Add White Vinegar To Your Laundry For These Unexpected Benefits. I Never Knew This!
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Vinegar is a kitchen essential, fully capable of adding a zesty touch to just about any dish. In fact, the first traces of this centuries-old ingredient were found on Egyptian urns dating back to 3000 BC! Yes, that’s how long this preservative and taste enhancer has been around! Used all over the world, vinegar comes in many varieties such as balsamic, cane, fruit, honey, etc. In fact, apple cider vinegar has several health benefits too including antimicrobial properties and the capability of bringing down blood sugar levels (1)(2).
But, did you know that this versatile ingredient can also work like magic when you add it to your laundry? Here are other unexpected uses of vinegar that you’ll only discover once you add it to your laundry!
1. Alternative To Detergent
Ran out of detergent and don’t want to rush to the store to buy a new pack? The solution lies in your kitchen. Just head over and pick up that bottle of vinegar from the countertop and add a couple of spoons to the clothes in your washing machine. Vinegar is a natural cleaner, so you don’t have to worry about your clothes not getting clean without the detergent. Plus, it’s much cheaper and way more eco-friendly than detergent too!
2. An Inexpensive Fabric Softener
Being snuggled up in warm woolens is the best thing ever! Unfortunately, their snuggle-quotient goes down dramatically after a couple of washes. To keep them as cuddlesome and soft as they were when new, add 1 cup of vinegar to the rinse dispenser of your washing machine. Not only will your clothes come out softer, but they won’t develop cling either! And yes, vinegar can soften all your other clothes and towels too!
3. A Handy Sanitizer
Believe it or not, your clothes gather as many germs (perhaps even more) as your hands do. Now, you can wash your hands multiple times a day, but you sure as hell can’t do that with your clothes! But the good thing is you can sanitize them the next time you give them for a wash. Distilled white vinegar is one of the best disinfectants out there and can kill all bacteria and germs that accumulate on your clothes. Just pour 1 to 2 cups of vinegar in your laundry to get germ-free clothes.
4. Color-Bleed Killer
Color bleeding is something all of our clothes have been a victim of, and the prime reason why these clothes retire to the back of the closet way earlier than they were supposed to. Well, you can prevent color bleeding with the help of vinegar. Add 1 cup of this magic liquid to the first wash of your new clothes to stop color-bleeding.
Alternatively, if some of your clothes bleed too much color, consider soaking them in vinegar overnight before you mix them with your laundry.
5. Fabric Whitener
Don’t you just hate it when your pretty white clothes lose their pristine sheen after a couple of washes? That ugly gray-yellow they turn into is a major eyesore! To prevent your whites from having the same fate, add 1 to 2 cups of vinegar to your whites while washing them. If some of them are too dull or you wish to particularly brighten a piece of clothing, soak the item in 2 cups of vinegar and 5 cups of water.
6. Odor Eliminator
Your workout clothes are bound to stink, especially if you’re the kind who enjoys a particularly sweaty workout. The problem is that the stench doesn’t leave despite a cycle of fluff and fold. Now, regular detergent cannot get rid of that odor, but distilled white vinegar can. If you want to remove the smell, you can add 1 to 2 cups of vinegar to your laundry. However, if you want a deeper cleanse, soak all your workout gear in vinegar before washing.
7. Stain Remover
Another wonderful role that vinegar can play is that of a stain remover. If you’ve stained your clothes and want to prevent that from setting in, dab some vinegar onto it when it’s fresh and let it soak for a couple of minutes. Then give it for a wash, and once it comes out, it’ll be stain-free. You can use vinegar for older stains too. Just keep spraying vinegar and rub it with a cloth till the spot lightens.
8. Washing Machine Cleaner
Now that you’ve cleaned all your clothes, how about cleaning that washing machine eh? And no, you don’t need to get cleaning formula for that, just use vinegar instead! Once every month, add 5 cups of vinegar to a clothes-free wash cycle and turn on the machine. This will help remove dirt and residue and will even disinfect your machine.
Eager to try out these alternative uses of vinegar? Do let us know if they worked for you and be sure to share the handy vinegar tips and tricks you have up your sleeve with us!
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