Like all other strong acids, acetic acid is a desiccant. A desiccant has the ability to remove moisture from plants. When full strength vinegar is sprayed onto any plant, the moisture is sucked out and the plants die. Vinegar draws moisture from the leaves and does not usually affect the roots. However, it can completely kill a plant depending on the level of maturity and the type of plant.
The proportion of acetic acid in a weed control solution determines the strength and speed with which the solution kills weeds. A solution that has not been diluted with water is the strongest. This will completely eliminate most of the weeds in the shortest possible time. Also, undiluted vinegar is not selective and can kill most of the leaves on your lawn. So this means that when you apply a full-strength natural house weedkiller to your lawn, you need to protect the right plants.
Salt
Rock salt or water softener salt works well with vinegar to kill weeds. Salt is a powerful desiccant capable of extracting most of the moisture from plants. This means that the salt acts on the foliage and not on the roots to kill weeds.
In addition, salt is also a non-selective weedkiller and can kill both good plants and weeds. However, when a large proportion of salt is used as a herbicide, this can be problematic. In fact, salt can remain and affect other good plants that will grow there even after a while. The right proportion of salt should therefore be used when making an effective homemade weedkiller.
