The Magic of White Vinegar

[itself]

I swear, vinegar is good for so many uses. Cleaning floors, windows. I had some dish clothes that got kind of moldy smelling, put two cup of white vinegar in the washing machine washed, and then washed with soap, now they smell terrific!

[OakLeaf]

ewwww, I can't stand the stink of vinegar.

When I need an acid cleaner I use crystalline food grade citric acid. Odorless - and you can mix it as strong or weak as you need.

[zoom-zoom]

We have INSANELY hard water that makes a mess of our sinks and faucets. We use a ton of vinegar. It's way cheaper than CLR.

[rubysoho]

We have INSANELY hard water that makes a mess of our sinks and faucets. We use a ton of vinegar. It's way cheaper than CLR.

Better for the environment too!j

[Orange utopia]

I put white vinegar in every load of laundry in place of fabric softener. It works great and leaves no odor. My kids all have very sensitive skin and even fragrance free fabric softeners cause them problems.

[redrhodie]

I have a favorite coffee mug at work that got really stained from green tea. I filled it with hot water and maybe a T of white vinegar, and it came perfectly clean in a few minutes.

[soprano]

I've been using white vinegar in place of fabric softener for years. Works best if most of the laundry is natural fibers; synthetics come out with a little static. A nice bonus is that the machine stays really clean as well.

[OakLeaf]

Better for the environment too!

Care to share your sources? CLR is food grade and recommended for cleaning coffee makers and glasses - obviously fewer ingredients are better, and the foaming and gelling agents are unnecessary, but they're relatively benign.

I hadn't known until I looked it up just now that white vinegar is usually made from barley, not from corn (the primary source of acetic acid) - that makes even non-organically grown vinegar somewhat better for the environment than citric acid. Am I a Bad Person because I hate the smell too much to switch?



ETA - A couple of years ago I asked here about using acids in the washing machine, and I believe it was Irulan, our resident fabric expert, who recommended against it - said it could corrode the internal workings. I guess it would be okay if you did a titration first to find out exactly how much acid to use just to neutralize the bases in your water - but even then you'd want to put it directly in with the clothes after the tub was filled for the last rinse, not in the dispenser where it would (1) sit during washing and (2) pass undiluted through the hoses and valves.

[Blueberry]

Baking Soda is another one that we use a LOT of for cleaning. Works as well as most of the other abrasive cleaners - but I have heard better for the environment.

Vinegar - I use it, DH uses it more - I usually protest the smell, but have learned to live with it.

Got good sources for Citric Acid? I use it to clean my Zojirushi water dispenser (which is in dire need of cleaning again despite my insistence on filtered water use).

[OakLeaf]

Any place that sells beer or winemaking supplies will have citric acid around $4-5 a pound.

Natural food stores that carry herbs and spices in bulk sometimes have it, too. But a lot of natural food stores also have citric acid in little bottles at a much higher price.

[PamNY]

ETA - A couple of years ago I asked here about using acids in the washing machine, and I believe it was Irulan, our resident fabric expert, who recommended against it - said it could corrode the internal workings. I guess it would be okay if you did a titration first to find out exactly how much acid to use just to neutralize the bases in your water - but even then you'd want to put it directly in with the clothes after the tub was filled for the last rinse, not in the dispenser where it would (1) sit during washing and (2) pass undiluted through the hoses and valves.

That sounds reasonable. I don't think I'd chance it. I have a front loader, so couldn't just dump it in.

Lots of people love vinegar, but I never feel it cleans very well. Perhaps I'm dirtier to begin with.

[soprano]

ETA - A couple of years ago I asked here about using acids in the washing machine, and I believe it was Irulan, our resident fabric expert, who recommended against it - said it could corrode the internal workings. I guess it would be okay if you did a titration first to find out exactly how much acid to use just to neutralize the bases in your water

Our tap water is so ridiculously alkaline (pH 8.6) that I don't really think that is a valid concern. One half cup of vinegar isn't going to contain nearly enough hydrogen ions to mitigate however many gallons of tap water that go through the wash. My former machine, however, was horribly clogged from years of too much fabric softener (thanks, former residents of my house!) and tried to flood the kitchen with regularity.

[zoom-zoom]

We also really like boric acid for all sorts of applications. It gets added to all of our laundry loads, instead of powdered water softener. We really regret not getting a water softener when we first bought the house, but salt is $$. Then again, so are Borax, distilled water for the coffee, frequent new filters for the humidifier...