# Is it safe to have vinegar in water while cooking food?

**URL:** https://community.anovaculinary.com/t/is-it-safe-to-have-vinegar-in-water-while-cooking-food/754
**Category:** Anova Precision® Cooker
**Tags:** safety
**Created:** [April 17, 2016, 2:27pm UTC](https://community.anovaculinary.com/t/is-it-safe-to-have-vinegar-in-water-while-cooking-food/754 "2016-04-17T14:27:01Z")
**Posts on this page:** 5
**Page:** 1

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### Author: ![esbjorn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@esbjorn](https://community.anovaculinary.com/u/esbjorn)
#### Post date: [April 17, 2016, 2:27pm UTC](https://community.anovaculinary.com/t/is-it-safe-to-have-vinegar-in-water-while-cooking-food/754/1 "2016-04-17T14:27:01Z")

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I live in an area with hard water. One way to handle lime scale build-up, which is recommended here on the forums, is to run the unit with water and vinegar when needed. I’m considering running with a smaller amount of vinegar in the water, but to do this every time I use the unit rather than only for cleaning. The plastic bags should prevent the vinegar to affect the food. Has anyone tried it, and/or know of any reason not to do this?

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### Author: ![acs](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/community.anovaculinary.com/acs/32/855_2.png) [@acs](https://community.anovaculinary.com/u/acs)
#### Post date: [April 18, 2016, 6:17am UTC](https://community.anovaculinary.com/t/is-it-safe-to-have-vinegar-in-water-while-cooking-food/754/2 "2016-04-18T06:17:27Z")

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I too have hard water issues. &nbsp;I add white vinegar to the water most of the time (basically when I remember to dump it in). &nbsp;I haven’t had any issues yet. &nbsp;Besides, there really isn’t anything to damage. &nbsp;As for the food, I vacuum seal, so it isn’t affected due to the heavier bags. &nbsp;I have no idea how zip lock bags might react since I’ve never tried them.

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### Author: ![esbjorn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@esbjorn](https://community.anovaculinary.com/u/esbjorn)
#### Post date: [April 18, 2016, 7:17pm UTC](https://community.anovaculinary.com/t/is-it-safe-to-have-vinegar-in-water-while-cooking-food/754/3 "2016-04-18T19:17:35Z")

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Thank you, acs. This is about what I expected, and I’ll be trying it out from now on.

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### Author: ![Marco\_Molinero](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/community.anovaculinary.com/marco_molinero/32/7621_2.png) [@Marco\_Molinero](https://community.anovaculinary.com/u/Marco_Molinero)
#### Post date: [September 17, 2022, 4:16pm UTC](https://community.anovaculinary.com/t/is-it-safe-to-have-vinegar-in-water-while-cooking-food/754/4 "2022-09-17T16:16:24Z")

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I’d question what it does to your machine over the longer term

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### Author: ![Gerard\_Weatherby](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/community.anovaculinary.com/gerard_weatherby/32/7799_2.png) [@Gerard\_Weatherby](https://community.anovaculinary.com/u/Gerard_Weatherby)
#### Post date: [December 3, 2022, 1:59pm UTC](https://community.anovaculinary.com/t/is-it-safe-to-have-vinegar-in-water-while-cooking-food/754/5 "2022-12-03T13:59:00Z")

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Keeps it cleaner. It’s common to use vinegar to clean appliances that heat water. e.g. Coffee pots, humidifiers.