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Cleaning Appliances with Vinegar: A Guide

When cleaning your appliances, vinegar is a great, versatile product to use due to its natural acidity and ability to disinfect surfaces. Vinegar is also effective at breaking down grime and eliminating different household odors naturally and without the use of any harsh chemicals.

This guide will provide more information on how to use vinegar to efficiently clean a multitude of household appliances.

What Appliances Can You Clean With Vinegar?

Vinegar is a powerful, multipurpose cleaning solution that can be used to clean a variety of appliances. There are a few different types of vinegar, but white distilled vinegar is the best form to use for cleaning as it doesn’t contain a coloring agent.

The lack of coloring agent means it is unlikely that white distilled vinegar will stain appliance surfaces. White distilled vinegar also contains about 5% acidity, which is similar to the acidity level found in most household cleaning products.

The following appliances can generally be cleaned with white distilled vinegar. However, before cleaning any appliances, first check the appliance’s user manual for any specific cleaning instructions.

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Washing Machine

White distilled vinegar is safe to use when cleaning your front load or top load washing machine. White vinegar can be used to help dissolve mineral deposits and detergent buildup and remove odors. Before cleaning your washer, combine equal parts vinegar and water to create a balanced cleaning solution. Add your cleaning solution to the washer and then run a normal wash cycle in its entirety to make sure all of the cleaning solution is rinsed out.

Using vinegar to clean your washer may not remove all the detergent buildup that accumulates in your appliance over time. Using a washing machine cleaner, like affresh® washing machine cleaner, regularly can help keep your washer clean and free from residue and hard water minerals.

Dishwasher

Using white distilled vinegar to clean your dishwasher can help break down and remove soap scum and detergent residue from the inside of your appliance. To clean your dishwasher with vinegar, you can simply add two cups of vinegar to the bottom of your dishwasher and run a low-heat or energy-saving cycle.

The acidity of vinegar can loosen and dissolve calcium and magnesium deposits that have formed in your appliance. Cleaning your dishwasher regularly with affresh® dishwasher cleaner can also help prevent hard water buildup from accumulating on the dishwasher’s jets, pipes and drains.

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Coffee Maker

Distilled white vinegar is a great, natural cleaning product to use when cleaning your coffee maker. To clean your coffee maker with vinegar, simply fill the reservoir with equal parts distilled white vinegar and water, let it sit for about 30 to 60 minutes and then run a standard brew or cleaning cycle. The strong acidity that’s present in white distilled vinegar can easily remove coffee grounds, stains and buildup that accumulate in your coffee maker over time.

Cleaning your coffee maker regularly, with affresh® coffee maker cleaner, will descale your appliance and remove hard water deposits and mineral buildup for a clean without the odor of vinegar.

Ice Maker

Using a vinegar and water solution is an efficient way to clean your ice maker and remove any hard water mineral buildup. To clean your ice maker, first combine 10 parts water with 1 part distilled white vinegar and pour into your ice maker’s water reservoir. Then run at least two cycles to circulate the vinegar cleaning solution throughout the machine.

Discard any ice from these cycles and check to see if all of the cleaning solution has been filtered out. If the cleaning solution is still present, continue to run cycles until the ice maker is efficiently rinsed out.

Cleaning your ice maker regularly with affresh® ice machine cleaner is a great way to help ensure your appliance stays clean and free from hard water and mineral buildup so you can enjoy great-tasting ice.

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What Not To Clean With Vinegar

While vinegar is generally safe to use when cleaning a variety of appliances, there are certain appliances and materials that should not be cleaned with vinegar to avoid damage.

Here are some appliances to avoid cleaning with vinegar:

  • Appliances that are made of aluminum or contain aluminum parts. Vinegar can potentially corrode, weaken or discolor aluminum surfaces after prolonged exposure.
  • Microwave control panels should not be cleaned using vinegar. Vinegar can potentially seep through electronic parts and cause them to short circuit or corrode over time.
  • Stainless steel appliances should not be cleaned using vinegar to avoid any damaging or pitting of the appliance’s finish.

Explore All affresh® Appliance Cleaners

Whether you’re cleaning your washing machine, dishwasher, coffee maker or ice machine, affresh® appliance care has you covered. Explore the full line of affresh® cleaners that are designed to go above the common clean and even target areas you can’t see leaving your appliances clean and ready to use.

 

A variety of affresh® cleaning products, including coffee maker cleaner, ice machine cleaner, disposal cleaner, washing machine cleaner, dishwasher cleaner, cooktop cleaning kit, and stainless steel brightener.