I absolutely assumed that this part is true, but I’m wondering if this is pretty useless after it’s cooled down or if it’s still okay to make a big batch and use it over a couple of months or however long it could last. There’s also the concern of mixing vinegar which is acidic with a soap which tends to be alkali. Idk what to expect chemically speaking, but then adding heat and agitation will certainly cause a more aggressive chemical reaction. I assume this won’t explode or produce toxic fumes or anything, but this might not be particularly shelf stable because it’s relying on the reaction from the mixing to do some scrubbing bubbles action on some of the challenging shit? Idk, I just hesitate to trust this sort of “life hack” type info because so much of it has proven to be anything ranging from useless bullshit to corporate astroturfing (buy Dawn!) to downright dangerous advice.

My hunch is that it probably works great for the first hour or so after mixing and then has immediate diminishing returns, so it’s probably best to make a small batch, immediately spray it on everything you want to hit with it, and then go back and wipe up in the order you sprayed this shit onto. But idk, I haven’t tried it, use at your own risk. Amateur chemistry has risks.

It’s not that “hot liquids hold more things” afaik, it’s that hot liquids have more energy to break apart the larger particles into smaller ones, i.e. dissolve them. Otherwise you’d expect the dissolved sugar to settle at the bottom when you cool the tea back down.

I could also be wrong, but I believe SDS has less ‘affinity’ for protons than acetic acid (which is part of the reason why detergents work so well). You’d need sulfuric acid, or something stronger, and removal from solution of its buddy ion sodium. Then I think you could protonate dodecyl sulfate.

Now acetic acid and soaps…yeah, far more likely to generate scum. The polar head is a weaker acid.

The importance of soap to human civilization is documented by history, but some problems associated with its use have been recognized. One of these is caused by the weak acidity (pKa ca. 4.9) of the fatty acids. Solutions of alkali metal soaps are slightly alkaline (pH 8 to 9) due to hydrolysis. If the pH of a soap solution is lowered by acidic contaminants, insoluble fatty acids precipitate and form a scum. A second problem is caused by the presence of calcium and magnesium salts in the water supply (hard water). These divalent cations cause aggregation of the micelles, which then deposit as a dirty scum.

These problems have been alleviated by the development of synthetic amphiphiles called detergents (or syndets). By using a much stronger acid for the polar head group, water solutions of the amphiphile are less sensitive to pH changes. Also the sulfonate functions used for virtually all anionic detergents confer greater solubility on micelles incorporating the alkaline earth cations found in hard water.

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