and non-gmo).

 

[nthach]

If you know what you're doing, you can buy glacial acetic acid - it's not food-grade but it's industrial grade for use in photography and other processes that need it. Just remember - if you find yourself buying a gallon of it, wear PPE and never add water to acid.

First place would be a photography store, second would be a chemical supply shop that sells to end users. I doubt you can use acetic acid to make meth or other nasty things, but it's something not to be handled lightly.

 

[user52165]

Just bought 2 gallons at Costco for $3.49. It's 5%. Just use more of it for your job. Cheapest product available with MANY safe uses.

 

[L_Sludger]

I've had vinegar take some surface rust off of NOS rotors that were stored in humid conditions. Worked a treat. I used baking soda wash to neutralize afterward.

 

[Johnny2Bad]

If you listen to the usual experts, all fruits and vegetables require washing before ingestion. If you don't, even your store-bought fresh food will contain residues, some of which are far more debilitating, over time, than Roundup® (aka Glyphosate, since Monsanto's patent protection expired two decades ago). If your food is sourced outside the US and Canada, expect it to be contaminated with banned chemicals.

If you run across uncultivated food ... say, wild blueberries in the boreal forrest ... you can probably eat it as is. But that's rare in the modern world; if people are around, expect it to be cultivated.

Now, to be honest, I don't practice what I preach. I've never washed fruits or vegetables before eating, and I'm not suffering from any chemical intrusions, in my sixth decade of life. Nor do I apply chemical treatments in my yard, to kill weeds or anything else.

But you can't expect a neighbour to avoid chemical treatment. When 40% of used oil in the USA (according to the State of California) is dumped in the environment instead of being recycled, it's obvious the average citizen doesn't lose much sleep over chemical contamination of their property or the local ecosystem.

 

[Johnny2Bad]

I haven't bought any in a long time, but there is a acetic acid plant in my city that sells it at any concentration used industrially or food grade. Maybe do a search for plants or distributors in your area.

 

[totegoat]

We buy Heinz cleaning vinegar at Wally. Its only 6%, but works well cleaning toilet water ports.