General cleaning question

What is the ratio for making a cleaning solution using vinegar? I need to clean my return pump, koralias, heaters, skimmer, etc., and dont want to ruin anything. Is straight vinegar too strong? I dont want to deal with that smell for very long.

 

I use 50/50 to clean my skimmer.

 

I use a bit less, about 80/20, water/vinegar to soak the PH and it works just fine, I've found it doesn't take too much vinegar to clean stuff really well, and of course, there's less smell!!

 

Vinager doesnt smell that bad....I had cholesterol problems and used apple flavored vinegar in my tea and cleared my cholesterol up....
guess I am stranger than most though....

 

The smell doesn't bother me, I use straight vinegar for small cleaning projects, sometimes diluted purely to make up volume since 4 gallons of water and 1 gallon of vinegar is much cheaper than 5 gallons of vinegar.

Diluted vinegar will still work it just may take longer, there's no hard and fast rule about how much to dilute it though, I wouldn't go less than 20% vinegar though personally.

 

Thanks. I didnt know if too strong a vinegar solution would ruin the seals in powerheads or heaters and the like.

 

I have the same concern. If I'm cleaning something without any seals, then I don't care. But when I'm cleaning my PH (most things really) I dilute it in a 1:5 ratio (vinegar to water). (Now, I don't use a measuring cup, I estimate the ratio).

The smell is subjective and isn't an is or is not smell bad thing : I don't mind the smell while I'm working but I hate how the odor lingers. Lots of rinsing takes care of this.