To most of us, vinegar is a kitchen staple used mainly for cooking. But in addition to that, it has many other purposes in our day to day lives. It is also an all-natural, toxic-free cleaning agent that is useful in many ways to clean, remove carpet stains and odors, restore luster in bathroom tiles – just to name a few.

In this article, let me share with you how you can use vinegar in your laundry because your laundry deserves to be clean but not to a point where colored items become faded. A little vinegar added can go a long way in preserving the colors of your clothes and more.

• As color preservative

Add 4oz. of distilled vinegar to a load of laundry. This will help preserve the colors of fabrics and keep them from becoming dull.

• As fabric softener

To remove the usual stiffness in newly-bought clothes, wash them in water with 2-3oz. vinegar. Added to your last rinse, vinegar will also act as a natural fabric softener. Doing this will also prevent lint and static cling.

• As natural anti-allergy

If you are allergic to detergent and want to remove traces of it from your laundry, try adding 8oz. of distilled vinegar to each gallon of water in your final rinse.

To neutralize your body chemicals so that your clothes don’t end up oily, try adding about 200 grams of baking soda in your wash load and instead of bleach, pour in 16oz. of white vinegar. The combined ingredients will wash off by the final rinse. This also helps reduce body odor brought about by chemical reaction when traces of detergent and natural body chemicals mix as you perspire.

• As natural bleach

Restore the whiteness of clothes by soaking them overnight in hot water with a cup of white vinegar. To keep whites white, add up to 12oz. of vinegar to a rinse cycle.

• As stain remover

To remove stains on clothes, pour a little vinegar on it then rub. This helps remove underarm sweat and deodorant stains, perfume stains, etc.

• As deodorizer

When you add vinegar to your final rinse as fabric softener, lint prevention and to avoid static cling, the mixture also acts as a natural deodorizer. Vinegar helps counteract persistent bad smell in certain fabrics.

On top of all these practical uses for vinegar on your laundry, this all-around household ingredient is also good to use as a cleaning agent for your washer.  Simply fill your washing machine with water. Pour in 1 cup of distilled vinegar and run under normal cycle for a few minutes. This will help get rid of hard water deposits, soap scum, reduce mold build-up and remove other dirt that has collected in the pipes and hoses.

Additional facts and reminders:

• Never combine bleach with vinegar. It will result to hazardous vapors which may be harmful to health.
• You can save money by using vinegar as natural deodorizer, fabric conditioner and color preservative. Vinegar is cheaper compared to the expensive brands that serve the same purpose.
• Go a little easy on using vinegar. Excessive use particularly on sensitive clothes made of natural fibers may accelerate their breakdown.