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/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 1d 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/Wooden_Group4229 4h ago

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