Regardless of your washing machine type, you can add the vinegar directly to the drum and run it on a hot cycle. This will help remove any soap or odors from your machine. For extra odor-busting power, consider also cleaning with baking soda.
Pour white vinegar into the drum
Pour one glass of white vinegar directly into the drum. White vinegar is a natural cleaner that can help to kill germs and dissolve grime.
Add the vinegar to the fabric softener compartment, which will release it at the end of the wash cycle. Adding them at the same time makes the detergent much less effective.
Add Vinegar: Pour about 1 cup (240 ml) of white vinegar into the fabric softener compartment of your washing machine. If your machine doesn't have a fabric softener compartment, you can add the vinegar directly to the drum during the rinse cycle.
Simply add 1/4 cup of white vinegar to the fabric softener dispenser or to a fabric softener ball. The white vinegar will act as a fabric softener AND it will keep your washing machine smelling fresh and clean!
Adding vinegar directly to the wash with your laundry detergent may compromise its cleaning performance. Laundry detergents are formulated for specific pH levels, which may be disrupted by the acidity of vinegar, leading to less effective cleaning. It's best to avoid mixing them to ensure optimal results.
White vinegar, also known as distilled vinegar or spirit vinegar, is made by fermenting grain alcohol (ethanol) which then turns into acetic acid. Water is then added to the vinegar, so white vinegar is made of five to ten percent acetic acid and ninety to ninety-five percent water.
Use Vinegar
Use about half the recommended amount of detergent while washing, and add ½ to 1 cup of white vinegar to the water during the rinse cycle. The vinegar helps set the colors and removes excess detergent residue.
Pro Tip: Adding 1/2 to 1 cup of white vinegar during the rinse cycle is typically recommended for a standard-sized load of laundry. This ensures effective softening without an overpowering vinegar smell!
The powder detergent goes into the largest section of the drawer, usually on the left-hand side. If in any doubt, check your washing machine's manual. The liquid softener goes into the partially covered section of the drawer with the flower symbol.
Front-load washer: Vinegar is usually used as a fabric-softener alternative when it comes to laundry, and for that reason should be put in the fabric softener compartment of your washing machine, Matthew says.
Dosing directly into the drum helps you to achieve outstanding results.
Before going further, we have to warn you: adding vinegar or baking soda to the wash along with your laundry detergent increases the risk of poorer cleaning performance, as detergents are optimized for a specific pH level, which is altered by the presence of these two household additives in the wash.
If you've found that regular laundry detergent isn't doing the trick when it comes to cleaning your clothes, we have a solution: white vinegar. This unassuming product is a powerhouse when it comes it all it can do.
Cleaning vinegar and white distilled vinegar are very similar in their composition (namely, acetic acid and water), but the key difference lies in the acidity levels between the two. "Cleaning vinegar generally contains a higher acetic acid concentration than regular white vinegar," says Sokolowski.
Fabric softener: Instead of commercial fabric softeners, pour 1/2 cup of white vinegar into the fabric softener compartment of your washing machine. It will leave your clothes feeling soft and reduce static.
A natural deodoriser used in vinegar is effective in cold and hot water alike. To get better results use half a cup of vinegar in the rinse cycle.
Add 2 cups of white cleaning vinegar to detergent dispenser. Run the washer through a complete cycle. Run another cycle on the highest level and at the hottest water temperature, this time adding a 1/2 cup of baking soda to the drum. When the cycle is done, wipe inside drum of washer with a damp microfiber cloth.
Vinegar is fine to use on food and when mixed with water, juice, or another liquid is safe to drink.