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8 Earth-Friendly Uses and Benefits

Vinegar in Laundry: 8 Earth-Friendly Uses and Benefits

Medically reviewed by Debra Sullivan, Ph. D., MSN, R.N., CNE, COI — By Sian Ferguson on August 9, 2019

One of the best alternatives to commercial laundry detergents is probably in your pantry right now: vinegar.

You can wash your laundry with distilled, white vinegar as well as apple cider vinegar. Vinegar has a number of benefits, both as a food and as a cleaning aid.

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.

Keep reading to discover 8 earth-friendly uses and benefits of vinegar for your laundry.

To clean your clothes with vinegar, put 1/2 cup distilled white vinegar in your washing machine’s detergent compartment. You don’t need to add any other detergents.

Won’t stain clothing

Vinegar doesn’t usually stain clothes, but it is acidic, so you shouldn’t pour it directly onto clothing without first diluting it.

If you don’t have a laundry detergent compartment in your washing machine, mix 1/2 cup of vinegar with a cup of water before pouring it onto your clothing.

Hypoallergenic

Washing your clothes with vinegar is a great way to avoid using harsh chemicals. If you have sensitive skin, certain detergents can irritate your skin and cause an allergic rash called contact dermatitis. If you seem to be allergic to washing detergents, vinegar might be a good substitute.

Earth-friendly

Vinegar is also earth-friendly. Research shows that the harsh chemicals in certain laundry detergents are harmful to the environment.

If you only use vinegar and other environmentally safe detergents, you can rest assured that it won’t end up poisoning wildlife or harming plants. In fact, water from the washing machine can be added to your lawn, and it won’t harm your plants or animals.

Soap buildup can result in blue or white streaks appearing on your clothing. It can also turn your white clothing yellow and cause dark clothing to fade.

Prevent streaking and yellowing

Vinegar can loosen soap buildup and prevent it from clinging to your clothes.

To remove soapy buildup on clothing, soak your clothes in a solution of 1 cup vinegar to 1 gallon of water before washing them in the machine.

You can use vinegar to remove stains on clothing. As with soapy buildup, dirt and food particles can become loosened when they come into contact with vinegar, allowing the water to carry it away.

Dilute 1 cup of vinegar with a gallon of water. Pretreat stains by pouring the solution directly onto the stain or work it into the stain with a clean cloth. Then, wash your clothing as usual.

Vinegar can be used to bleach laundry, making white clothing brighter and reducing stains.

Brighten your clothing

Make a bleach-like solution by combining 1/2 cup of vinegar, 1/2 cup of lemon juice, and 1 tablespoon of borax. Add this to your washing machine. You can also soak your clothes in this solution and a gallon of water.

Vinegar seems to neutralize odors, leaving your clothing smelling clean. It can reduce odors from smoke, pets, and sweat. Add 1/2 to 1 cup of vinegar to your laundry to deodorize smelly clothes.

Remove odors

As mentioned before, vinegar won’t leave any smell on your clothes, but you can add a few drops of essential oils if you want your clothing to be fragrant.

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.

Prevent static and lint buildup

When washing your clothing, add 1/2 cup of vinegar to the fabric softener compartment just before the last rinse cycle. If you’d like your clothes to have a mild scent, add four or five drops of essential oil into the fabric softener compartment.

Over time, detergents, sunlight, and wear-and-tear can cause bright clothing to fade.

To use vinegar to help with fading, simply add 1/2 cup of vinegar to the load of laundry.

A clean washing machine means cleaner laundry. Vinegar can be used to clean your washing machine, as well as many other household appliances.

Run your washing machine without any clothing in it. Use hot water and a cup of vinegar. This will reduce the lint and soap buildup in the machine.

Before using vinegar to wash your clothing, make sure you don’t have an allergy to vinegar. While this allergy is rare, it can affect some people.

To prevent stains, it’s best to dilute the vinegar with some water. It’s also important to note that you shouldn’t use red wine vinegar, brown vinegar, or balsamic vinegar on clothing, as these varieties can all stain.

Stick to white vinegar and apple cider vinegar when it comes to laundry.

Vinegar is an excellent substitute for laundry detergent — it’s inexpensive, effective, and earth-friendly. It can be used for a range of detergent needs, including as a bleach, deodorizer, and a fabric softener.

Last medically reviewed on August 9, 2019

How we reviewed this article:

Healthline has strict sourcing guidelines and relies on peer-reviewed studies, academic research institutions, and medical associations. We avoid using tertiary references. You can learn more about how we ensure our content is accurate and current by reading our editorial policy.

Our experts continually monitor the health and wellness space, and we update our articles when new information becomes available.

Current Version

Aug 9, 2019

Written By

Sian Ferguson

Edited By

Judy Lee

Medically Reviewed By

Debra Sullivan, PhD, MSN, RN, CNE, COI

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Medically reviewed by Debra Sullivan, Ph.D., MSN, R.N., CNE, COI — By Sian Ferguson on August 9, 2019

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How Long To Soak Clothes In Vinegar?

Table Of Contents

  1. What is vinegar and what are its benefits?
  2. How Does Soaking Clothes in Vinegar Clean Them?
  3. How Much Vinegar to Use in Soaking Your Clothes
  4. How to Soak Clothes in Vinegar to Remove Stains
    • Step 1: Items You Need
    • Step 2: The Process: Preparing the Vinegar Solution
    • Step 3: Soaking the Clothes
    • Step 4: Washing the Clothes
    • Step 5: Drying the Clothes
  5. The Benefits of Soaking Clothes in a Vinegar Solution
  6. What Happens if You Soak Your Clothes in Vinegar for Too Long?
  7. Final Thoughts
    • Recommended Articles:

How long should you soak clothes in vinegar? Vinegar is a natural disinfectant and can be used to soak clothes to get rid of stains and odors. Vinegar also helps to soften clothes and remove wrinkles. Adding vinegar to the rinse cycle will help make your laundry smell fresh, and detergent residue will be removed, leaving your clothes clean and soft. So, how long should you soak clothes in vinegar for the best results?

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The length of time you should soak clothes in vinegar depends on a few factors. The type of fabric, the amount of dirt or grease on the clothes, and how much vinegar you use all play a role. However, it is generally recommended to soak clothes in vinegar for about 10 to 30 minutes.

There are many ways to clean clothes. However, one of the most common is to pre-soak clothes with vinegar; that is, to soak clothes in  vinegar solution before washing them. White vinegar has been used for centuries as an effective way to clean clothes, and it still remains a popular method today.  

But how long do you need to soak clothes in vinegar for the best results? And is it safe to use vinegar on all types of fabric? How much vinegar to use when soaking clothes? Keep reading to find out the answers to these questions and more.

What is vinegar and what are its benefits?

Vinegar is a liquid produced from the fermentation of ethanol in a process that yields acetic acid. The ethanol in vinegar comes from the fermentation of grains, fruits, or vegetables. The benefits of using vinegar in laundry include: removing odors, getting rid of stains, and softening clothes.

Vinegar can remove odors from clothes by breaking down the molecules that produce them. White vinegar can also be used as a natural bleach alternative and to get rid of stains. In particular, it is a good choice for removing blood stains, urine stains, and food stains. 

Moreover, vinegar can be used as a fabric softener alternative. Vinegar can help to soften clothes and remove any build-up of detergent or fabric softener from clothes.  

To use vinegar in your laundry, simply add 1 cup of white vinegar to your wash cycle. You can also soak your clothes in a mixture of 1 cup of white distilled vinegar and 4 cups of water before washing. Vinegar can also be added to the rinse cycle itself by adding one cup to the rinse cycle.

How Does Soaking Clothes in Vinegar Clean Them?

There are many products on the market that claim to remove any type of stain, but oftentimes these products contain harsh chemicals that can damage your clothes or leave a residue behind. Vinegar, on the other hand, is a natural and affordable alternative to commercial stain removers. It is effective at removing both oil and water-based stains, and it leaves no harmful residue behind.

Vinegar removes stains from clothes by reacting with water to break down the molecules of the stains from the fabric. Vinegar is a strong acid, meaning it can break down the bonds between molecules. This causes stains to disappear or become less visible.

It is important to note that vinegar is not as effective at removing stains from natural fabrics such as cotton and linen. For best results, use vinegar as a stain removal agent for synthetic clothes only.

How Much Vinegar to Use in Soaking Your Clothes

When you have a stain on your clothing, sometimes the only way to get it out is to soak the clothes in vinegar. But what kind of vinegar and how much should you use? Distilled white vinegar or apple cider vinegar?

Distilled white vinegar is the most common type of vinegar and can be used for a variety of purposes. It has a sour taste and is made from distilled corn starch. White vinegar is the most popular type to use when soaking clothes. This type of vinegar is effective at removing odors and getting rid of stains.

Apple cider vinegar is made from fermented apples and has a fruity taste. Apple cider vinegar is also a good choice for soaking clothes. It helps to get rid of stains and also has anti-microbial properties, which can help keep your clothes clean and fresh-smelling. This type of vinegar is effective at removing grease and oil stains.

Now, how much vinegar should you use to obtain maximum results? It really depends on the type of vinegar you are using, as well as the size of the load of laundry. White vinegar is more acidic than apple cider vinegar. 

For distilled white vinegar, it is recommended to use 1 cup of white vinegar to 4 cups of water. According to FOODSGUY, white vinegar has a pH value of 2.5 to 2.7, which is a strong acetic acid. To soak clothes with white vinegar, mix one cup of vinegar with four cups of water and soak the clothes for 30 minutes.

For apple cider vinegar, it is best to use 1 cup of apple cider vinegar to 3 cups of water. Apple cider vinegar is considered to be a mild vinegar with an average pH of 3.3 to 3.5. Make sure not to soak clothes in an apple cider vinegar solution for more than 30 minutes.

Be sure to test a small area of the fabric before soaking the entire garment to make sure that there is no color loss or fabric damage.

How to Soak Clothes in Vinegar to Remove Stains

Soaking clothes in vinegar can help to remove stains. The acetic acid in the vinegar helps to break down the stain and loosen it from the fabric. Before soaking, test the vinegar on an inconspicuous area of the fabric to make sure it doesn’t cause any damage. 

Step 1: Items You Need

Step 2: The Process: Preparing the Vinegar Solution

1. Fill a bucket with enough warm water or cold water that can cover your clothes.

2. To remove strong odors and tough stains from clothes, make sure to use distilled white vinegar.

3. To remove ordinary stains and odors from clothes, use apple cider vinegar.

4. For white distilled vinegar, make sure you use the right ratio of vinegar to water (i.e. 1:4).

5. For apple cider vinegar, add 1 cup of vinegar to 3 cups of water.

6. Make sure to stir thoroughly to distribute the vinegar equally.

Step 3: Soaking the Clothes

1. Add your clothes to the vinegar solution. Make sure the clothes are fully submerged in the vinegar solution.

2. Allow the clothes to soak in the vinegar solution for about 10 to 30 minutes.

Step 4: Washing the Clothes

1. After soaking the clothes in the vinegar solution, wash your clothes normally with mild laundry detergent.

Step 5: Drying the Clothes

1. After washing the clothes, hang them to air dry.

The Benefits of Soaking Clothes in a Vinegar Solution

When it comes to laundry, many people are looking for ways to save money and time. One way to do both is by soaking clothes in a vinegar solution before washing them. Soaking clothes in vinegar can help remove dirt and stains, and it can also help brighten colors. Soaking your clothes in vinegar has many benefits.

1. If you soak clothes in vinegar, it will help remove dirt and stains from your clothes. Vinegar is a natural cleaning agent, so it loosens up dirt and stains and makes them easier to remove.

2. If you soak clothes in vinegar, it will help to get rid of odors from your clothes. If you have a garment that smells bad, soak it in a vinegar solution and the odor will disappear. If you soak clothes in vinegar, it will help remove any lingering odors from your clothes, so they’ll smell fresher.

3. Soaking clothes in vinegar can help make them less wrinkled. In fact, many people find that they don’t need to iron as many clothes when they use this method.

4. Soaking clothes in vinegar is a cheap and easy way to improve the appearance of your laundry and save time in your wash cycle.

5. Vinegar is a natural disinfectant, so it can help kill any bacteria or germs on your clothes.

6. Vinegar is a natural fabric softener, so it will leave your clothes feeling softer and smoother. Not only does it help to brighten colors and remove stains, but it can also be used as a fabric softener.

7. Vinegar is environmentally friendly and doesn’t contain any harsh chemicals like bleach. Soaking clothes in vinegar is a simple way to get them clean without using any harsh detergents or chemicals.

What Happens if You Soak Your Clothes in Vinegar for Too Long?

When you soak clothes in vinegar, the acetic acid in the vinegar breaks down the dirt and oil on the clothes. This is why vinegar is often used as a natural fabric softener. However, what happens when you soak clothes in vinegar for too long?

1. If you soak clothes in vinegar for too long, they may become discolored and stiff. The vinegar may cause the color of the fabric to change, or it may cause the fabric to shrink.

2. If you soak clothes in vinegar for too long, the vinegar can start to break down the fabric. This means that the clothes may start to fall apart or lose their strength after being soaked in vinegar for an extended period of time.

3. If you soak clothes in vinegar for too long, the vinegar may also start to smell bad. These bad smells can be difficult to get rid of and may linger on your clothes even after they have been washed.

4. When you soak clothes in vinegar, it can help to remove stains and odors. However, if you soak your clothes in vinegar for too long, it can cause the fabric to deteriorate. If the vinegar is allowed to soak into the fabric for an extended period of time, it can cause the fabric to become stiff and brittle. Over time, this can lead to the fabric becoming irreparably damaged.

Check out our blog articles on keeping yourself and your surrounding clean always!

Final Thoughts

In conclusion, vinegar is an affordable and versatile way to cleanse and soften clothes. It is important to soak the clothes in vinegar for the correct amount of time in order to achieve the desired results. When it comes to how long you should soak clothes in vinegar, the answer depends on the type of vinegar you are using and the severity of the stain.

Depending on the severity of the stain, soaking clothes in vinegar for anywhere from ten minutes to thirty minutes is usually more than enough time to remove the stains. By following these simple steps in this article, you can keep your clothes looking and feeling their best.

Moreover, vinegar is a great way to clean and disinfect your clothes. It is affordable, easy to use, and safe for your family. It is especially beneficial for those with sensitive skin. I highly recommend giving it a try. Thank you for your time!

Recommended Articles:

5 unexpected ways to use vinegar in everyday life. Do you know even one?

Vinegar is a universal remedy for cleaning up the house, it is especially often used instead of store chemicals by lovers of environmentally friendly products. But it turns out that this product can be useful in various everyday situations. We bring to your attention 5 unexpected ways to use vinegar in everyday life.

Rescue from burns

Photo: wday.ru

If you accidentally burn yourself, apple cider vinegar will certainly help. You need to pour one tablespoon of apple cider vinegar into your favorite cosmetic lotion and apply the resulting mixture to the burn site. Vinegar relieves skin irritation and reduces inflammation.

Removing sweat stains from clothes

Photo: lifehacker.ru

It often happens that yellow sweat stains spoil your favorite blouses and T-shirts. Antiperspirant deodorants contain aluminum, which, reacting with sweat salts, makes yellowness even more noticeable and persistent. Vinegar will help in the fight against these contaminants. Before washing a thing, apply ordinary table vinegar to the yellowed area, and the stain will begin to dissolve and disappear.

Help with hair care

Photo: egeriya.ru

It turns out that apple cider vinegar is a great help in caring for unruly hair. Using this household product, you do not have to spend money on various expensive care products. It gently acts on the hair, dissolving the plaque that remains from the use of styling products. Thanks to this, the hair becomes smoother, shiny and manageable, like models from shampoo advertisements. Use vinegar in the following proportion: half a tablespoon of the product to one glass of water. You can add a little essential oil to add fragrance. First, wash your hair with shampoo, then use water with vinegar to rinse. Finally, rinse your head with clean water. The effect will be noticeable after the first application.

Relieve muscle pain

Photo: zen.yandex.ru

Apple cider vinegar has the ability to dissolve lactic acid that accumulates in muscle tissues after intense physical exertion. It is she who causes pain after training. Pour a couple of tablespoons of vinegar into a glass of water, dip a bandage in this mixture and apply to the affected area for half an hour.

Descaling and rust removal

Photo: stroy-podskazka.ru

Scale can accumulate not only in kettles and coffee makers, but also clog openings in the shower, dishwasher and washing machine. To remove it, you do not always need to buy expensive funds from advertising. It is enough to mix vinegar with water and boil the resulting mixture in a kettle or pass through a coffee maker. To dissolve lime deposits around the shower, soak a cloth with vinegar and apply to the area with scale for half an hour.

To deal with rust on small items such as nails, bolts, boil them in a container of vinegar and then rinse well with water.

Cover photo: uborka-club.ru

Based on materials from the site kwadratura24.ru

Follow us on Telegram this is quite successful. So, for example, there is a version that adding vinegar to a washing machine is very profitable, since the consumption is minimal, and the quality of washing is excellent. But whether washing with vinegar is really safe remains to be seen.

How bad is vinegar for appliances?

When it comes to the dangers of one or another remedy, then everything depends on the proportion. Of course, if you pour a liter of acetic acid into the machine, it will be of little use. But if you know exactly how much vinegar to pour, and follow the dosage, do not part and use vinegar in necessary situations, then there will be no harm to the machine. On the contrary, the property of vinegar to soften water, with regular use of the solution, will save you from problems with the formation of scale and limescale on the internal parts of the machine. Therefore, you need to add vinegar to the washing machine!

Attention! Thus, periodically vinegar is not only harmless to the machine, but even useful. It can also be used for washing and cleaning the contents of the machine, and not just for washing. To do this, you need to pour vinegar into the powder container and run the run program without laundry.

Undoubtedly, any acid is quite a strong remedy. But vinegar in any case is much less aggressive than dry powders, bleaches and other factory detergents. This is evidenced by the frequent use by housewives of washing with vinegar precisely delicate fabrics. But finding a suitable gentle remedy for them is sometimes not so easy.

The only negative is the smell. It remains on things after washing, and inside the machine, and spreads around the apartment after opening the hatch cover. However, acetic acid is very volatile and the smell dissipates quickly. If, for some reason, things continue to smell unpleasant, after the first wash with ordinary powder, the “aroma” will disappear.

Laundry benefits of vinegar

As mentioned above, one of the main advantages of a 9% vinegar solution is the ability to soften water. But there are also other, lesser known, but no less important abilities:

In addition, with time and experience, many housewives have discovered the abilities of vinegar solution that are absolutely indispensable in everyday life: fixing bright colors on clothes and removing greasy stains. So, for example, washing a new multi-colored item with vinegar will save it from the risk of shedding for a long time. And if you put a greasy stain on your clothes, don't panic. Just pour vinegar over the dirt and then wash: the oil stain is gone!

Applications

It is very important to know how to use vinegar depending on what properties you want to see in action. After all, the final result depends on proper operation, and this is extremely important!

  1. Air conditioner. It is better to wash newly purchased items in this way in order to give them antistatic properties and get rid of factory impregnation. Add a glass of vinegar to the conditioner compartment and wash the laundry as usual.
  2. Whitening. To bleach fabrics that have yellowed over time, vinegar should be added directly to the drum. Even if the machine is completely filled, one glass is enough for an excellent result.
  3. Disinfection. To carry out an antibacterial treatment, pour two glasses of solution into the conventional detergent compartment and start the “Rinse clothes” mode. Proceed in the same way if you want to disinfect machine parts.
  4. Stain removal. Just soak them in vinegar and wait a few minutes. If not completely removed, repeat the procedure.
  5. Care SM. It is enough to use acetic acid for such purposes once a month. Your machine will be in perfect condition, you can be sure. Pour five cups of vinegar into the main powder compartment and carry out a normal wash without laundry. Such a measure is good not only for the prevention of the formation of pollution, but also for their complete elimination. Even the most neglected case can be "treated" with vinegar, and this is really amazing.
  6. If there are no specific goals, a complex care solution can be used. It is enough just to add vinegar in small quantities to the main powder. Then it will perform both the functions of conditioning when rinsing clothes, and the functions of a bleach, and even a disinfectant. Isn't it a miracle?

It is important to strictly observe the dosage of the product, otherwise things can be ruined.

As you can see, it is not for nothing that many of the properties of vinegar remain undisclosed, because it is not profitable for detergent manufacturers to have such a much cheaper and much more effective competitor. But it’s worth saying that you don’t need to completely abandon conventional laundry detergents, after all, you can’t go anywhere without them.

Effective and hypoallergenic

Good news for new mothers! Unlike most powders and detergents, which contain some amount of chemical allergens, vinegar is completely safe for children. The only thing that can confuse the baby is the notorious smell, but if you ventilate the laundry well in the fresh air, it will evaporate. After washing baby clothes with vinegar, you can be sure that the product is completely hypoallergenic.

Attention! Vinegar when washing is also good because it does not leave whitish stains on the fabric, unlike most dry powders.

For stubborn stains, you can add a little more regular baking soda to the vinegar.

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