In the last six months I have been using fabric softener that I got on clearance. The two large bottles have lasted a long time, but they will soon be running out. Since my larger family forces me to do a of of laundry, I could go broke on laundry detergent and fabric softener alone. Since I haven’t found any have-to-buy-it deals on fabric softener lately, I’m just going to have to report to using my own stuff for now.
There are several different types of make your own fabric softener recipes out there. One of the most popular involves using watered down hair conditioner. I’m not a big fan of this particular fabric softener recipe, though. For one, buying hair conditioner wouldn’t seem to save me much compare to actual store-bought fabric softener. For two, I’d like to use a homemade fabric softener that is free of chemicals.
I opted to use a very simple recipe. The main ingredient is vinegar. It can be added to your fabric softener dispenser in full strength or added to the rinse water in your washing machine.
Watered down vinegar can also be put in a spray bottle and used as a spritzer, applied to wet clothes in the dryer. The vinegar smell does not linger in either case. The laundry comes out soft and static free. It is also odor free.
If you like your laundry to have a scent, you can choose to add one in yourself through the use of essential oils, which seem to work best when the homemade fabric softener is applied for use in the dryer. There are many different scents to choose from. Lavender seems to be the most popular, and it can be usually purchased at a natural food store or a craft store. Be sure that the essential oil does not have any added dyes.