# Home made fabric softener?



## Pam in KY (Jul 26, 2011)

Been watching a few YouTube vids of folks making their own liquid fabric softener and want to get some personal input here. 

One person just added essential oil or fragrance to white vinegar until they no longer smelled the vinegar and voila-they're done. Sounds good to me.

Another person added a bottle of cheap hair conditioner to a half-gallon of white vinegar for their recipe. I'm a little leery of this one, but danged if I could tell you why. :huh:

I don't use liquid fab softener unless I'm going to be hanging clothes outside since I find it easier to just toss in a cheapie dryer sheet at the switch-over. That, and I tend to totally miss the final rinse cycle on my washer.


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## TenBusyBees (Jun 15, 2011)

i usually use dryer sheets for anything that is going in the dryer. Plain ol' vinegar for loads going on to the line. 

To me liquid softner makes the clothes feel waxy and i hate the baked smell it'll get on the line.

unless you're wanting you clothes perfumed from the softner plain vinegar works well and leaves no lingering scent.


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## KyMama (Jun 15, 2011)

I've used just plain vinegar and there is no smell after the clothes are dry. Because I like a little bit of scent on the clothes I add cheap softener to my vinegar. I think the ratio is 7 parts vinegar to 1 part softener. This gives the clothes a really light scent. I tried adding EO to the vinegar but I couldn't smell it after the clothes were dry. 

You can make your own dryer sheets too, if you are wanting to save some money. At one time I had a little poofy thing I'd crocheted that I would sprinkle the essential oil on and throw it in the dryer. It worked okay, but the teenager never used it. You can also sew a little satchel up and put dried herbs or flowers inside. I haven't tried this one yet, but I always thought dried lavender would be nice in the satchel. Or you could follow the Duggar's lead and use sponges soaked in diluted softener. 

Not that I've given this any thought. LOL 

HTH


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## Bluebird (Feb 1, 2006)

I also remember a tip from Tightwad G. a tiny bit of diluted softener on a washcloth. My daughter uses this and works great.


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## MullersLaneFarm (Jul 23, 2004)

I only use softener sheets in the winter when we heat with wood because of the static shocks. I never use softener sheets on towels. They're less absorbent.

A tennis ball or a ball made of felt or even a ball of aluminum foil works well.


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## linn (Jul 19, 2005)

I used vinegar in the rinse cycle the other day and was pleasantly surprised at how much softer the towels were.


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