Vinegar and pH for Dummies

Acetic acid, found in vinegar

Another day, another scientifically illiterate liberal arts graduate... or, perhaps in this case, someone who just didn't quite get what the OQ was asking. Today, we'll visit Leaf Group's Hunker.com, where longtime eHowian Janet Beal will address the topic of "How to Adjust the pH of Water with Vinegar." What the reader ends up with is a half-baked answer that definitely doesn't rise to the level of "sciencing" (whatever that is...).

Unfortunately, in transferring the post from its original home at eHow, Leaf Group lopped off Beal's references, so we can't see where she came up with the moronic definition of pH within her introduction:

"Maintaining or changing the acidic/alkaline balance of water is a major concern for those involved in agriculture, environmental protection or public water supply. On a smaller scale, this balance (called pH) can affect the success of hydroponic gardening, aquarium maintenance, and household cleaning."

-snort- The "acidic/alkaline balance"? Only in those bogus health-fad articles about your body's pH do you find that ridiculous construct. The pH is not the "acidic/alkaline balance"; it is a proxy for the degree of acidity – or, more accurately, the concentration of the hydrogen ion in the solution. In other words, saying that

"Adding vinegar will increase the ratio of acid to alkaline content..."

...is just plain scientifically illiterate! Beal goes on in this vein for a few hundred words, "explaining" that – if you wish to lower the pH of tap water – you test with pH strips, then add vinegar, then test again, then add vinegar... rinse and repeat... until you get to the pH you want. She never uses the term "acetic acid," never mentions the pH of "pure" white vinegar (a 5% solution has a pH of about 2.4), and simply advises her readers to start with small amounts of vinegar and water and then

"Extrapolate, as best possible, the amount of vinegar you will need to produce the same pH change in the complete water supply."

"[As] best possible"? Wow: now there's some great scientific advice. Beal assiduously avoids any mention of the words one might expect to find in a chemistry lab, such as "ion," "mole," and "concentration." And still, she got paid for this rubbish... maybe she shouldn't be the Dumbass of the Day after all if she can pull that off!

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