20 Reasons to Add Vinegar to Your Laundry

Vinegar performs miraculously in many ways when it comes to caring for your clothes. For centuries, folks have used vinegar as a healing ingredient and cleansing product. This one product has been used to clean tools, polish brass and copper, unclog drains, dissolve glue and wax, and perform many other amazing tasks. The natural acids found in vinegar make it a remarkable alternative for household cleaners, without the risks of chemical allergies. It's no wonder vinegar works great for laundry as well.

Here are 20 reasons to add vinegar to your laundry:

1. Do you own a pet with loose hair or find that your clothes attract lots of lint? Adding 1/2 cup of vinegar to the rinse cycle removes unwanted lint from clothes.

2. Adding 1 cup of vinegar helps prevent lint from clinging to clothes.

3. Soak clothes in vinegar 10 minutes before washing to keep bright colors from running.

4. If your washing machine is not operating to the fullest capacity, it might be clogged with soap. Run one cup of vinegar through the washing machine cycle monthly (without clothes) to clean the hoses and get rid of soap scum buildup.

5. Brighten the colors of your garments by adding 1/2 cup vinegar during the rinse cycle.

6. Remove grease from suede using a toothbrush and vinegar. Brush over the spot of grease gently.

7. When a spill occurs, don't panic. Grab the vinegar instead! Rub vinegar gently onto coffee, tea or fruit stains before washing to remove the stains.

8. If you're a smoker, or have received clothes from someone who smokes, the smell in clothing can be very strong. Also, when a house fire occurs, the smell of smoke can linger in clothing - even if the garments did not physically come in contact with the fire. Eliminate the smell of smoke from clothes by adding a cup of vinegar to a steamy bath and hanging the clothes overhead in the path of the steam.

9. Do you or someone in your family sweat a lot? Excessive sweat can leave stains, especially in the armpit areas of shirts. Apply one part vinegar to four parts water to sweat stains in clothes before washing.

10. Add vinegar to the rinse cycle to dissolve soaps and detergents, and prevent the soaps from building up on your fabrics.

11. Blankets are meant to be cuddly. Two cups of distilled vinegar can be added to the rinse cycle to soften cotton or wool blankets and remove the odor of soap.

12. Vinegar sets the color of newly dyed fabrics by adding it to the final rinse.

13. Remove deodorant and antiperspirant stains from clothing by rubbing vinegar on the stains before washing.

14. Some clothes tend to "stick" to you like glue during the winter months. Reduce static cling and soften your fabrics with vinegar by using it the same as you would a liquid fabric softener.

15. Using cloth diapers has its advantages and disadvantages. One of the major drawbacks is the diaper odor. Neutralize odors such as urine in cloth diapers and soiled clothes by adding a cup of vinegar mixed with two gallons of water to the diaper pail.

16. Pets can be a source of bad odors as well. Add vinegar to the wash to get rid of smelly odors such as cat urine or mildew.

17. Ever scorched material while ironing, or drying in the dryer? Remove scorch marks from clothing by spraying on vinegar and ironing with a towel over the spot.

18. New dark colored clothes have a tendency to fade in the wash the first few times. Add vinegar to the wash to prevent fading of newly purchased clothing or towels.

19. Skin rashes sometimes occur due to allergic reactions to clothing detergents or with sensitive skin. Using vinegar in the rinse cycle helps to clear some skin rashes because it equalizes pH balance in the detergent.

20. Run vinegar and water through your steam iron to clean the steam passage and get your iron in top working condition once again.

As you can see, vinegar improves laundry tasks in many different ways. Try applying vinegar the next time you encounter a tough stain, terrible odor or a clogged washing machine hose. You might find vinegar to be the most inexpensive, but also the most effective remedy on the market!