Homemade Softener

[BillysWife]

I grew up without using softener very much and I like it that way, but Billy likes his clothes and towels soft. Lately I have been using homemade softener that seems to work well. The recipe I use is:

2 cups hair conditioner (any brand will do)
1 cup vinegar
6 cups water

Mix well and put in water jug or other container. Do not shake. I use 1/2 cup per load, you may need more depending on how large the load is.

Another idea is to use 1 cup vinegar to each load at the final rinse.

If you use a dryer, a few drops of hair conditioner put on washcloth works well as a dryer sheet.

[Sister Penny]

I have not heard of using hair conditioner, but we line dry all of our clothing here in Michigan, I just use 1 cup of white vinegar in my rinse and even though the towels are crispy :-) I find that our clothes are pretty soft just when I use our homemade soap.

I use Zote brand soap.

I am going to try this recipe, to de-crisp some towels :-)

Thanks for posting,
Sister Penny

[Pam]

I started making my own laundry soap about 2 months ago. I love it! I also starting trying to save money with fabric softener. I have used vinegar and that seems to work well. However, another couple of ways that I have tried is to purchase store brand fabric softener and mix 2 parts water to 1 part softener. I usually use a 5 gallon pail and dump in two jugs of softener and then fill both of the jugs two times and pour that into the pail.
Sometimes I will pour this diluted mixture into my washer for the final rinse. Other times, I will take a sponge (cut in half) and dip it into the pail. Squeeze it most of the softener/water out of it and throw the sponge into the dryer with the clothes. Both ways work well and it saves a LOT of money - especially if you use the sponge method. It literally takes what seems like forever to go through the pail of softener/water mix before you need to make more. Blessings! Pam

[benshelpmeet]

Thank you sisters for these great softener recipes! We need softener in the winter it helps with static in the dryer.

Does anyone know how to make dryer sheets?

Great post! Thank you!

Welcome sister Pam

[BillysWife]

I haven't tried this, but I've heard you can put a tiny bit of conditioner on a washcloth and throw it in the dryer with the clothes and it works as a dryer sheet.

[katpants]

Crunching up a bit of tinfoil and adding it to the dryer might help in winter. We have bad problems with static too.

Kat

[Deleted]

Aug 6, 2009 11:16:39 GMT -5 @katpants said:

Crunching up a bit of tinfoil and adding it to the dryer might help in winter. We have bad problems with static too.

Kat

That does indeed help with a dryer in the winter.

[headcovering]

I am alergic to laundry softener, but homemade might be better because the store bought might have something in it that makes me alergic. Thanks so much!
Blessings,
jordyn ;D

[Sister Penny]

I only use white vinegar in my rinse water. It is especially good when you are using homemade laundry soap as it can clog up a bit at times, especially if you happen to use too much.

The commerical detergents are designed to be used according to those little cups I have never used the full amount, only half and prefer my homemade laundry soap.

I have an account at a chemical company so I am fortunate to be able to purchase my washing soda (potash) in 50 lb bags and also borax (borate) the same way...

Sister Penny

[manda]

There is a group on Facebook called Plain Sewing and one of the members posted this: benefits of natural Wool Dryer Balls:
Natural Fabric Softener, Non~toxic, Reduces wrinkles
Eliminates static cling, Cuts drying time in half by absorbing all of the moisture from the clothing. The person makes and sells them for $6 each ball.
I have never tried it before, but they look like tight balls of wool yarn. I just thought it was an interesting idea someone might want to make.

[richshelpmeet]

I currently just use white vinegar in my rinse cycle as Penny does. In the past, I have had success doing the following:
I would take an inexpensive fabric softner and pour it into a bucket style container with a lid.. I think I diluted it with 2 more additional parts water. (Take the empty jug and fill it with water twice, adding it to the softner you just put into the container.) Next, I took a regular household sponge and placed it into the softner solution that I had just made. When you put a load of clothing into the dryer, simply take the sponge out of the container, squeeze out the excess softner, and toss it in with the clothes for the cycle. After the clothing is dry, return the sponge to your solution. It seemed to work very well for us. However, since our house is quite small, and we are trying to sell it, I cannot do this at this time as it takes up a bit of floor space in an already tiny laundry room!

[renjac1301]

Jun 29, 2009 17:26:31 GMT -5 BillysWife said:

I grew up without using softener very much and I like it that way, but Billy likes his clothes and towels soft. Lately I have been using homemade softener that seems to work well. The recipe I use is:

2 cups hair conditioner (any brand will do)
1 cup vinegar
6 cups water

Mix well and put in water jug or other container. Do not shake. I use 1/2 cup per load, you may need more depending on how large the load is.

Another idea is to use 1 cup vinegar to each load at the final rinse.

If you use a dryer, a few drops of hair conditioner put on washcloth works well as a dryer sheet.

Iv never tried this one, Thank you

[manda]

I recently started using this fabric softener recipe:

1 (18oz) bottle White Rain hair conditioner "Ocean Mist"
3 cups White vinegar
6 cups hot tap water

Mix all together well. Keep in a 3-4qt bottle. I use 1/4 cup in the washer dispenser for large loads. I dry clothes and towels 15 minutes in the dryer and let them finish on the line. The towels end up soft enough for us.

[headcovering]

Does it make the clothes feel or look diffrent then store bought softener??
Jordyn

[renee]

I dont think so, and it is cheaper then store bought..