Homemade Natural Fabric Softener
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As I posted earlier this week about line drying your clothes without a line. Well there is one drawback to doing this. Your clothes don’t always come out as soft as they would if you put them in the dryer or hung dry them outside where the wind can blow the around. Well on that note I bring to you 2 recipes for homemade natural fabric softener.
1. You could always use 1/2 cup of vinegar and add it to the washing machine during the rinse cycle. Lots of bloggers seem to go with this one, but personally it was not my favorite. I don’t think it worked well. But it wouldn’t hurt to try this.
2. This recipe is all over blog land and I struggled to find one that was natural without toxic ingredients. So I did a little thinking and thought why not just change the condition to a more natural one! So simple. Sure it costs a little more but it is still cheaper then buying fabric softener.
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Homemade Fabric Softener
Ingredients: Can double this recipe
- 3 cups warm water
- 1.5 cups white vinegar
- 1 cup natural conditioner (you could use non-natural conditioner too to save money)
- essential oil (optional. I accidentally bought a conditioner that smelled terrible! But with some orange essential oil it smelled fantastic. Just add enough drops till you can smell it)
Direction: Pour all ingredients into a half gallon container and stir. Don’t shake or it will make an extreme mess! Add essential oils if desired and stir again!
To use: Add the same amount you would the store bought kind about 1/4 cup during the rinse cycle.
I use Natures Gate hair conditioner that I get from our local health food store as my DIY solution. I have been making this recipe for more than a year and have wonderful results. I have an HE washer btw.
OO thats great to know people have asked that question a lot and I didn’t know the answer but now I do! Thanks for sharing. Glad you love it too!
For your towels use a new tennis ball in the drier with them it works great! I use white vinegar and baking soda for my fabric softener mixed with water…
I’ve heard of the tennis balls before but haven’t given it a shot yet! I tried vinegar and didn’t like it but never the combination!
I made this and I really like it! It’s easy and nice! 🙂 Thanks!
Great! I’m so glad to hear that!
Hi – would be interested in making this but am at a loss as to what a “natural conditioner” is? Any info? thanks
Its just a hair conditioner that is made with out harmful chemicals. That is made from majority natural ingredients
Please explain…what do you mean by “conditioner?” Hair conditioner?
Yep hair conditioner! You can use really any kind!
Hi
What kind of Natural Conditioner do you like? Brand? Thanks 🙂
I’m gonna try to use the vinegar cleaner recipe (peels from two oranges and 32 oz. of white vinegar in a jar soaked for two weeks) as a fabric softener, since the orange peels kill off the vinegar scent.
That would probably work! I have heard of that being used for a cleaning agent! Let me know if that works!
Anonymous January 1, 2013 at 2:00 pm
“I’m gonna try to use the vinegar cleaner recipe (peels from two oranges and 32 oz. of white vinegar in a jar soaked for two weeks) as a fabric softener, since the orange peels kill off the vinegar scent.”
So, it has been a few months, and I am in the need to know on your orange peals and vinegar solution. Did it work? My hubby is complaining about all of the vinegar smell. If I can tame that beast, then there will be no more commercial cleaning products in our home! I can’t toss them out until he is satisfied with the smell..lol
Penny, I use vinegar in my wash…. about a cup….. I put it in the rinse cycle or use my fabric softener dispenser. I just used it again today, when I washed…. it doesn’t have the smell at all. Do you use a top load or front load washer? Mine is top load. I have used vinegar for years and only when I used more than a cup, did the smell linger on. I know that front loads are different and don’t use as much water, so if yours is a front load maybe cut back on the amount you use so it dilutes a little more. The other formula you can use is the one where you add hair conditioner to the load, but I just don’t really like the idea of using something like that because it gunks up the machine. Well, good luck, let me know if you try the orange peel concoction. I like the idea of the fresh orange/citrus smell.
I will definitely try this – thank you! On a few other blogs I have read that towels will lose their absorbancy over time when washed with commercial detergents and dried with commercial dryer sheets. I’ve started using 1/4 c. vinegar with a couple drops of lavender essential oil in my HE washer liquid softener dispenser.
I have heard that about towels! Thats a great idea! I tried vinegar and it didn’t work well for me, but I have heard lots of people with great results!
Do you have a homemade dishwasher recipe?
Yep you can find it here https://ablossominglife.com/2011/10/homemade-dishwasher-detergent.html
just as an FYI, if your clothes are coming out feeling stiff when line dried indoors, it’s most likely caused by using too much soap/detergent. if the detergent can’t completely rinse out, then the clothes are not only stiff feeling, they will wear out faster. almost all commercial laundry products recommend adding way more than needed. why? so you need to buy more sooner. you should not be seeing suds in your washer. a few bubbles, yes. suds, no! way too much soap. i use about a tablespoon per load, as opposed to the half a capful recommended. we live on a farm so we do have pretty dirty clothes. they do get nicely clean with that little soap.
Thanks for saying this, i will def try using a spoonful instead of the cap full they want u to use.
I make my own laundry detergent and fabric softener using this basic recipe. The conditioner I used smelled very nice so I added no essential oils to it. I use same amount as store bought, I also toss in my dryer a couple of tennis balls which not only aids in knocking out the wrinkles but fluffs the clothes as they dry. My clothes and towels come out with less wrinkles and very very soft. I also toss in a dry towel which cuts the drying time.
These are really great ideas! I have heard of using tennis balls or balls made from wool! Thanks for sharing them I will have to try it for sure!
I make my dryer balls from 100% wool and sell them on Etsy.com. They are wonderful and it cuts down on drying time which in turn saves energy and money! If I have 6 loads I cut out about an hour of drying time!! Here is my site: https://www.etsy.com/listing/129312815/100-felted-wool-dryer-ball-set-of-6
Love the info you give!
Thanks!
Dawn
These look great…. Just can’t buy them right now. How long will they last? I bet a whole lot longer than 20.00 worth of fabric softener or dryer sheets. Thank you for your comment about this.
Will this help reduce static on the clothes?
Yep it should and make them nice and soft!
Is this H.E. safe?
I’m sorry I am not sure for certain? I haven’t seen anyone say if it is or not on any blogs yet!
Yes, this is HE safe
Natural Conditioner? As in the stuff you use on your hair?
Yep the conditioner you put in your hair. You don’t have to use natural conditioner you can by any suave or any other brand you would like.
Interesting! I will have to see if I can find some natural conditioner…I use white vinegar sometimes as well.
They should even have some at Walmart. I got mine from our local coop but you could look at any health food store or whole foods
Thanks for the helpful post! I’ll usually use the plain vinegar method or nothing at all. I used to have everything on the line end up resembling cardboard. Once I realized that I was using too much soap and it wasn’t rinsing out completely, I made adjustments and almost everything is soft again. My towels are still a bit rough, so I think I want to try this on the towels. Would you link this post to my blog’s homestead hop?
Hmm I wonder if that is why mine get really stiff! Thanks for the tip and I just posted it!
Just a note. Towels don’t absorb water well when they have fabric softener. And two..I have found that the windyer the day…the softer the clothers are that are hung outside. CALM days produce really stiff cloths. Another wives tail proven to be true.
I agree, when there is a breeze the clothes are softer than on calm days. Here, in FL, you can’t buy a breeze July thru Sept, the jeans and towels are scratchy. We like the scratchy towels; it’s a bit more exfoliation.
When I was living in Ireland a couple years ago, everything went out on the line. I discovered if I snapped the towels a couple times before pinning them up, they didn’t get all cardboard-y. We didn’t use softener and I’d forgotten about using vinegar. They were still a little stiff, but shaking them out helps.
Oh, and we had really windy days. If I didn’t snap the towels, they’d still be pretty stiff.
After line drying my clothes I put them in the dryer for 5-10 min if they are stiff.
Great tip! Thanks Penny
This is very helpful. 🙂
So glad! Hope it works out well for you!
What is natural condition?
Oops typo! Thanks for pointing that out. Its suppose to say conditioner. Its one without sulfates, toxic chemicals, unnatural fragrances. I got mine from our neighborhood Co op. But you could find some at Whole Foods or a health food store probably.
That seem very expensive. Vinegar works just fine and lot less expensive!
Does it make your clothes smell like vinegar if you don’t use the essential oils or conditioner?
Nope even if you use straight vinegar it doesn’t smell like it!
=Fill a Downy Ball half way with vinegar and toss in washer. With or without essential oil or fragrance no vinegar smell.
Great idea!
I add 1/4 cup baking soda to my clothes when I line dry for a fabric softener and it works great!
O I have never tried that one! I’ll give this a try too thanks!
Epsom salt, in the wash, works really well, also. I used to add essential oils, but I couldn’t ever smell them, once dried, so I’m going to save those and just throw the salts in. Clothes are super soft when dry!
Me neither! That was my latest laundry product I made! I’m happy it wasn’t just me
How much epsom salt do you use per load? And do you just add it at the beginning along with the detergent? Or in the rinse cycle?
You can buy scented Epsom salts, too. I don’t know if the scent lasts.
Works well for me! 🙂
I just started using a homemade washing powder a few weeks ago and am really satisfied. Now, I think I’ll give this a try. Thanks for sharing!
So glad I could help! I should be posting about making liquid laundry detergent soon! I used the powder for a long time but I am hooked on the liquid and it is much cheaper!
i love the liquid. i have made it at both of my daughter’s houses and they love it also! will be trying the fabric softener soon! thanx!