How To Use Vinegar In Laundry For Fresher Clothes Without Fading

If you're like us, rarely a day goes by when the sound of the washing machine can't be heard humming through the house. There's a lot of laundry to be done in a household from day to day, which may be a sign of days well spent. From sweaty workout wear and kids' clothes that have run through the yard to towels that have wiped spills and dried the dog, the laundry pile is always growing. With all this washing, though, clothes are bound to start fading sooner than the kids can grow out of them. There are a few tricks to help keep laundry looking good, but our go-to is a good old-fashioned cup of vinegar. Vinegar will lock in color so that your clothes don't fade quite as fast—but don't worry, it won't seal in that pungent vinegary smell. It will completely wash out by the end of the cycle, just leaving the crispest, most vibrant clothes without the lingering odor. Here's how to use vinegar for better laundry results. Credit: Laurey W. Glenn; Styling: Lizzie Cox What Vinegar To Use For Laundry If you already have white distilled vinegar in your pantry, you're on your way to better laundry. It's easy to find in grocery stores, and you can use it for cleaning as well as laundry loads. Don't use colored, flavored vinegars like red wine, apple cider, or others to tackle laundry as they may stain. How To Use Vinegar For Bright Color About ¼ cup distilled vinegar can be used in place of traditional fabric softener when added directly to your softener compartment. Alternatively, you can add the vinegar during the machine's final rinse cycle. Pause the machine and pour the vinegar in, then allow it to rinse and spin. How Often To Use Vinegar In Laundry While vinegar is an important component of better laundry, it's not necessary to use for every load. Add it to your loads about every other week. While vinegar is safe to use on laundry, using it too often can end up being harmful on more delicate items. It shouldn't be used on clothing with elastic, and it should never be mixed with bleach. Vinegar can also damage rubber hoses and seals in your washing machine over time, so use it only when clothes and linens show signs they need a boost. Other Benefits Of Vinegar For Laundry In addition to locking in the most vibrant color, vinegar will help provide a better clean for your loads. Here are some other ways vinegar will improve your laundry. Remove Detergent Buildup Add vinegar to get rid of lingering detergent residue that might have accumulated over time (adding to the brightening effect). Removing this buildup can revitalize the look and feel of your clothes and linens. Get Rid Of Odors It may sound strange to add strong-smelling vinegar for fresh-smelling laundry, but it actually helps eliminate funky fabric smells. For instance, if you let that load sit for too long before adding to the dryer, it might take on a musty smell. No worries because the pungent vinegar odor washes right out. Clean Your Washing Machine Using vinegar can work to keep your washing machine clean between deep cleaning sessions. The vinegar helps keep bacteria from building up between loads. Soften Clothes A bonus of using vinegar to brighten your clothes is that it also helps to soften them. As it removes detergent buildup and residue that causes clothes and towels to be stiff, it makes them feel softer. Plus, it's a natural solution to fabric softeners that may irritate skin or reduce the absorbency of your bath towels. Soften Water Vinegar is also helpful in softening hard water, which can cause clothes to fade. Adding vinegar helps prevent fading due to hard water buildup since it breaks up minerals that build up on fabric fibers and trap dirt. More Tips To Prevent Color Fading If color fade is still an issue, or you're plumb out of distilled vinegar, there are still a few things you can do to help your laundry's cause. Use a cold wash cycle to keep bright colors from fading. Warmer water can cause the colors to bleed. Washing clothes inside out helps prevent friction from dulling the outer side of the fabric. Pull clothes from the dryer as soon as they're dry, and avoid over-drying them, which can lead to fading. Wash clothing and linens with like colors to help keep dark colors from transferring to lighter colored items. Don't overstuff the washing machine. Leave room for loads to move freely so detergent is evenly distributed throughout the load and thoroughly rinsed.