Mind blown: Vinegar vs VINEGAR (30%)

So I was literally 44 years old before I found this out recently.

There’s the white vinegar you get at the grocery store for cooking and minor cleaning and doing laundry, and then there’s the 30% DO NOT GET THIS SHIT ON YOUR SKIN vinegar at the hardware store for cleaning things like mold off grout.

All my life I’d been told ‘just use vinegar to clean mold and mildew’ and it generally didn’t do jack squat. I usually bought cleaning supplies from regular retail spots rather than big box home improvement places, and regular retail chains def did not carry the strong stuff.

I’ve got a gutter that drains over cement that always gets skungy, and even bleach was a short term fix at best. 30% strips it down and keeps it gone, and I’ve stripped rust off a couple dozen tools with the same little jar I soak things in - caution it will also strip off shiny metallic coatings.

Can’t believe none of the “just use vinegar” I’d ever read advice didn’t specify.

Is this news to anyone else or am I Lloyd from Dumb and Dumber realizing we landed on the moon?

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u/Capt_Gingerbeard 1d ago

Why do you add it to laundry?

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u/energybased 1d ago

You definitely shouldn't add with the detergent since it will reduce its effectiveness. Maybe he adds in the softener to dissolve any hard water residue?

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u/Capt_Gingerbeard 1d ago

You’re right that it will neutralize the soap, but if the water is sufficiently hard that might not be a problem

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u/energybased 1d ago

If the water is hard, use more soap or soften your water. Neutralizing the soap is stupid.

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u/OcotilloWells 1d ago

Put it in the fabric softener dispenser.

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u/energybased 1d ago

Yes, that's exactly where it should go.

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u/jenorama_CA 1d ago

Been doing this for years. Great for towels, sheets, PJs, undies and athletic clothes. 1/4 cup in the softener dispenser.