I bet you’ve never heard about the laundry benefits of vinegar!
Laundry day isn’t exactly everyone’s cup of tea. But what if I told you there’s a secret ingredient in your kitchen that can revolutionize your laundry routine? A versatile, all-natural liquid that you probably associate with pickling and salad dressings.
Many people don’t realize that there are many laundry benefits of vinegar, with a wide array of brilliant uses in the laundry room that can make your clothes softer, cleaner, and fresher while also being easy on the environment and your wallet.
From odor-fighting and stain-busting properties to eco-friendly fabric softening and brightening hacks, vinegar will become your new laundry room’s secret weapon! So say goodbye to harsh chemicals and expensive detergents, all thanks to this humble kitchen staple.
Ready to discover the laundry secrets that vinegar has been hiding right under your nose? Check out the 14 laundry benefits of vinegar you probably didn’t know about.
It’s eco-friendly
Vinegar is a natural and biodegradable substance, making it an eco-friendly alternative to laundry products that are chock-full of chemicals. Using these laundry benefits of vinegar can reduce the impact we leave on the environment and contribute to a greener planet.
It comes from renewable resources and doesn’t harm the ecosystem during the disposal process.
Say goodbye to mildew odors
Here’s a fantastic eco-friendly laundry tip: Adding vinegar during the wash cycle can eliminate moldy odors on towels. Fill the washer with hot water, just be sure to use warm water for dark-colored towels. Then, add 2 cups of vinegar and run a complete cycle.
Run a second one with detergent. This eco-friendly laundry tip works well for small amounts of mildew and bad smells. You’ll need a more aggressive treatment for more significant mold issues and stains.
It’s cost-effective
Commercial stain removers, fabric softeners, and odor removers can be pretty costly. Using vinegar, on the other hand, is a cost-effective, eco-friendly laundry tip that provides comparable or sometimes even superior results.
It’s readily available and inexpensive, making it a budget-friendly choice for doing your laundry. This might just be one of our favorite laundry benefits of vinegar!
Fight underarm odors
You can spray vinegar onto your clothes to remove stains on washable white clothes and perspiration odor. All you have to do is fill up a spray bottle with vinegar and store it in your laundry room.
Before doing your laundry, simply spray the vinegar directly on the underarm areas and let it work for about 10 minutes before tossing the item into your washing machine.
If the fabric feels stiff before you wash it, use a soft-bristled brush or an old toothbrush to break up the residue. This is one of the most enormous laundry benefits of vinegar because it helps cut through residual deodorant left on clothing and prevents underarm yellowing.
Hypoallergenic
Vinegar is hypoallergenic and delicate on the skin, making it ideal for those with allergies or sensitive skin. Unlike some commercial fabric softeners that contain harsh chemicals, it offers a natural and gentle approach to laundry chemicals.
By taking advantage of these laundry benefits of vinegar, you can reduce the risk of skin irritation and enjoy soft and supple clothes on your skin.
Dissolve soap residue
The acetic acid that’s found in distilled white vinegar has the ability to dissolve residues left in fabrics by detergents and soaps.
Simply add about half a cup of distilled white vinegar to where you would normal put your fabric softener, or you can add it manually at the beginning of your rinse cycle.
Reduces static cling
Vinegar can help get rid of all that static cling on your clothing items. Static electricity can cause clothes to stick together in all the wrong places. But by adding some vinegar to your wash cycle, you can reduce static electricity and enjoy static-free clothes from now on.
Erase hemlines
Here’s an eco-friendly laundry tip we bet you didn’t know about: Vinegar helps hide marks from clothing alterations.
To remove the tiny holes left along a seam line when you get a garment altered, dampen a white cloth with a bit of distilled white vinegar, set it under the fabric on an ironing board, and press on it.
Choose the correct ironing temperature for the material and use a clean, dry cloth on top of the fabric to prevent any glossy marks.
Whiten and brighten clothes
You can also use vinegar to brighten up overused clothes. To get white cotton underwear, dishcloths, and socks white again, just add a cup of distilled white vinegar to about a gallon of water in a larger-sized pot.
Heat the solution to boiling, and after turning off the heat, add the soiled items. Let them soak overnight, and then wash them in the machine as usual.
Keep your dark clothes dark
Using vinegar in your washing machine will hep prevent dullness on your dark-colored clothes by removing detergent residue and soap. Simply add half a cup of white vinegar to your final rinse cycle.
Get rid of unwanted odors
Vinegar helps get rid of strong odors like farm odors, cigarette smoke, and fast-food cooking. Fill up a large sink with some warm water and add a cup or two of distilled white vinegar, depending on the laundry load size.
Throw in your stinky clothes and allow them to soak overnight. Drain the washer and wash the laundry with a heavy-duty enzyme-based detergent.
To help eliminate odors from dry-clean-only clothes and things like drapes and pillows, here’s an eco-friendly laundry tip: fill up your bathtub with hot water and add a few cups of vinegar.
Hang the clothes above the steaming water and close the door so the steam can infiltrate the fibers.
Reduce pet hair and lint
Using distilled white vinegar in the rinse cycle will help prevent pet hair and lint from sticking to clothes.
Here’s what to do: Add half a cup of vinegar directly to the washer or the fabric softener dispenser at the beginning of the rinse cycle. Just don’t combine it with a commercial fabric softener.
Clean your washing machine
You can eliminate mineral deposits and soap scum that build up in your machine hoses by using vinegar. A couple of times per year, clean the hoses by running a complete cycle with the machine empty using hot water and 2 cups of white vinegar.
If you have fabric softener dispensers or automatic detergent, place the vinegar in the dispensers to dissolve any residue buildup that might limit your machine’s performance.
Bonus: Clean an iron
The laundry benefits of vinegar aren’t just limited to your washing machine! You can use it to dissolve mineral deposits that can clog an iron’s spray nozzles and steam vents, as well. Here’s what to do:
- Fill the water compartment with equal parts vinegar and distilled water.
- Set the iron upright on a heatproof surface and let it steam for roughly five minutes.
- When the iron cools, rinse the tank with distilled water.
- Refill the iron and shake the water through the vents onto an old rag.
- Iron some old fabric for a few minutes to remove any residue before ironing your garments.
Don’t have any vinegar in your home? Amazon always comes to the rescue! Pick up some All Natural Distilled White Vinegar here!
Did you know about all these fantastic uses vinegar provides? Be sure to leave a comment and let me know how the laundry benefits of vinegar have worked out for you, or if you know of any other tips I might have missed.
In the meantime, Wipe and Organize is here for ALL your home needs. So if you found this post useful, I highly recommend you also check out: 8 Shocking Germ Hotspots in Your Home
