Thank you for the information. I was wondering about this.

Thank you @mamapinky though I have no doubt we will continue to have posts that swear by what vinegar does. I know it has no effect -- not even 1 cup of vinegar in a standard load. But if it makes people feel better, or think they are doing something good for clothing, it's fine with me since it's basically harmless. If there were science that supports its effectiveness it would be interesting to see it.

Vinegar...100% useless in the wash!! Now, if you want to pickle cucumbers with it, YES or clean windows or make salad dressing...YES!! But, 100% rubbish for laundry purposes!!

Thanks MamaP!! Xo

Problem with vinegar it is a very weak acid. For it to be a remotely effective "sour" you would need large quantities. All a sour does is lower the Ph to normal for goods processed in a high alkaline wash.

Interesting thread. I have never know anyone to use vinegar in the laundry! I do use it to clean my induction cooktop, quartz counters, and occasionally to mop my hardwoods.

Vinegar mixed half and half with regular strength Dawn dishwashing liquid, in a spray bottle makes and awesome shower/tub cleaner. I found a large size spray bottle at Walmart to mix it in. The bottle every sprays upside down and with a lot of pressure. They are in the section by the mops and brooms. You can spray the mixture on and go off and leave it, even overnight if you wish and with very little scrubbing your shower/tub will be spotless, it really cleans off soap scum great.

First, MIMI love that tip! I use Dawn & I love using vinegar, To hisown & mamapinky: I did not mean to start a war over vinegar vs FS. For me, vinegar has worked in the wash and in the dryer. I am not opposed to FS in fact love Gain since I love the scent. I am not trying to convert anyone. I was just saying that white vinegar in the laundry worked for me for many years. No one has to use it or try it. It was simply a suggestion. Love to all & Merry Christmas!!!! :)

Insistence is not science. This has come up again and again and it's always the same. People insist that vinegar works in various ways in laundry but provide no factual backup.

Some of us have done research. White vinegar, with 5% acidity or less is diluted in the bottle. Say someone goes big and adds a full cup of white vinegar to the laundry. My compact uses 8 gallons of water for the rinse. Top loaders use way more. Vinegar is not concentrated enough to be effective in that much water. It's the proverbial drop in the basin.

Again, it's harmless. Yes, it's a natural product. It isn't a substitute for fabric softener. It doesn't deodorize or disinfect. I wish it did. It would be so much easier!

But once you check the facts, it's an eye roller when someone insists in print -- especially in magazines that don't do the research -- as if it were fact, that vinegar actually does anything more than make them feel better.

As pinky suggested, if it had any real effective properties it would be marketed like H. Sales of Downy, the leading fabric softener, have fallen dramatically and they are recasting it for the market. (Wall St Journal article yesterday but I don't have a subscription so I cannot link -- if someone can please link it here). They aren't going for vinegar which is certainly cheap enough.

Don't think there would be push back if a poster said something like 'I can't prove wh but it works for me.'

I don't know if vinegar is the miracle solution many say it is, but some product brands do endorse laundry uses.

Heinz in the laundry room

BTW, it's the Cleaning Vinegar at 6%.

Edited to add:

I use the 6% cleaning vinegar when detailing car paint. Two cups to one gallon of soapy water will remove wax and sealants, even water spots, making the paint surface open for new wax or sealant, without polishing.

The many marvels of vinegar. Everthing from feminine hygiene, windows, floors, tub, tile, porcelain, automobiles, rust remover, stain remover. By its shear usage it's a wonderful adjunt cleaner because its acetic acid. The point is cleaner. In the laundry it may provide some residual cleaning effect. The only reason clothing feels softer after a vinegar rinse is the Ph has been lowered. If the load wasn't alkaline to begin with, it does nothing but perhaps minimal adjunt cleaning.

Vinegar is acetic acid not citric acid.

A product brand endorsing the use of its product is marketing --nothing to do with any type of science.

Brush works, you've added vinegar to soapy water so it could be the soap breaking down the wax and sealants. Waterspots might break down because vinegar is acetic acid. The point is no one has any science to back up these claims. It is just anecdotal evidence at this point. When you start adding a bunch of chemicals together, no telling what happens.

Vinegar is not classified by the CDC as a disinfectant because it is ineffective against Staph aureus. It does kill some pathogens when used full strength.

@wekick - yes you are correct. A very erroneous error on my part. Sour is also an acetic acid. Lol, must of been thinking about lemon juice. Yet another wonderful product.

No. The car wash solution I use is wax/sealant friendly. It doesn't remove wax or water spots. I used to use IPA to remove wax until 6% vinegar proved effective.

So, you're wrong. Car wash soap doesn't remove wax with one wash. More like 20 to 30 washes.

Well Car Wash doesn't remove wax, but liquid dish soap does. Or any kind of alkaline detergent will strip a car of its finish. And I'll further say it's not much of a wax or sealant if it can be stripped with such a low concentration of vinegar and water. The chemicals in a sealant are far different than a carnauba wax. Good sealent products actually form a chemical bond and it's not easy to remove manually. I've been detailing cars for years. I would certainly think an acid base overtime would begin to etch the clear coat finish.

Brushworks--"So, you're wrong. Car wash soap doesn't remove wax with one wash. More like 20 to 30 washes."

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Except you are no longer using "car wash soap" as manufactured. You've added something to it.

When you mix chemicals, it can become a big swap session. Some of those little electrons want to find new partners so everything changes until they reach a happy point. It can give you an entirely different product.

Read again what I said.

"Brush works, you've added vinegar to soapy water so it COULD BE the soap breaking down the wax and sealants."

The original properties of the product as manufactured may no longer apply. Depending on what exactly is in "car wash soap" the acetic acid MAY lower the pH changing the way the soap/detergent works, maybe even to the negative, or it may be creating some other entirely different product. You have chemicals in the soap, vinegar and water that all interact. To take the "car wash soap" out of the equation try using vinegar and water of the same 2cup/1 gallon dilution and see how that works.

No, you never wash a classic car, or any well-cared for car, with anything less than a high lubricity soap solution. Doing so would allow the surface dirt to cause micro scratches and swirls in the paint.

I'll keep doing what I've been doing. It works, paint wins awards, I'm pleased.

Thank you.