From softening clothes to cleaning your machine, vinegar is useful when it comes to laundry.
Rapinchuk, known asClean Mamaonline, says that white vinegar in the laundry room is both versatile and inexpensive.
Learn her tips for how to use vinegar in your laundry.
Credit:Caitlin Bensel
“It’s easy to find and works well all over the house.”
Here are the best ways you should use it.
Rapinchuk says to add 1/4 to 1/2 cup to any load that needs freshening up.
Credit:Caitlin Bensel
Stain Removal
Vinegar can be used to treat laundry stains by adding it directly to the stain.
Mix approximately 1 tablespoon of vinegar with 1 tablespoon ofliquid laundry detergentand apply liberally to the stain.
Let it sit for at least one hour before running the garment through a normal laundry cycle.
Color Fading
Worried your favorite clothing is losing its hue thanks to multiple laundry cycles?
Add 1/4 cup vinegar to your washer’s fabric softener compartment tohelp prevent color fading.
Whitening
Use vinegar as a bleach-free alternative towhiten your whites.
fire off the clothing through the appropriate wash cycle with laundry detergent as usual.
you could also add vinegar to the rinse cycle to help reduce detergent buildup that can dull clothes.
Never use vinegar with bleach.
“you’re able to also pre-clean your washing machine with white vinegar,” she says.
Elastic Clothing
With continued use, the acidity in vinegar can break down elastic and ruin clothing.
Chlorine Bleach
Bleach and vinegarshould never be mixed.
The combination creates a toxic chlorine gas that can be extremely dangerous when exposed.
Ammonia
Like bleach, mixing vinegar with ammonia should always be avoided.
Together, the mix creates a high pH solution that can cause skin irritation.
In addition to a mess, the combination creates a carbon dioxide gas.
Limit use to an as-needed basis, after clothes have dulled or as residue begins to build up.
Check the machine’s manufacturer guide and always read clothing labels before using vinegar.
