Add one cup of distilled white vinegar to the rinse cycle when you want to sanitize a load of laundry. The white vinegar kills bacteria, deodorizes your laundry, softens fabrics, and even helps maintain bright colors. Who knew vinegar might be the ultimate eco-friendly clothes detergent?
White Vinegar
To use vinegar to disinfect your laundry, try adding 1 cup to the rinse cycle. Not only can it kill germs and bacteria, but it's also a great natural deodorizer. White vinegar can be used on colors and whites, keeping clothes bright, and works as an effective fabric softener, too.
To kill the germs in your laundry, wash your clothes on the hot cycle, then put everything in the dryer for 45 minutes. Wash whites with bleach, and use peroxide or color-safe bleach for colors. Do your laundry in water that's at least 140 F to kill any viruses or bacteria.
Vinegar is not an effective disinfectant. It only works on a few strains of bacteria, such as E. coli and Salmonella. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) states that a disinfectant should kill 99.9% of bacteria and viruses that cause diseases, therefore vinegar is not recommended for disinfecting.
Baking soda doesn't disinfect laundry, but washing in hot water and drying on high heat will. Unless you use bleach, ½ cup of baking soda added to the wash or rinse cycle is all you need.
Set your washing machine to the highest and hottest water setting. Add in four cups of white vinegar, and start a cycle. Once the washing machine is filled up and barely started, pause it and allow the water and white vinegar to soak the drum for an hour.
Laundry sanitizer may be used as an additional measure against germs, but it isn't essential for most laundry tasks. Instead, focus on selecting high-quality eco-friendly laundry products, and follow good laundering habits like washing clothes before they become overly dirty or smelly.
ACV is non-toxic, biodegradable, and it is ideal for removing bacteria, mineral deposits and dirt. Kill germs and remove odors from laundry by adding one cup of ACV to each laundry load. Keep your washing machine sparkling clean by adding two cups of ACV and running an empty washer through a laundry cycle.
In general, to sanitize laundry, you can add 1 cup of 3% hydrogen peroxide to a regular wash cycle. In addition, it can also brighten, whiten and disinfect you clothes, just like white vinegar does.
Pre-treat laundry that has been exposed to germs and bacteria with baking soda. According to a 2000 study by the Good Housekeeping Institute, both baking soda and vinegar work as a disinfectant.
“Of course, vinegar does eliminate some things, but it's important to note it's not a complete solution to disinfectant. It is only 90% effective against bacteria and around 80 percent effective against viruses and mold or mildew. Bleach, however, eliminates 99.9% of bacteria, viruses, and mold or mildew.
Borax. A naturally occurring mineral, borax is a chlorine bleach alternative that helps remove stains and cuts through dulling residue. Add a half cup of powdered borax per one gallon of warm water. Add the white clothes and allow them to soak for at least 30 minutes or longer.
Thanks to a high concentration of acetic acid, white vinegar makes a powerful cleaning agent that kills germs, gets rid of odors and rinses away dirt and grease. And it does most of the cleaning for you: simply pour it into your machine, turn on the wash cycle and let it do the rest.
It's the dryer—not the washing machine—that lays waste to harmful microorganisms. “High heat drying for at least 28 minutes is the most effective way to kill viruses,” Reynolds says. The “high heat” setting is key.
Most bacterial species survived better at elevated air humidity. The infectivity of viruses on textiles is lost much faster at room temperature, typically within 2–4 weeks. Conclusions: Contaminated textiles or fabrics may be a source of transmission for weeks.
While regular machine washing removes plenty of viruses, bacteria, and other pathogens, it doesn't remove enough to stop them from spreading. Sanitizing laundry helps stop the spread of germs to the rest of the family, especially when someone in your home is sick.
Baking soda in the laundry can be a great addition for a natural fabric softener or controlling excess suds, while vinegar in laundry can be an amazing agent for getting those whites extra sparkling and banishing mildew odor. They help even the best laundry detergents to be more effective.
Washing towels with vinegar and baking soda can bring them back to life in just three steps: Wash towels in hot water and one cup vinegar. Don't add any detergent. Wash the towels a second time (without drying them) in hot water and one cup baking soda.
The Watch-outs of Adding Vinegar and Baking Soda to Your Laundry. Although vinegar and baking soda are safe to use in both regular and HE washing machines, they are considerably less efficient than high-performance laundry detergents at delivering an outstanding and odorless clean.