Looking for a homemade fabric softener that’s easy to make and works great? Then give yourself a pat on the back, because you’ve come to the right place!
I’ve tried and tweaked dozens of different homemade fabric softeners over the past decade of my blogging career, and some have been better than others. The one I’ll be sharing with you in this post is my favorite of the liquid fabric softeners I’ve tried, both for its simplicity and its effectiveness!
The thing I like most about this formula is that it doesn’t coat fabrics with chemical softeners like most commercial fabric softeners do. It actually helps remove detergent and softener buildup, getting them cleaner and leaving them naturally softer.
Give it a try and experience the difference for yourself!
How To Make A Homemade Fabric Softener
Ingredients:
4 cups white vinegar
4 cups water
1/4 cup vegetable glycerin
Directions:
Combine white vinegar, water, and glycerin in a large container. (Any empty jug or bottle that’s easy to pour out of will work just fine!)
Replace the lid and shake well to mix.
How To Use
Give the bottle a good shake before each use to remix the ingredients, as they may separate over time. Then before starting a wash load, pour 1/2 cup of your homemade fabric softener into your washing machine’s fabric softener dispenser, then wash as usual.
How Does It Work?
The combination of white vinegar and vegetable glycerin in this homemade fabric softener recipe helps keep fabrics clean and soft in a couple of different ways.
Vinegar is the primary component, which naturally softens laundry by dissolving detergent buildup and other and residues that may have settled in the fibers of the fabric over time. Vinegar also softens hard water, which can help boost the effectiveness of your laundry detergent.
Because vegetable glycerin is hygroscopic, meaning that it can absorb moisture from the air, it is often used in lotions and beauty products as a moisturizing and softening component. It also works wonderfully when used to soften fabrics, and you don’t even need to use very much of it!
A Note About Fragrance/Scent
This simple fabric softener recipe is both easy to make and really works to eliminate odors and leave your laundry cleaner and softer. While I don’t have a problem with using an unscented formula like this, some people may miss the fragrance factor.
More Ideas You'll Love
In that case, I recommend checking out my homemade fabric softener crystals, which are great for infusing your fabrics with the aromas of your favorite essential oils. Or if you’d rather go the store-bought route, there are several different scent booster products to choose from in the laundry aisle these days, including Downy Unstopables, Downy Infusions, Gain Fireworks, Arm & Hammer Clean Scentsations, and others.
The way I see it, treating fabric softening and laundry scent as two distinct things has its advantages versus using a scented fabric softener. The first is that my homemade fabric softener actually removes residues, rather than contributing to them like some store-bought fabric softeners do.
The second advantage is that it’s much easier to control how much or how little scent ends up on your clothes! Food for thought. :-)
What is your favorite method for softening laundry?
I’m really confused by all the comments saying that the softener was clumping..in their dispenser and dispenser ball. Either I have been doing this wrong for a very long time or people are not understanding. You don’t mix the crystals in the liquid right? I add EO to my water, vinegar glycerin mix and. In the past I added my diy crystals to my diy detergent but stopped that since I add the scent to the vinegar mix. Am I doing this wrong?
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I used the fabric softener made with Epson salts, it doesn’t work for me, not sift at all.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I’m not that much of a online reader to be honest but your
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Please log in or create a free account to comment.It’s always helpful to read articles from other writers and use something from their sites.
I made this fabric softener to use in my downy balls. Since I had the ingredients on hand most I use for DIY detergent it seems like I spent no money to make it. I love it, my clothes came out fresh and soft. I used Gain Scent Boosters, I am gain person. Thanks for Sharing!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Just wanted to add my 2 cents. I just made the no grate easy detergent recipe using dish liquid. I tripled the ingredients and made it more concentrated and then, because I was disappointed there wasn’t much scent, I added a scoop of scent crystals (Purex) to each. They dissolved right into the detergent, made it more blue…and it smells heavenly. Now, I have the scent with my detergent and I can just use plain old vinegar as a softener. I sort of combined the best of both worlds. :) Thanks for continued inspiration!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.This is really attention-grabbing, You’re a very skilled blogger.
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I love the scent of fabric softener, but refuse to pay the price for the really good stuff. I do tons of laundry(6 dogs and two adults). I was making the home made softener with conditioner but plain vinegar was even cheaper. I was still using the purex crystals on my shirts and delicates anyway. I took the above recipe and mixed it up in a two gallon pitcher instead of several bowls and added water to make 2 full gallons. Works great, smells fantastic. If u want to make it do double duty, after u clean the commode, pour some in and let stand especially if guests r coming. Bathroom will smell great until someone flushes!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Oh, this also makes a great spot spray for the carpet(remember the 6 dogs) BUT, dilute the mixture enuff to fade the blue coloring(I use the blue purex crystals) and blot, blot blot(I stomp on the issue several times using a clean towel). really helps with the faint odor. I was using vinegar and water anyway for accidents, so why not add a little fragrance. Test on ur carpet first, please!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I am new to the DIY stage, and OnegoodthingbyJillee.com has been my go-to site for almost everything! I like the DIY fabric softener cloths that Jillee posted, AND also her post of just using white distilled vinegar with some Lemon EO in the fabric softener dispenser – that works great as well, so this NEW post about mixing the vinegar, baking soda and scent crystals is yet ANOTHER great idea! Can’t wait to try it!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.no longer new to DIY and I use onegoodthing…all the time. I have saved tons of money on everyday stuff, particularly cleaners/laundry, etc. And I found it takes no more time than running to the store(and i get to watch Law and order reruns until I can quote the dialogue verbatim). Have fun with it and experiment. One of my favorite spray cleaners is just plain ole Dawn and water in an old windex bottle. cleans everything!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Remarkable! Its genuinely remarkable article, I have got much clear idea regarding from this piece of writing.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Tried this once, only with the. Downy Unstoppables. Next time I will try the Pyrex. Crystals. I read that someone used. Downy so I figured it would work. The softener started out this light tan/pink color which I expected. It is now a very DARK brown. It looks disgusting and leaves color streaks on my whites. Still smells amazing though…really disappointed. Not sure if this has happened to anyone else.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Hi Jill,
May I know do you have any natural remedy way that I can make my white bed linen whiter? I have tried many ways but they still yellow patches in the center of it!
Thanks for your sharing and truly appreciates!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Am reading your website for first time and love it. I have very hard well water and I’ve always used white vinegar in a Downey ball in the rinse cycle. Keeps my washing machine clean and my clothes are just fine. Tho’ reading your tips I might just add epsom salt to wash & rinse and see what happens.
Also, I dry my clothes on the “low” heat settings ALL the time and my clothes don’t get “cooked” in the dryer. I set it for 30 min. for most stuff and maybe 50 for towels? It’s much easier to hit reset than have clothes overly dried and all icky.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Ok Im a bit confused because chemically baking soda neutralizes vinegar. Elementary school chemistry teaches us that or have you all forgotten the baking soda and vinegar volcano. All that bubbling is the baking soda ( an alkaline base) neutralizing the acidic vinegar. So mixing the two really neutralizes each and you end up with a neutral liquid that has no cleaning effect beyond that of normal water. Eliminate the baking soda, it serves no purpose in fabric softener.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.The problem of hard water is not limited to the laundry and the softness of fabric. Think of your dishwasher, faucets, your skin (shower), etc…, but most importantly, your Water Heater.
If you’ve ever looked inside a kettle that’s been well used for several years, you’ll see a lot of tan colored scale that is pretty thick. This same coating of deposits builds up inside your water heater. This makes it more difficult for the external heating element, either gas or electric, to heat the water. And when it takes longer to heat the water, it costs a lot more money in doing so.
For about $800, you can install a whole house water softener and water filter combination that sits inline after the water enters the house. The softened/filtered water is then supplied to the water heater and every faucet in the house. This eliminates the need for “fabric softener”, as the water is already softened.
And if you still want the laundry smelling better….you can still add Vinegar and Crystals…no baking soda, or just water and crystals. I prefer vinegar and crystals, as it will eliminate odors not just mask them.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Having read Crystal’s post, I decided to look up a few things..
White Vinegar is more acidic with a PH of about 2.6
Baking Soda has a PH of Baking Soda is 8.2
When the two are combined, the Acetic Acid in Vinegar reacts with the Bicarbonate Ion of the Baking Soda to form Carbonic Acid. The Carbonic Acid decomposes into Carbon Dioxide and Water. So you have essentially neutralized White Vinegar (or some portion of it).
Exactly how much Baking Soda will neutralize 6 cups of Acetic Acid (White Vinegar)….I don’t know. Maybe there’s a Chemistry Teacher on board that can chime in.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I made this but still get static in my clothes; any suggestions?
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Can you use the epsom salt and essential oils in place of the purex crystals?
Please log in or create a free account to comment.what’s the shelflife of the softener??30 days less or more?…
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Can you use essential oils to scent or leave unscented?
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Definitely!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I have been using plain white vinegar in the fabric softener dispenser in my washer since my oldest was born….over 36 years ago. I started using it when washing the cloth diapers. My thinking: cotton is soft when it’s harvested. So cotton diapers should also be soft – the stiffness is from soap residue. I could either rinse the laundry twice or use vinegar to cut the soap residue. It’s worked perfectly all the time. It doesn’t matter whether I dry my clothes in the dryer or on the line outside. They come out fresh-smelling (no vinegar smell) and soft every time. The freshness lasts for months, too. Plus, I’ve saved a TON of money!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Thanks for expressing your ideas. I’d also like to say that video games have been at any time evolving. Today’s technology and innovative developments have made it simpler to create sensible and fun games. These entertainment games were not actually sensible when the concept was being attempted. Just like other areas of technological know-how, video games too have had to progress by way of many many years. This itself is testimony towards the fast growth of video games.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.My husband is allergic to a lot of things and laundry/fabric softner is one of many thngs. We use the All white bottle and Downy white bottle. How could I make this receipe without any scent but keep the “softness” of the fabric softner.
BTW I’m new to going green as much as possible.
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