5 Reasons to Use Vinegar in Your Laundry Routine
White vinegar is truly a household powerhouse ingredient.
There are some things that every laundry room should have: detergent, spot treatment, dryer balls and… white vinegar? While it might seem odd to bring a type of vinegar into the mix, it turns out there are lots of good reasons to incorporate vinegar into your laundry routine. Check out the list below for five reasons you should be using distilled white vinegar in your laundry routine.
1) It brightens your whites!
There’s nothing worse than watching your favorite white t-shirt turning dingy and grey after a few wears. With a little bit of distilled white vinegar though, your whites will stay white over the years. Simply apply a tablespoon of distilled white vinegar and add a small amount to the softener compartment of your washer before you start your load.
2) … And keeps your darks dark.
Dark-colored clothing can often hang onto residue from soaps and detergents that leave them looking lighter and duller than when they went into the washing machine. Vinegar will erase this residue from your fabrics, leaving them as dark or darker than before they were washed.
3) It naturally softens your fabrics.
While some people don’t mind artificial softener, others prefer to keep things a little more natural in the laundry room. If you’re in the natural camp, you’ll want to consider adding vinegar in the wash as it naturally softens fabrics. If you prefer a scentless softener, simply add vinegar during the rinse portion of the cycle. If you would prefer a light scent, consider adding a couple of drops of an essential (lemon and eucalyptus are our favorites!) to the vinegar bottle.
4) It gets rid of mildew and odors.
Nothing kills odors like vinegar. If your clothes have a habit of coming out of the wash smelling of mildew, vinegar is your best bet for kicking the offending odors to the curb. To make sure the small is banished, fill the washer with hot water and two cups of vinegar and run a cycle before you run a second cycle featuring your regular detergent.
4) And keeps your washer fresh!
You can’t expect your clothes to be cleaned properly if you wash them in a dirty machine. Keep your machine fresh and free of residue and soap scum by running a load with hot water and two cups of distilled white vinegar every couple of months.
While you might be used to using vinegar to cook or to clean around the house with and banish offensive odors, it turns out it’s pretty handy in the laundry room too. Keep a bottle of vinegar handy in the laundry room and you’ll be taking your laundry game to the next level!
