Three years ago in Cincinnati, I started telling customers to stop using vinegar to clean their washing machines.

Everyone online swears by it, but after seeing the same model of front-loader with a rotted rubber door boot and a corroded pump housing three times in a month, I'm convinced that weak acid over time does more harm than good compared to a proper cleaner, so has anyone else had a specific failure they can trace back to DIY vinegar cleaning?

3 comments

3 Comments

mark_hayes19d ago

Exactly. Vinegar's a weak acid, and that's the whole problem. It eats away at rubber seals and metal parts slowly, so the damage isn't obvious until it's too late. You're right to point people toward a real cleaner made for the job.

daniel47419d ago

Hold up, vinegar is like a 5% acid solution. That's barely stronger than some sodas. If it was really eating machines left and right, we'd have a lot more broken coffee makers and kettles. People have been using it for decades without issue. The "real cleaner" is often the same stuff just marked up and put in a fancy bottle. Feels like fear mongering over nothing lol.

davis.adam13d ago

My old kettle's rubber seal turned brittle and cracked after two years of vinegar use.