Can You Clean Legos With Vinegar?

Legos are one of the most popular toys in the world for children and adults alike, taking the prestigious award for most popular toy brand in 2021.  They are infinitely reusable, meaning they can incur quite a bit of wear and tear over their lifespan, but can you clean Legos with vinegar?

One of the most effective ways to clean Legos is with a solution of water and vinegar.  This is a practical, safe, and easy way to keep your Legos free of germs and looking brand new for years to come.

Benefits of Using Vinegar

White distilled vinegar is one of the best substances to use not only for cleaning but for cleaning your Legos in particular.  The main cleaning ingredient is acetic acid, and It is an all-natural, eco-friendly, non-toxic, and effective disinfectant that is cheap and easy to obtain.

Common cleaning products like bleach, benzalkonium chloride, and ammonia are toxic, irritating to the skin and eyes, and can damage your Legos by discoloring them.  They will absolutely disinfect your Legos, but they will end up doing much more damage in the long run.

How to Clean Your Legos With Vinegar

Cleaning your Legos with vinegar is an easy enough process that you can and should do on a regular basis.  You will not want to use pure vinegar to accomplish this; a solution of water and vinegar will yield the best results without damaging your prized possessions.

1. You will want to get some sort of container to hold water like a bucket, kitchen sink, or bathtub if your Lego collection is massive.
2. Use warm water, cold water won’t have the same cleaning potential, and hot water will burn your hands.
3. Mix a solution of 1 part vinegar to 3 parts water.  This will ensure that there is enough vinegar present to disinfect the Legos without creating fumes that will sting your nose or eyes.
4. Drop your Legos into the vinegar solution
5. Let them sit for 10-15 minutes to allow for ample time to disinfect as well as loosen up any dirt or grime build-up on the Lego itself.
6. Now you will want to agitate the Legos to help break up and remove the grime from the Legos; if you are using a small basin like a bucket, you can shake it for 1-2 minutes.  If you use a larger basin like a sink, put on some dishwashing gloves and swish the Legos around.
7. After thoroughly disinfecting and cleaning, it’s time to rinse them. Dump or drain the dirty water and rinse the Legos with warm water; this will help remove any residual vinegar that may be on the Legos.
8. Finally, it’s time to dry the Legos off.  The easiest way is to spread them on an absorbent cloth or paper towel.  If you want to speed this process up, use a fan or place them near an open window where moving air will help dry them quicker.

Voila! You now have clean Legos that look as new as they did when they came out of the box.

Now that you know how to clean your Legos using vinegar, it is a good time to create a solution that you can save for the next time you need to clean them.  Use the same ratio of water to vinegar, 1 part vinegar to 3 parts water, and make as much as you need for later!

For example, If you want to make a gallon of the cleaning solution, you would first obtain a resealable container that is slightly larger than 1 gallon so that you have some room for error.  You would add 12 cups of water and 4 cups of vinegar.

Can I Use Different Types of Vinegar?

There are plenty of different types of vinegar out there, some of which are acceptable for cleaning, but none beat the benefits of white vinegar.  Some other common types of vinegar include:

• Apple cider vinegar – ACV has a similar acidity to white vinegar, but its dark brown color makes it prone to staining whatever you are trying to clean.
• White wine vinegar – has a lower acid content than traditional white vinegar, so it won’t do as well of a job as white vinegar, and it is much more expensive, making it unworthy of cleaning Legos with
• Cleaning vinegar – this type of vinegar is about 1/5th stronger than regular white vinegar, meaning it acts as a better disinfectant than standard white, but these levels of acetic acid can be left over on your Legos which can be unpleasant to smell.
• Balsamic vinegar – while balsamic has a similar acetic acid content to white vinegar, it is made from grapes.  Like ACV, this dark color can discolor your Legos.
• Sherry vinegar – this type of vinegar shares the same pitfalls as ACV and balsamic, do not use it unless you are trying to change the color of your Legos.
• Malt vinegar – once again, this type of vinegar contains the correct amount of acetic acid to thoroughly clean your Legos, but its brown color will leave your Legos looking old and dirty.
• Rice vinegar – while this type of vinegar is much more popular in Asia as a cooking, and sometimes cleaning product, it doesn’t contain as much acetic acid as white vinegar, meaning it won’t clean your Legos as well.

Final Thoughts

Legos are undeniably enjoyable toys that can be used by people of any age, and they can last a lifetime as long as they are cared for properly.  There are plenty of ways to clean your Legos, but it can be as easy as using everyday items that can be found around the house.

That being said, the most popular, easy, and safe way to do so is to use distilled white vinegar.

This type of vinegar meets all the criteria for disinfecting and cleaning your collection while being eco-friendly, cheap, and non-toxic, which can be important, especially if you have a youngster who is prone to tasting their toys.