Does fumigating a room with vinegar have a sterilizing effect?

In life, many people choose to use vinegar to fumigate the room for disinfection, especially in winter, when cold viruses are rampant. At this time, you need to frequently sterilize the place where you live to kill the virus molecules in the air, which can effectively avoid diseases. Vinegar fumigation is a folk remedy, but you must choose steam fumigation. So does vinegar fumigation really have a sterilization effect?

There is indeed a folk belief that vinegar can disinfect, kill bacteria and prevent colds, but disinfection experts have long since conducted experiments to prove that vinegar has no effect on disinfection or sterilization, let alone killing viruses. Experts from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention remind the general public that for families, the best way to prevent colds and disinfect is to ventilate, rather than blindly using vinegar. If the concentration of fumigated vinegar is too high or the time is too long, it will not only cause symptoms such as difficulty breathing and nausea, but also cause damage to the skin and respiratory mucosa.

Be aware of two misunderstandings about preventing and treating colds. The reason why many people believe that vinegar has the effect of disinfection and sterilization may be because it contains acetic acid. Yu Kang, director of the Department of Nutrition at Peking Union Medical College Hospital, said that acetic acid does have disinfecting and bactericidal effects at a certain concentration, but the effect is not very good, and it is not recommended for use even at high concentrations. The acetic acid concentration in vinegar is very low, far from being enough to disinfect. Vinegar tastes good as a condiment, but it cannot be used as a disinfectant.