Vinegar Is The Secret To Soft Towels, Whiter Whites, And More Laundry Solutions

Anyone who cleans the home quickly learns this truism: baking soda and vinegar, which are non-toxic ingredients, are superheroes that can make many things in your home sparkle. They do not contain problematic chemicals that are often found in commercial cleaners, but are also significantly cheaper and do less damage to wastewater.

The use of vinegar for cleaning has been applied for many years, and especially ordinary old distilled white vinegar is magical for washing clothes.

Here’s How Vinegar Helps in the Laundry

• Fabric Softener

According to Kegan Kimball of Laundryheap, laundry and dry-cleaning company based in the UK, putting clothes in a white solution of vinegar and water for about 20 minutes, rinsing, and then air-drying fix both itching or stiffness. This loosens the coarse fibers and the clothes become soft.

This is also confirmed by Connie Sundjojo, from the Lavie Laundry service, who says that half a cup of vinegar added in the rinse cycle has the same effect on a towel that you do not want to air dry.

White vinegar is a nice alternative to fabric softeners that make baby clothes a fire-retardant.

• Brightening Colors

The acidity of the vinegar dissolves the alkalis found in soaps and commercial detergents, so adding vinegar to the rinsing cycle removes residues that dull the color of clothing.

Vinegar can also be used for a white 100% cotton fabric.

Procedure: – Add one cup of vinegar to a pot of water, then boil it. Clothes are left overnight and then washed as usual. Remember ONLY 100% cotton!

• Reduction of adhesion and hair!

When towels and shirts are washed together, hair usually remains on the clothes. Don’t worry that vinegar saves the situation.

Vinegar action – in the rinsing cycle reduces the static properties of clothing and prevents the binding of fibers.

• De-Scent Smokey Clothes

People who smoke or those around them then face the problem of smoky clothing, which can be especially uncomfortable for those suffering from allergies.

So, if you want your clothes to regain a fresh scent, put half a cup of vinegar in the rinse cycle, which will kill those odors. If the laundry cannot be washed traditionally (but only like dry cleaning), leave the clothes hung over a tub of boiling water with one cup of vinegar and the effect will be the same.

Other Uses of Vinegar:

• Banish Mildew Odor and Fight Underarm Odor
• Erase Hem Lines
• Keep Dark Clothing Dark
• Clean Your Iron – outside
• Pre-treat stains with vinegar
• Use vinegar to deodorize clothes

Tips About Using Vinegar in the Laundry

• Vinegar is safe to use in both standard and high-efficiency washers and is beneficial to the environment and septic tanks.
• The acetic acid contained in the vinegar brightens, softens, and kills odors in your laundry.
• When buying vinegar to use in the laundry, choose distilled white vinegar
• You can use vinegar and laundry detergent in the same load, but you cannot mix them, otherwise, you’ll get oily clothes.
• Use 1/4 cup of vinegar for very mild odors, 1/2 cup for medium odors, and 1 cup for strong odors

How to add vinegar to laundry

Things You Should Never Clean with Vinegar

Here are some instances where you should skip the vinegar and grab a different cleaning agent for the job:

• Clothes Iron – to clean the inside of your iron with vinegar can corrode the heating element
• Stone Countertops (granite, marble, and soapstone) – It can make them lose their shine and cause pitting or scarring
• Dishwashers – the acetic acid can eat away at the rubber parts in dishwashers
• Electronic Screens (computer, smartphone, tablet, or TV) – vinegar can damage a screen’s anti-glare properties and even make a touch screen less responsive
• Flooring – vinegar can dissolve the finish that protects the wood and leave it looking cloudy, dull, or scratched
• Knives – Tools with exposed edges, like kitchen knives, are especially vulnerable to vinegar
• Small Appliances (blenders, coffee makers, and toasters) with lower-quality of stainless steel – they are less resistant to rusting, which can be spurred on by acid

Sources:
wikihow.com
consumerreports.org