# Household chemical questions **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 7, 2005, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/household-chemical-questions/316038 "2005-08-07T23:07:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Thin\_Lizzy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9a140/32.png) [@Thin\_Lizzy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thin_Lizzy)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2005, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/household-chemical-questions/316038/1 "2005-08-07T23:07:16Z")
Is rubbing alcohol acidic or alkaline? Which is more acidic, peroxide or vinegar? ---
**Author:** ![rfgdxm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c0e974/32.png) [@rfgdxm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rfgdxm)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2005, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/household-chemical-questions/316038/2 "2005-08-07T23:19:32Z")
WHY is this relevant? There are pH meters on the market you can use on household chemicals if you must know. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2005, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/household-chemical-questions/316038/3 "2005-08-07T23:25:13Z")
Rubbing alcohol, also called isopropanol or isopropyl alcohol, is roughly neutral. It is neither acidic or basic. Hydrogen peroxide is also neutral. Vinegar (5% acetic acid) is acidic with a pH of two to three. ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2005, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/household-chemical-questions/316038/4 "2005-08-08T02:59:03Z")
> [@rfgdxm](#): > > WHY is this relevant? I’d be a bit puzzled to say to what this question is obliged to be relevant. Perhaps I’m missing something, but this seems about as appropriate as much of what passes through GQ. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Scrivener](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@The\_Scrivener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Scrivener)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2005, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/household-chemical-questions/316038/5 "2005-08-08T06:02:16Z")
re. hydrogen peroxide – may be chemically neutral, as **Squink** said (I had no idea, one way or the other), but FTR the chemical in industrial-strength solutions is powerfully corrosive, and even explosive, with a reputation for eating away most of the substances (including many metals) that might normally be used to contain it. Hydrogen peroxide at 85% strength makes a very potent, if chemically unstable, propellant for things like torpedoes. (At that level of purity it’s called HTP, or high-test peroxide.) It was the spontaneous detonation of one such torpedo which sank the Russian nuclear submarine _Kursk_ five years ago… ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2005, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/household-chemical-questions/316038/6 "2005-08-08T16:54:23Z")
> [@The Scrivener](#): > > re. hydrogen peroxide – may be chemically neutral, as **Squink** said (I had no idea, one way or the other), but FTR the chemical in industrial-strength solutions is powerfully corrosive, and even explosive, with a reputation for eating away most of the substances (including many metals) that might normally be used to contain it. Hydrogen peroxide at 85% strength makes a very potent, if chemically unstable, propellant for things like torpedoes. (At that level of purity it’s called HTP, or high-test peroxide.) It was the spontaneous detonation of one such torpedo which sank the Russian nuclear submarine _Kursk_ five years ago… Hydrogen peroxide is indeed a strong oxidizing agent, but this has nothing to do with its pH, which determines whether a substance is acidic, basic (alkaline), or neutral. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2005, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/household-chemical-questions/316038/7 "2005-08-08T18:01:29Z")
While I can’t read the OP’s mind, the pH of household chemicals can be a very useful piece of information. For example, if you want to remove mineral deposits (lime) from your shower head, you need an acid. You can soak it in rubbing alcohol for a week, and it won’t help. A couple hours in vinegar, though, and the lime comes right off. ---
**Author:** ![snailboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/97f17d/32.png) [@snailboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snailboy)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2005, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/household-chemical-questions/316038/8 "2005-08-08T20:55:48Z")
I recently read that alcohol can function as both an acid and an alkaloid, like water can. Overall, it’s neutral like water.