Does the armpit fabric of your t-shirts smell like the back of a hyena’s ass? Do your clean sports bras have that lingering pungent aroma that makes you wanna throw up in your mouth a little? Do any of your towels or dish clothes smell like a musty sewer rat sunbathing atop a heap of steamy, hot trash?
Then you need some vinegar, baby.
I have seen this trick around the web for a few years but never really paid it any attention. That is, until my kids threw some balled-up wet dish rags onto the laundry floor. I didn’t discover the rags until a day or two later. The rags smelled so dang terrible. GAH!!!
First I tried to wash the the rags. But no luck. The rags were still as stank as ever.
Then I tried adding more detergent to the laundry. No luck again. The musty funk remained.
But alas! On the third try I added approximately 3/4 cup of vinegar to the laundry, and wallah!! Holy shizzz, it worked. It freakin’ worked! The smell was gone. In fact, the rags smelled way better than they have in a very long time.
What exactly is the science behind this? Vinegar kills odor-causing bacteria. For years I’ve been doing this trick right here to keep my sports bras smelling fresh, but adding vinegar to the laundry is an extra layer of anti-funk protection to make your sports bras last even longer.
If your clean clothes are suffering from any sort of stank that just won’t wash out, pick yourself up a $2 gallon of vinegar. Unless you have some sort of ungodly level of funk that defies all of nature, this cheap and easy vinegar trick might work for you. We also use vinegar at our house to clean and disinfect the kitchen countertops, and to freshen up the bathroom sink and toilets in-between cleanings.
BONUS TIP: Use Apple Cider Vinegar to avoid the stomach bug. Find out more about it in my post, Proven Methods to Avoid Stomach Flu. There are over 200 comments on this post with insights from readers who have used this method to keep their family well throughout stomach flu season.
Edit: Thank you LaShaune D. for pointing out to me on Facebook that baking soda is a great little addition to fight off the stankiness as well. Try that in addition to the vinegar!
Kita says
October 12, 2016 at 1:59 pmI have tried it and it does work I need to re up because I have ran out of vinegar
yumyucky says
October 12, 2016 at 3:11 pmHey Kita. Thank you for confirming! Now go get you some more vinegar, woman! 😉
messymimi says
October 12, 2016 at 6:48 pmYes, vinegar is one of my favorites for cleaning and getting smells gone. It kills ringworm!
yumyucky says
October 13, 2016 at 2:21 pmHey mimi. Thank you so much for the ringworm tip!
Courtney says
October 12, 2016 at 11:05 pmI’ve tried it and it works! I’ve done vinegar + essential oils too when I forgot about a wet load of laundry and didn’t bother to re-wash. Just kidding, I don’t do that because I’m the all-time world laundry champion. You didn’t know?
Courtney recently posted..Chocolate Fat Bombs – 3 Ways
yumyucky says
October 13, 2016 at 3:03 pmLOL! You are so right. Here I am ratting out my kids for the balled up rags, while here I am forgetting about the wet load in the washer. ahahaha! Kudos to you for being world laundry champ. heheheee
Yolanda says
October 19, 2016 at 2:13 pmI just found your YouTube channel and blog today….and I LOVE it!!! I can’t WAIT to try this tip for my gym clothes! I have been throwing away some of my favorite gym t-shirts that I couldn’t get THAT odor out of! Thank you!!!
yumyucky says
October 19, 2016 at 3:42 pmHi Yolanda! I’m so glad you found me!!! Yes, this tip should definitely make a difference. I rinse my gym clothes while I’m in the shower, hang them dry, and then do the vinegar thing on laundry day. You will definitely extend the life of your clothes doing this. Thank you for dropping by!
Premium Nest says
November 2, 2016 at 5:48 amwow…you make my day! Thanks for the tips. i’ll try it to my laundry !
yumyucky says
November 3, 2016 at 11:27 amHi there! Thank you for trying this tip!
Nicol says
November 5, 2016 at 7:24 amThanks for the blog post. I heard about the trick before but haven’t tried yet.The tips you have shared is really amazing and I definitely would like to try it to my clothes.
yumyucky says
November 15, 2016 at 1:49 pmHi Nicol. Thank you! I bought more vinegar toady for my laundry. It’s a really great household hack!
Lisa says
December 22, 2016 at 2:09 pmI’ve heard of this trick and wanted to try it! When do you put the vinegar in? At the beginning?
yumyucky says
December 22, 2016 at 2:28 pmHey Lisa. Yes, I put the vinegar in while the water is still running to fill up the clothes in the washer. A friend of mine said she tried this on some dog beds that had been peed on, and it worked like a charm!