How To-- Vinegar and Laundry

If you've been reading The Diet Coke Diet for any length of time, really, you know that Erin and I are FANS of vinegar. It's cheap, accessible, safe (compared to a caustic chemical cleaner) and incredibly versatile. What other product can you use in any room of the house, in food, and laundry, in cleaning and in Easter egg dying? I mean, really? What else? NOTHING.

Today, we're discussing vinegar's place in the laundry room.

1. As an additive to your wash cycle
    1/2 cup- 1 cup vinegar added to a wash cycle (that includes laundry detergent as well) will remove virtually any stinkiness that may cling to clothing. This includes 1. Urine 2. Smoke 3. Mold 4. Must 5. Vomit or really anything else that stinks up clothes.
   If you're like me and have small children, a large portion of my children's wardrobes will end up with some sort of bodily fluid on them. It is inevitable. So rather than sort through my dirty clothes and decide which loads need vinegar and which don't, ALL loads get vinegar. ALL OF THEM. And then, I never have to catch of whiff of a pair of undies that still stink like a toilet.
  (And as a sidenote: In reality, you don't have measure the vinegar. I gave that up a long time ago, just dump some in. A bag full of smelly swim gear you forgot about for a week will need more than just a regular load of laundry though.)

A ruling principle I live by is: If it smells bad, it's not clean. And I cloth diaper too, so don't forget I'm washing stinky STINKY laundry. And it never comes out of the laundry still stinky.

I'll repeat: If it stinks, it's not clean.


2. Vinegar as a stain remover
    Vinegar has incredible stain-removing properties and as far as I can ascertain, it doesn't remove color. (Don't take my word for it though, please. Do a color-safe test on anything BEFORE using it as a stain remover).
   For certain stains you use vinegar entirely by itself and for others, you employ other measures.
As an example: Blood, just pour the vinegar right on, let it sit for 15 minutes and rinse with cold water. Repeat if necessary.
Sweat stains: Use vinegar and coarse salt to rub into the stain. Let sit in the sun to dry and then rinse.

(Sidenote: The sun is a natural bleach, so for things like urine stains and sweat stains, the sun is a very helpful friend.)

Here is a link to all the different uses for vinegar as a stain remover. It works WONDERFULLY.

I keep a big jug of white vinegar on top of the dryer so it's always available.

Cheap and easy folks. That's why we're here. Cheap and easy.