1. Soften Blankets and Denim
While vinegar is known as a wonderful fabric softener by itself, it is especially great at softening hard jeans and making your blankets extra soft. Begin by adding between half and an entire cup of vinegar to the rinse cycle for jeans, and launder as usual from there. For machine-washable blankets, such as cotton or wool, add 2 cups of vinegar to the rinse cycle instead.
2. Get Rid of Odors
Nasty odors such as mildew and sweat can be purged by adding a little bit of vinegar to the rinse cycle. If you need to get rid of particularly tough odors such as smoke, add a whole cup instead.
3. Repel Lint
Prevent lint and pet hairs from sticking to your clothes by adding between half and an entire cup of vinegar to the rinse cycle.
4. Clean Irons
While your iron is cool and turned off, pour half a cup of distilled water and half a cup of white vinegar into the reservoir. Then, turn it on at its maximum heat level and steam a cloth for about 15 minutes in order to clear out its deposits. Then, turn it off, allow it cool, and pour any liquid out. You can clean the outer plate by making a paste with vinegar and baking soda, and using it to wipe the plate down.
5. Freshen Washing Machines
If you have a front-loading washing machine, white vinegar will clean the seals around it that often create a mildew smell. For any washing machine, run a full and empty cycle using hot water and half a gallon of vinegar to properly disinfect it.
6. Launder Baby Clothes
Hypoallergenic and gentle, white vinegar is able to clean baby’s things without damaging the flame retardant fabric. All you need to do is to add a single cup to the wash cycle. You may also want to pre-soak any stained items with a 1:1 ratio of water and vinegar, as well as a teaspoon of baking soda.
7. Fight Stains
You can make your own pre-treatment stain formula to store in a spray bottle which is a 1:1 mixture of water and vinegar. For stains like juice, yellowing, or coffee, try soaking them in half a cup of vinegar and half a cup of water.
8. Zap Static Cling
Either add a quarter to half a cup of vinegar during the rinse cycle or pour in a quarter of a cup to the fabric softener dispenser to prevent static from forming.
9. Handwash Delicates
For the best results, wash your delicates as usual with a gentle cleanser, but add around a tablespoon or two of vinegar to the rinse water to get rid of any soap deposits and odors which may have built up.
