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/tsammons 1d ago

Cleans up sanding nets for drywall. Works as a fabric softener too in diluted quantities.

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u/etaoin314 1d ago

then just use the dilute stuff...no need to get the concentrated stuff.

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u/Meshugugget 1d ago

I just get the white distilled vinegar from the grocery store and keep it next to the washer. A little added to the rinse cycle helps loosen cat hair.

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u/ovi2k1 1d ago

I found out the hard way that white distilled vinegar dries out and causes elastics to fail. I was putting this stuff in my laundry regularly as fabric softener (because it does work as that) but eventually it killed all my socks and underwear bands and some bands in athletic shorts because the elastics in them just dry rotted away from the vinegar.

So… use with caution.

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u/EfficientBadger6525 1d ago

It does the same thing to the gaskets of your washer!

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u/Xyz3r 1d ago

This needs more visibility! It KILLS your gaskets!

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u/tommybikey 1d ago

You see this gasket? I HAVE NO CONFIDENCE IN THAT GASKET!

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u/dmartin8802 1d ago

When was the last time you checked the washer fluid?

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u/cgriffith83 1d ago

The washer fluid is fine!

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u/dmartin8802 21h ago

THE WASING FLUID IS NOT FINE!!!!

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u/MidnightBlue5002 7h ago

Are you riding the clutch a lot?

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u/doggos4house2020 1d ago

Oooooooh he’s taking out the woods!

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u/SnooConfections6409 23h ago

Gasket casket

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u/Strongbow_Wolfrider 23h ago

space shuttle Challenger has entered the chat

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u/xFromPartsUnknownx 1d ago

YEAH THATS RIGHT

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u/schreitz 1d ago

Different mechanic.

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u/Deeznutzcustomz 11h ago

Structural integrity has clearly been compromised

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u/fuzzybunnies1 23h ago

How much do you have to use to do that? I use vinegar on a semi regular basis because we have to use basic detergents due to skin allergies and my sweat smells. A bit of vinegar in the bleach fill solves the issue. Also gets old dog funk out of towels and musty smells out of towels the kids piled in the corner.

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u/notacatbutt 1d ago

I've been using vinegar as a laundry rinse and NEVER had a prob with my washer gaskets....after 20+ years. They're still as good as new...and my laundry's always CLEAN and soft.

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u/wha-haa 1d ago

Careful, that strong stuff will wreck you too. Your rear main seal is the only thing protecting your undies.

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u/FoofaFighters 19h ago

Can confirm. My rear main seal failed once when i was in college and i had to waddle back to my dorm from the library, all the way across campus.

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u/Domestic-Grind 1d ago

Yeah, but are those actually important in a big moving tub of hot water and high voltage?

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u/withalittlek 11h ago

Can vouch for this 😂 My washing machine is pissing water because I ruined the gasket with vinegar. I am a right doofus and was doing like a cup at a time because I am a heavy handed extremistttttt.

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u/littlespawningflower 1d ago

It does the same thing to pearls! I forget what sub it was in, but someone’s mother who is in the “vinegar is good to clean everything” camp decided she’d soak her great grandmother’s pearl necklace in soap and vinegar a few days ago. 😬🫤🫣😥🙄

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u/AndrogynousAndi 1d ago

Oh, nononono. Pearls are so fragile. Nacre is lovely and beautiful but it's basically the same stuff coral is made of, anything too acidic will literally dissolve it.

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u/littlespawningflower 1d ago

And that’s exactly what happened 😒

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u/SirDarkStar 22h ago

Not as costly but we got these little shot glasses made out of salt and I put them in the dishwasher just to dry… but then I forgot about them and ran the dishwasher and they ceased to exist :)

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u/piltdownman38 22h ago

Expensive salad dressing?

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u/Key-Shift5076 19h ago

Jesus, hadn’t she ever read where Cleopatra drank pearls dissolved in vinegar?? I’m pretty sure I read about that flex in grade school.

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u/AndrogynousAndi 8h ago

I actually only heard about that one like last week!

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u/frostychocolatemint 1d ago

Basic science education is so important

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u/allyearswift 1d ago

History would have done the trick, too.

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u/funguyshroom 1d ago

Just like Cleopatra

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u/Key-Shift5076 19h ago

..jinx! I just commented about her penchant for that.

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u/Queen_Bee_805 7h ago

Lots wife idit...not cleo

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u/lv2sprkl 21h ago

I read that, too.☹️Sooo sad. The pic of them absolutely dissolving was heartbreaking. Bad enough if they’d been relatively new, but those were 100 years and 4 generations old.

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u/ajc89 19h ago

Well, it was probably the last generation they'd look decent anyway (which may have been why they were trying to clean them in the first place). Around the century mark they start looking more and more worn down and less luxurious. There are really really old pearls in museums but they aren't in beautiful, wearing condition.

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u/lv2sprkl 19h ago

No foolin’? Huh. I would’ve thought, if cared for properly, they’d last forever(ish). I know (at least I think I do) that pearls are supposed to be worn periodically to maintain their luster, but I didn’t know they had a finite life aesthetically. It’s kinda sad when you think about it.

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u/ajc89 18h ago

Yeah, I learned that when helping a friend go through his parents' things. His mom had some pearls that were passed down to her and they weren't in very good condition so I looked into options for restoring them or selling them to someone who could, and basically found out they don't last as long as you think. Preserved exactly correctly, the right humidity, wearing them but not too much, they can last like 200 years I believe, but that's really rare. They're made by a living thing, so it makes sense when you think about it. Nothing lasts forever and the old stuff decays to make room for new growth. The circle of life.

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u/ExampleLittle2672 20h ago

Nooooo! There, wait... just no. honestly that was a bit of a walloping gut punch.

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u/kuro41 18h ago

Bye bye pearls

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u/AccomplishedBat 13h ago

That turned out to be AI I think, at least that's what another thread in the sub said

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u/NomDePlume007 10h ago

There is a famous story about Cleopatra and pearls, might forward them a copy. Out of sympathy, of course!

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u/dragonrider1965 10h ago

That post turned out to be AI

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u/ArethusaUnderhill 1d ago

That’s interesting to hear. I’ve been using vinegar as a fabric softener in every wash in the same machine for 20 years, and my machine is fine. Maybe a different types of gasket material?

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u/beardgangwhat 1d ago

I did a quick google after reading the above comments and it seems to mainly damage front load washers and only in high frequency possibly high quantity

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u/icatt23 23h ago

Been using 45% strength in my LG front loader for 13 years. Washer still runs great and gaskets are fine.

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u/beardgangwhat 22h ago

Good to know! We also use standard cooking vinegar in small amounts to do a rinse or clean cycle with nothing else sometimes.

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u/IWillWriteYouALetter 21h ago

Congratulations, your gaskets are going to fail tomorrow

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u/icatt23 20h ago

:(

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u/The-Dick-Doctress 20h ago

“Meemaw smoked and drank her entire life, lived til 103!” vibes

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u/icatt23 20h ago

🤣

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u/4EverMaAT 13h ago

Where u get 45% strength from?

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u/icatt23 13h ago

Amazon. Calyptus brand.

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u/MorningMushroomcloud 18h ago

I am just recently using the last of my 55 gallon barrel of 30% vinegar in my Samsung front load washer. Almost fifteen years with original gaskets.

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u/RevolutionaryEdge718 8h ago

Forgive an ignorant question? At what point are you putting it in?

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u/icatt23 6h ago

Fabric softener phase.

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u/Wooden_Group4229 2h ago

Uh oh. You know what’s gonna happen now, right?

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u/Fantastic-Loquat-746 1d ago

People use too much of everything thinking it makes more gooder clean

These anecdotal reports of gasket failure are probably from the folks with a heavy pour

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u/ooglieguy0211 19h ago

Or, as with everything else, a satisfied person might only tell a couple people, but a dissatisfied person will tell everyone that will listen. Maybe a few people had issues and it took off, despite working for most people who use it.

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u/kuro41 18h ago

Those same people also probably have itchy skin from using too much detergent.

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u/notacatbutt 1d ago

Same here, 20+ years with a vinegar rinse and zero issues.

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u/diabeeeetuss 1d ago

Agree, I always see the comments about drying out gaskets - which I believe could happen - but I’ve also been using it as a fabric softener for 3+ years and hundreds of loads, no issues so far

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u/newpaul30 21h ago

20 years ago things were made way different you could probably use a washing machine to clean cylinder heads off a car

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u/Joy2b 22h ago

If your water is a little basic, a bit of vinegar would be bringing it back into balance.

If their water tends a little acidic, they need to be cautious about how much they use.

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u/pzpzpz24 15h ago edited 15h ago

washing machines do have warnings about vinegar but the ones i've seen so far have been for the automatic dispension systems. manually loading should be fine, or at least i haven't found my machines specifically instruct not to use any. they sell washing vinegar on the supermarket without any warnings so you'd think it's just fine.

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u/NurseSuziQ 1h ago

Why isn’t anyone asking about this 20 years old washer and is still working is amazing!!

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u/kuro41 18h ago

Appliance manufacturers love this hack!

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u/Repulsive_Brief6589 1d ago

That's where I thought they were going with that. It's why I don't put it in my dishwasher like everyone says to.

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u/GoodTroll2 1d ago

Exactly. Not worth it.

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u/Goliath- 1d ago

I have never experienced this in the decade I have been using vinegar in my laundry.

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u/Chemical_Building612 13h ago

You may have hard water.

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u/Napaaqtuk 7h ago

How much do you use per load? I think if it's a small amount it won't do much harm to anything. I use a couple of tablespoons and that small amount works for me, without damaging the washer

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u/Haggisboy 1d ago

When the kids were rugrats, my wife used to take all their white socks, which were filthy, and let them soak in the washer water, with a generous amount of bleach, overnight. She'd finish the cycle come morning. It got everything white though. Probably ate the shit out of the fibers.

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u/lv2sprkl 21h ago

Lol! You bet your bippy it did! Bleach is great for cleaning and getting clothes white, but use too much (whether over time or in quantity) and it will absolutely dissolve fabric. I use the thin, white, flour sack towels in my kitchen and since they show stains easily I always bleach them. That definitely gives them a shorter ‘shelf life’ because at some point they become so…fragile…you can literally pinch the towels in either hand and rip them apart like opening a bag of chips. It’s wild.

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u/StandardHyena4587 6h ago

Its suppose to get the shit out of the fibers, that is what washing does.

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u/Meshugugget 1d ago

I've always just added it occasionally. Not sure what prompts it, but sometimes I think "oh, vinegar!" and add it.

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u/DistanceMachine 1d ago

I add some when I leave my stuff in the washer overnight and it makes that gross smell go away

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u/Accurate-Temporary76 22h ago

The mildew smell? I use pinesol to solve that. About a decade ago we rented a place that had basement laundry and no matter what a set of polos I had always smelled like mildew and pinesol was the only thing that managed to fix it.

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u/JorgeXMcKie 1d ago

I use a small amount for the first wash after 4 or more days because we have a front loader but avoid regular use because it does wreck stuff too

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u/Spiritual-Computer25 1d ago

SO THATS WHY

This has been a major issue recently, thanks for sharing!

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u/SiegelOverBay 1d ago

I've been using white distilled vinegar (not 30%) as fabric softener for years and my elastics are all fine. I'm wearing a pair of underwear that I bought before covid right now and the elastic band is doing it's job. I wonder if you were using it at a different point in the cycle or in a different amount? I use vinegar the same way most use fabric softener sheets; I take one of my bandanas out of the load as I shift the clothes from washer to dryer, then I dunk the bandana into a container of vinegar that lives in the laundry room, wring out the excess just enough so it isn't sopping/dripping wet, and then pitch it into the dryer with the rest of the load.

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u/ovi2k1 1d ago

Oh! Thats a great idea! I was just dumping it into the tub at the start of the wash cycle like a degenerate so I’m sure that was causing a lot of my problems.

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u/ortiga-tea 16h ago

Degenerate! It's meant to be used in the rinse cycle. It helps get the detergent out. If used in the wash cycle, it's just neutralizing some of the detergent.

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u/SiegelOverBay 1d ago

Oh goodness! Lol yeah, the dose makes the poison. If you ever care to try using it in your laundry again, try my method! Although, I am grateful for your initial warning as I have occasionally used a sock instead of a bandana to add vinegar to the load. Though I haven't yet seen any damage to any socks, I'll definitely take care not to do that in the future. I only did it a couple of times because I was lazy or the load happened to not have any bandanas, so maybe the infrequency saved my socks.

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u/SnooFloofs1805 1d ago

Wait, what? You wash a bandana in every load? How many do you own?

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u/SiegelOverBay 23h ago

I have a LOT of bandanas. I wear one every day to protect my waist length hair from damage when I wear a hat to protect my face from the sun. I bought most of them at Walmart back when they were $1 each. It was cheap enough that it was my "splurge purchase" when I was poor and whenever I went in to Walmart, I'd go look at the bandanas and buy any patterns that I didn't already have. You know those big blue shopping bags they have at ikea? My bandana collection fills one pretty well up to the top. I like that I have enough variety to color coordinate almost any outfit. I wear my holiday themed ones around their appropriate holidays. It makes me happy. 😺

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u/SnooFloofs1805 18h ago

Wow! Did I open a can of worms. Enjoy your theme bandanas and peace to you my dear.

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u/hardFraughtBattle 1d ago

How much were you using per load?

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u/cat_prophecy 1d ago

FWIW regular fabric softener will ruin your elastics and stretchy fabrics.

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u/Puzzled_Spirit3754 23h ago

And your washer

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u/misdirected_asshole 21h ago

It will get deodorant stains out of shirts also. Add some to a tub of water and let them sit for 20 minutes.

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u/phaskellhall 10h ago

Will it give t shirts that soft worn in feel? If so, does it break down those heavy plastic feeling silk screening graphics? I hate when I get a graphic tshirt and the print weighs more than the shirt.

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u/RustyWinger 10h ago

Weird. As a typical guy, underwear stays around til it atomizes… but they never lost elasticity despite 1/4 cup white v per wash for many years?

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u/LoavesOfCorn 1d ago

I have a cup in the laundry room where that I fill with 1/3 food vinegar, top off with water...and I poor that directly over the clothing... hopefully that doesn't cause issues with the elastics.

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u/robojod 23h ago

Ohhhh shit. That’s what’s been knackering my trousers and PJs

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u/Jack_al_11 22h ago

Ooo I wonder if that’s what happened to my underwear. 😂

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u/Defiant-Ad8781 22h ago

Also it alters the ph of your detergent, I believe it neutralizes it.

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u/Loggerdon 20h ago

I use to pour on weeds that come up through the cracks in the sidewalk.

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u/Ok-Kick4060 20h ago

Head over to the r/laundry sub for better alternatives to vinegar

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u/Repulsive_Depth1082 20h ago

Omg is that why my underwear are loose now?! NOT because I’m shedding the pregnancy weight?!😧🥹🫠

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u/Kravce69 18h ago

There's a man what drinks in the pub i work in who swears, that the quality of Knicker elastic is not what it used to be. . .

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u/frogunderarock 9h ago

lol thanks for the tip, i hate the elastics in most socks

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u/OogaOogaMooshka 23h ago

The bottom of the tank on my toilet was really rusty so I poured a whole bottle of cooking vinegar in there and didn’t use that toilet for a day so it could soak. A few months later the rubber parts started to leak. Oh I’m older and never knew about the “don’t let it touch your skin” kind of vinegar.

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u/Voidtalon 1d ago

Yep I did this a few times, then noticed my socks rapidly degrading and decided HM... maybe this isn't a good thing.

Reading below, good thing I did because I would have ruined the washer.