People are using plastic bags and vinegar to make old sink faucets work like new, and 2 professional cleaners give the hack their seal of approval

• An AskReddit thread about seemingly fake hacks mentions soaking your faucet in a bag of vinegar.
• This will make your faucet look sparkling clean and function like new, according to the Redditor.
• Professional cleaners approve of the hack because vinegar breaks down grime, mold, and mildew.

In a thread on Reddit about life hacks that seem fake but actually work, one user, Aakwanderer, shared a trick for making an old sink faucet seem like it's brand new.

The hack involves tying a plastic bag filled with vinegar onto a faucet.

The user commented that it cleaned decades of "rust and stuff," and that after the fix, water "flows like the first day," the user commented.

They added that the trick also works for showerheads if you unscrew them and put them in bowls of vinegar.

Insider spoke with two professional cleaners about how this hack works, and both gave their seal of approval.

"Vinegar is a tried-and-tested wonder ingredient when it comes to cleaning," Deyan Dimitrov, cleaning expert and founder of Laundryheap, told Insider. "As a diluted acetic acid, its ability to break down grime deposits is just what you need when it comes to the lime scale you find around faucets."

Dimitrov says it's best to let the vinegar soak for about two hours.

Professional cleaner and TikTok creator Brandon Pleshek said the hack is safe and effective, and that it can be a "game-changer" when it comes to loosening buildup and eradicating mold and mildew.

"The best part is the vinegar does the heavy lifting for you by breaking that buildup down, so all you have to do is wipe and polish the fixture after you wait the designated time period," Pleshek told Insider.

Pleshek also recommended leaving the vinegar on your faucet for between 12 and 24 hours if your fixture is especially dirty.

The hack is not applicable for every faucet, though

Since vinegar is an acid, Pleshek warns that it may damage different finishes a fixture may have. To combat this, Pleshek recommends testing out a small area of the faucet to make sure the vinegar doesn't ruin the finish.

Pleshek added that vinegar is very potent and the smell can be off-putting to some. But you can use this hack without plugging your nose.

"A couple of drops of lemon juice in the solution can mellow out the odor," he said.

Dimitrov warns that vinegar can irritate skin and suggests wearing gloves.

Pleshek advocates for vinegar as a cleaning solution because it's natural and safe to use, even if you have pets.

"Vinegar is always in my cleaning kit," he told Insider. "I highly suggest keeping it on hand for all your daily messes."