Household & Industry

Cleaning & home

• Descaling: dissolves calcium carbonate in kettles, coffee makers, showerheads (5% works; patience helps).
• Glass and stainless cleaning, mineral-stain removal, deodorizing (neutralizes alkaline odors), fabric-softening rinse, rust soaking on tools.

Agriculture

• Weed control: household 5% burns tops only; 15–20% horticultural acetic acid is a genuine (and hazardous-to-handle) contact herbicide, regulated in places.
• Feed acidulant, silage aid, poultry-water sanitizer (regulated contexts).

Historical & industrial

Textile dyeing mordant; ink and pigment binder (historical); photographic stop bath; rubber latex coagulation; leather processing; eggshell calcium extraction; animal-hide preparation. Today’s bulk chemical acetic acid — vinyl acetate, solvents, terephthalic acid — comes from methanol carbonylation plants, not fermentation, and is a different supply chain entirely.