You may be tempted to combine these powerful natural ingredients to get double the deodorizing and cleaning benefits for your laundry. However, since vinegar has a low pH and baking soda has a high pH, combining the two at the same time will cause them to cancel out each other's effects.
You can wash your clothes with vinegar or baking soda only instead of regular detergent. They are natural cleaners and deodorizers that help your clothes stay fresh and clean by removing stains and odors. Use baking soda and vinegar that don't have any additives harmful to your clothes, skin, or the environment.
Baking soda is unlikely to damage your colored clothes, so long as they are not made out of a delicate fiber such as wool or silk. Everyday materials such as polyester or cotton hold their color better than delicates, making them easier to wash with baking soda and water.
Add White Distilled Vinegar
For daily laundry, add one cup of baking soda or white distilled vinegar to your wash water each time you wash exercise clothes. The baking soda or white distilled vinegar will help neutralize odor and make your detergent work more efficiently.
But common pantry essentials that are often used for cleaning — like baking soda and vinegar — shouldn't be mixed either. Unlike the bleach-ammonia mixture, combining soda and vinegar won't hurt anyone — but don't expect the mixture to do a good job cleaning, either.
Once the washer is filled, before the wash cycle starts, drop in a cup of vinegar. Let it dilute for a moment, then add a half of a cup of baking soda. Run the washer, and dry as normal. Your towels will be recharged and like new, or better than ever!
Pour baking soda into the drain (about half a cup), followed by one cup of white vinegar. Cover the drain and let it sit for 30 minutes. After waiting, boil a kettle of water and dump all of the boiling water down the drain to flush out the loosened clog.
Baking soda helps absorb odors while white vinegar neutralizes odor causing bacteria. To eliminate stubborn smells like sweat, gasoline, or cooking odors, add half a cup of baking soda in the washing machine with your clothing, and use half a cup of vinegar in your fabric softener tray.
Place smelly clothes in a bag with a baking soda and water mixture. Leave the bag sealed for a day or two before washing. Be warned it may take a baking soda soak to really remove the smell thoroughly.
Add your stinky clothes and allow them to soak overnight and then wash as usual. If you have garments that need refreshing and they are not washable, place them in a sealable container like a storage tub with an open box of baking soda. Leave them for at least 24 hours—longer is better—to help remove odors.
While vinegar is excellent at stripping odor-causing buildup from the over- and misuse of laundry products, over time, the acidity can break down elastic, shortening the lifespan of anything with stretch.
The acidic nature of white vinegar can be used as a fabulous clothes whitener and brightener of dingy white and colored clothes, and it provides a great way to whiten socks. Add a half cup of vinegar to your wash during the rinse cycle to brighten clothes.
As an Alternative to Bleach
For whites and colors, baking soda does double duty. When added to the washer, it makes whites whiter and brightens colored items. It's a good substitute for people who prefer not to use bleach. Or, for loads of white clothing, give bleach a boost by adding a half-cup of baking soda.
Vinegar is not a traditional bleach, so it will not bleach fabrics in the same way that chlorine or oxygen bleach does. However, vinegar does have stain removal properties which allows it to whiten white fabrics or intensify the colors or darker fabrics.
How Long Should You Soak Clothes in Vinegar? The length of time you should soak clothes in vinegar depends on the severity of the odor. For mild odors, soaking clothes for 30 minutes to an hour is usually sufficient. For stronger odors, you can soak clothes overnight.
Can vinegar ruin clothes? Vinegar is safe to use to clean your clothes and will not ruin them. However, it's a good idea to measure the right amount of vinegar to use and spot test your clothes before washing them. Vinegar is a great cleaner used to remove stains and odors out of clothes and shoes.
Baking soda & hydrogen peroxide
You put one part baking soda and one part hydrogen peroxide and mix them up to make a paste similar to the one with water. Then, you rub the mixture onto the stained area and let it sit for at least 30 minutes before washing it with a heavy-duty laundry detergent.
Instead of using harsh chemicals that could potentially damage your pipes, unclog a drain and refresh it by pouring in a homemade drain cleaner made up of ½ cup of baking soda and 1 cup of vinegar. Always keep the ratio one-part baking soda to two parts vinegar for the best drain cleaner for kitchen sink gunk.
You should use a ratio of 1:2 baking soda to vinegar. In other words, if you're using ½ cup of baking soda, use 1 cup of vinegar, or if you're using a cup of baking soda, use 2 cups of vinegar.
Is Using Baking Soda and Vinegar Together a Good Idea? The short answer is no. And the long answer goes like this: When used together, baking soda and vinegar will neutralize each other, effectively canceling out the benefits of low pH for vinegar and high pH for baking soda.
Add sheets and towels to the washing machine. Add ½ cup baking soda into the detergent dispenser and ½ cup vinegar to the fabric softener dispenser. Then wash on the hottest setting possible and dry as usual. If you have a top loader, sprinkle baking soda over towels and add vinegar right before the rinse cycle.