The EPA also tells kids this(http://www.epa.gov/kidshometour/decoys/vinegar.htm):”This is a bottle of vinegar. Vinegar is commonly used in certain foods, like in salad dessing or vinegarettes, pickles and even candy. But did you know that vinegar can also be used for cleaning?Vinegar has been used for several generations Â- in fact, perhaps your grandparents or great-grand parents may have used it to clean items from windows to pots and pans. Today, vinegar is sometimes used instead of household cleaning products because it is non-toxic.”. However, many people are now trying to claim that vinegar is not a disinfectant because it does not meet the EPA’s strict standards.  The CDC created a report that has to do with meeting EPA standards for disinfecting areas used for home health care and hospital care of severely ill patients.  This is what the report says about vinegar: (http://www.cdc.gov/hicpac/Disinfection_Sterilization/3_3inactivBioAgents.html);”Some environmental groups advocate “environmentally safe” products as alternatives to commercial germicides in the home-care setting. These alternatives (e.g., ammonia, baking soda, vinegar, Borax, liquid detergent) are not registered with EPA and should not be used for disinfecting because they are ineffective against S. aureus. Borax, baking soda, and detergents also are ineffective against Salmonella Typhi and E.coli; however, undiluted vinegar and ammonia are effective against S. Typhi and E.coli 53, 332, 333. Common commercial disinfectants designed for home use also are effective against selected antibiotic-resistant bacteria 53.
            Public concerns have been raised that the use of antimicrobials in the home can promote development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.  This issue is unresolved and needs to be considered further through scientific and clinical investigations. The public health benefits of using disinfectants in the home are unknown. However, some facts are known: many sites in the home kitchen and bathroom are microbially contaminated 336, use of hypochlorites markedly reduces bacteria 337, and good standards of hygiene (e.g., food hygiene, hand hygiene) can help reduce infections in the home 338, 339.  In addition, laboratory studies indicate that many commercially prepared household disinfectants are effective against common pathogens 53 and can interrupt surface-to-human transmission of pathogens 48.  The “targeted hygiene concept”—which means identifying situations and areas (e.g., food-preparation surfaces and bathroom) where risk exists for transmission of pathogens—may be a reasonable way to identify when disinfection might be appropriate 340.”
If one reads these two paragraphs, you can see that it does claim that vinegar is effective against certain types of bacteria, just not all of them.  They also claim vinegar is not a legit disinfectant because it isn’t on EPA’s approved list of disinfectants.

So although it may not be the best disinfectant available, vinegar may still be suitable for doing the laundry, especially if you combine it with some other natural ingredients.  The tests and studies were mostly conducted on diluted vinegar in labratory conditions.