We all know that vinegar and baking soda are considered as non-toxic super heroes that can leap tall buildings while also making your kitchen sink sparkle along with other countless uses around the house. Additionally, vinegar is also used in laundry to replace those harsh and toxic chemicals that make our clothes rough and tough. It is completely safe to use in both standard and high efficiency washers and is beneficial to specific tanks and environment too.
But, why you should replace commercial fabric softener with distilled vinegar in laundry? Look at the reasons below!
Why You Should Avoid Using Commercial Fabric Softener?
Generally, all fabric softeners are loaded with heavy chemicals, particularly fragrance which acts as a threat for our central nerve system. The fragrance is a mixture of several dozens of hundred chemicals and none of them need to be disclosed, because of rules of fragrance.
Some of harmful ingredients in liquid fabric softeners and dryer sheets include benzyl alcohol, ethanol, chloroform, limonene, benzyl acetate. Well all the chemicals are linked to carcinogens, neurotoxins, respiratory tract irritants and central nervous system disruptors.
These chemicals can also exacerbate allergies and weakens the functioning of lungs. They also results in contributing, headaches, fatigue, lightheadedness and serious organ damage.
When compared with vinegar, it is completely non-toxic and does the same job as fabric softener.
Here are more 12 reasons to use vinegar in your laundry, check them out.
12 Reasons To Use Vinegar In Laundry:
As I said earlier, using vinegar in laundry is completely cheap and eco-friendly. It is also beneficial for lot of reasons, other than just softening clothes.
- Whiten And Brighten Clothes:
The acetic acid present in distilled vinegar is so mild that it will not even harm the washable clothes, yet strong enough to dissolve residues left over like detergent and soap.
Adding just half cup of vinegar to final rinse cycle or to the fabric softener dispenser will make your clothes whiter and brighter.
- Natural Deodorizer:
If you feel your clothes smell like mildew or simply if they doesn’t smell great, vinegar helps you to get rid of those unbearable smell caused by any bacteria.
Adding 1/2 -1 cup of vinegar to rinse cycle of your machine is enough to get rid of those unpleasant odors. For particularly strong smells, you can pre-soak them in one cup of vinegar mixed with cold water before twenty minutes of washing.
Vinegar is perfect to remove the smell of heavy smoke odors from small household fires like kitchen fires.
- Keep Dark Clothing Dark:
Vinegar is also used to help bring out the darker hues and prevent your clothing from looking dull. All you need to do is, add ½ cup of white vinegar to final rinse of your machine to remove them.
- Kills Bacteria:
Vinegar has anti-bacterial properties and that’s the reason it is effective in killing or preventing odor-causing bacteria on your clothing and other fabrics. If you have any odors that stick around even after a rinse with vinegar, try to soak them in a mixture of 1:1 vinegar and water overnight to see good results.
- Extends Clothing Life:
Traditional fabric softeners will eat away your fabric over time due to the presence of harsh chemicals and make them look dull and lifeless. Where, vinegar is gentle and doesn’t break down the threads as quickly. That means it extends the life of clothing.
- Prevents Bleeding Of Colors:
Vinegar actually averts the bleeding of colors on other fabrics. All you need to do is add 1 cup of vinegar to rinse cycle to help in hold colors instead of having them bleed out.
- Natural Softener:
Adding vinegar to your laundry cycle will leave your clothes feeling soft, smooth and fluffy again. To soften your clothes, add 1-1/2 cup of vinegar to final rinse cycle or softening dispenser.
- Reduces Cling And Lint:
Add just ½ cup of vinegar to fabric softener dispenser just before the last rinse cycle to prevent lint and pet hair from stinking to your clothes. It will also help you to get rid of excessive lint that might occur when washing dark fabrics with lint-producing towels.
- Remove Stains And Odors:
If you find that your clothing has strong perspiration odors and yellow stains under armpit area, you can fill spray bottle with pure distilled vinegar and spray it directly on the affected area. Allow it to sit for 10-15 minutes before adding garment to washing machine.
- Reduce Static:
Apart from softening your clothes, vinegar also helps in reducing some of the statics as well. This simply means, you can skip dryer sheets that come with host of negative health effects too.
Add ½ cup of vinegar to fabric softener compartment on last rinse of your cycle while washing your clothes.
- Hypoallergenic Alternative:
People who have sensitive skin can’t use laundry detergents or fabric softeners, as they cause allergic rashes called contact dermatitis. If you experience this, it could be because of your detergent or softener.
So, use vinegar instead of those harmful detergents or fabric softeners which is earth-friendly, reduces allergies and perfect for sensitive skin.
- Washing Machine Cleaner:
If you want a better smelling washing machine or a cleaner, vinegar helps you out. The best part about using vinegar is, this effect will occur naturally when you use it in your laundry. You can also use it on its own to clean the machine.
A clean washing machine will reduce soap scum and mineral deposits that can easily buildup in the hoses and lines of washer.
Precautions When Using Vinegar In Laundry:
Below are few precautions you need to take when using vinegar in laundry.
- Never mix detergent and vinegar, they should be used one after the other. If you mix them, your clothes may end up oily.
- Be careful about the concentration of vinegar you are using and ensure that it is not higher than 5% acetic acid.
- Make sure to use vinegar sparingly, according to some anecdotal reports, it can clog pipes and hoses and damages machines in the long run.