Is Mixing Vinegar And Fabric Softener A Good Idea? Our Laundry Expert Weighs In

Vinegar is a household product staple for a reason. The acid is versatile, non-toxic, and inexpensive. You can use it everywhere, from cleaning your countertops to clothing tops. White distilled vinegar is even used to DIY your own fabric softener. Considering its benefits for conditioning clothing, many blogs suggest adding the acid to commercial fabric softeners, claiming the mixture will boost the laundering rewards for your clothes. Since vinegar can be an alternative to store-bought fabric softeners, mixing them seems like a good method for plush, clean, and fragrant loads.

However, in an exclusive interview with House Digest, Zachary Pozniak, COO of luxury dryer cleaners Jeeves New York, revealed vinegar and fabric softener are better apart when it comes to your laundry. Although vinegar and fabric softeners serve similar purposes inside the washing machine, the effect each product has on your textiles is inherently different. Those effects can be compromised when the acid and conditioner are combined.

It's natural to want the static-reducing and conditioning benefits of fabric softener with the odor-eliminating and stain-lifting perks of vinegar, but mixing the two products isn't a good practice. "This is a very bad idea," laundry expert Zachary Pozniak told House Digest. "Vinegar is designed for stripping and stain removal while softener acts as a coating. The two have very different functions when it comes to textile care."

Apparently, more is not always merrier, and Pozniak advised on wash day to pick one or the other, not both. He explained, "One is a low pH rinse that helps strip away odor and soil, the other adds a waxy coating to reduce static and add softness." If plush and fragrant clothing is your priority, stick with fabric conditioners. If you're looking to reduce the use of laundry products with lots of chemicals or avoid unsightly fabric softener stains, vinegar is the way to go.

While vinegar can be used to replace fabric softener, it may not be the ideal application for your laundry. Zachary Pozniak exclusively told House Digest, "Cleaning vinegar, which is usually 20%-40% concentration, is best for stain removal." A great time to bring the acid out is when it comes to eliminating wine spills, ink smudges, or other mishaps. You can add white distilled vinegar directly to the washing machine drum or pretreat stains with the acid before tossing the items in the load.

As Pozniak warned, you shouldn't mix vinegar with fabric softener, but there is also another laundry product that acid shouldn't combine with — bleach. Mixing bleach and vinegar can create chlorine gas, which is extremely toxic. It can irritate your respiratory passages or even cause fluid build-up in your lungs. So, if you're using bleach to brighten your whites, leave the vinegar in the cupboard. And remember, there's no need to dilute your fabric softener with vinegar. Sometimes less is more.