Top 12 Reasons to Use Vinegar in Laundry
Vinegar seems to have an endless array of uses in the household, and laundry is one of them.
Using white vinegar in laundry to replace traditional harsh chemical softeners isn’t a new fad, either. People have been using vinegar in their laundry for decades to help soften, whiten, brighten, and reduce odors – all naturally.
Vinegar works by loosening zinc salts or aluminum chloride, which means that dirt won’t stick to your clothing. In addition to this, vinegar has antibacterial properties.
Washing your clothing with vinegar will leave your clothes odorless — and no, they won’t smell like vinegar. What’s more is that vinegar is relatively cheap and environmentally friendly.
But why use white vinegar over commercial fabric softener? There are a few reasons…
Why You Should Avoid Fabric Softener
Traditional fabric softeners are loaded with chemicals, particularly fragrance, which acts as a major threat to our central nervous system.
In addition to the previously aforementioned health conditions, these chemicals can also contribute to headaches, lightheadedness, fatigue, and serious organ damage.
So if vinegar does essentially the same job as a fabric softener, then why not use this inexpensive and hypoallergenic alternative?
How Does Adding Vinegar to Laundry Work?
Vinegar comes from a fermented liquid. When naturally-occurring bacteria called acetobacters combine with oxygen over time, the liquid turns into acetic acid, also known as vinegar. The same thing happens when a bottle of wine is left open for too long.
It is the acetic acid in vinegar that makes it such an effective cleaning agent.
There are several types of vinegar you can choose from, but distilled white vinegar is the best option for doing laundry. It is less acidic than other vinegar, so it is gentle, yet strong enough to dissolve detergent, odors, or chemical residues.
It is best to stay away from cider vinegar, as these contain tannins (natural plant dyes) that could stain your clothes.
12 Reasons to Use Vinegar in Laundry
Using vinegar in your laundry is cheap and eco-friendly. It is also beneficial for a variety of reasons, other than just softening clothes!
Here are 12 ways that vinegar can improve the state of your laundry 10-fold:
1. Natural Softener
You can replace fabric softener with vinegar. It can soften fabrics without using the harsh chemicals often found in commercial fabric softeners. Vinegar also prevents static, which means that lint and pet hair is less likely to cling to your clothing.
2. Brighten and Whiten Clothes
Vinegar is strong enough to dissolve residues left by soaps and detergents, while at the same time being gentle enough to not destroy fabrics.
Vinegar can be used to bleach laundry, making white clothing brighter and reducing stains.
3. Reduce Cling and Lint
To prevent lint and pet hair from sticking to your clothes, add just 1/2 cup of vinegar to the fabric softener dispenser just before the last rinse cycle. This will also help get rid of excessive lint that might occur if you accidentally wash dark fabrics with lint-producing towels.
5. Remove Perspiration Odors and Stains
If you find that clothing has strong perspiration odors and yellow stains under the armpit area, you can fill a spray bottle with pure distilled white vinegar and spray it directly onto the problem area. Let it sit for at least 10 minutes before adding the garment to the washing machine.
6. Hypoallergenic Alternative
Vinegar is a great alternative to conventional fabric softeners that use harsh-chemicals in their formulations. It is earth-friendly, reduces allergies, and is perfect for sensitive skin.
7. Keep Dark Clothing Dark
If you have any soap or detergent residue on your black garments, you can add 1/2 cup of white vinegar to the final rinse cycle of your machine to help remove it. This should help bring out the darker hues and prevent your clothing from looking dull.
8. Reduce Static
Vinegar will not only soften your clothes, but it will help reduce some of the static as well. This means you can also skip the toxic dryer sheets that come with a host of negative health effects, too.
While washing your clothes, add 1/2 cup of vinegar to the fabric softener compartment on the last rinse cycle.
9. K.i.l.l Bacteria
Vinegar is naturally anti-bacterial so it can kill the odor-causing bacteria on your clothing and other fabrics. If you have any odors that stick around even after a rinse with vinegar, try soaking them in a 1:1 mix of vinegar and water overnight. The acids in the vinegar will break away and eat at the bacteria, making your fabrics softer and smelling better.
10. Extends Clothing Life
Traditional fabric softeners made with harsh chemicals will eat away at your fabrics over time, making them dull and lifeless. Vinegar, on the other hand, is more gentle and doesn’t break down the threads as quickly. This means that you can extend the life of your clothing and towels simply by switching to vinegar!
11. Prevent Bleeding of Colors
Vinegar helps prevent the bleeding of colors by “catching colors” in the event that you have to wash colors together. It can actually avert the bleeding of colors onto other fabrics.
Add 1 cup of vinegar to the rinse cycle to help hold in colors instead of having them bleed out.
12. Cleaner Washing Machine
A clean washing machine means cleaner laundry. Vinegar can be used to clean your washing machine, as well as many other household appliances.
Source: livelovefruit.com, healthline.com
