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?
You know the reaction takes away the vinegar and baking soda and leaves you with lots of water and sodium acetate. So any thing about the vinegar or baking soda benefits gets null and void at that point because you are left with something completely new (the water and sodium acetate).
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I was thinking the same thing, although i didn’t know what the residual compound was called. I just use vinegar with essential oils since my homemade detergent already has washing soda! Thanks for pointing it out, Jill!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I think I need to try this. I use vinegar and scented hair conditioner. Works well. Thanks for sharing.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.coupons for the Downy Unstopables http://www.pgeveryday.com/pgeds/try-it/downy-unstopables-coupons.jsp
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Do you like this softener better than the conditioner/vinegar one? I’ve been using the powdered mix with the crystals and it’d be nice to keep the same smell , even tho I found that Suave waterfalls match the Purex blue.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Once I saw this recipe I had to make it right away! It smells fantastic and makes my clothes ooohhh so soft and fresh~thanks for another great idea, and keep them coming!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.This is the first time I have ever written to anyone. But your site has helped my family in so many ways. My nephew has celiac disease. A couple of years ago he was the youngest to have it in our state. You have saved us money. And my sister has multiple sclerosis. Because of your cleaning recipes she can breathe safely and we still can have a clean house. Her favorite scent is lavender,vanilla. And her favorite is Purex Crystals. She will be over joyed with this recipe! From the bottom of my heart I thankyou and all of the rest of you. I LLL (LOVE,LOVE,LOVE) your site. MY question is , can I use a Downey ball in my washer with all the ingredients inside?
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Does anyone know a disinfectant and cleaner for travertine , marble or natural stone?
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Vinegar is great but not on marble and there’s always good ol’ H2O2 (hydrogen peroxide). I believe Jillee just posted something about it recently.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Does this affect the absorbancy of the towels like other fabric softners?
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Nope! Actual fabric softener is the only thing I’ve found that does that. I’ve been using vinegar for 10 years and my towels love me for it. ;)
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I’m adding this to my ‘to-do’ list for the weekend – I just made your dryer balls last weekend and they turned out great but I was very frustrated by the amount of static when I pulled the laundry from the dryer. Hopefully this home-made fabric softener will do the trick!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Could u possibly give an estimate as to the cost it is to make this? I am interested to see how much cheaper it works out to be. Thank you!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.The blog that Jillee references above gives a price I believe.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I simply use white vinegar in a downy ball…I fill it about 1/4 full. Always works, no strong vinegar smell or static cling!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.First of all, I have to tell you that I tried your recipe for removing perspiration stains and am SO excited to have back some of my favorite shirts that were sitting in a pile that were no longer wearable!!!! I do not use Dawn due to animal testing issues but used my regular dish washing liquid. However, I had some OxiClean spray which has ruined a few items of colored clothing because it not only removed the stain, it removed color from the clothes so, I added a bit into the mix on my shirts. They look amazing!!! So excited!
Now, about the fabric softener, I am also wondering about adding essential oils. If I don’t add the Purex crystals mixed in water, does it change the vinegar/baking soda ratios of measurement?
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Susan you said you don’t use dawn “due to animal testing issues” but dawn has been used to save lots of wildlife after oil spills. Can you give us more details about what you mean?
Please log in or create a free account to comment.OOPS I looked at the wrong name. Sorry Angie
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Will this work in washing machines that require he products.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Janice….this is from the American Cleaning Institute’s guide to High Efficiency Washers and Detergents: http://www.cleaninginstitute.org
Rinse-added Fabric Softeners
• Add fabric softener to the fabric softener dispenser so it gets dispensed
at the right time. Follow the washer manufacturer’s use and care guide
for proper use of the dispenser.
This formulation is ideal for HE machines because the vinegar helps reduce mineral build-up.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I’ve been using this mixture in my HE machine for several months now. No problems.
For the HE machines, I am assuming you just fill to min/max levels, because mine won’t hold 1/2 cup! :-)
Yes…to the fill line. I’ve been using this in my HE washer for months and plain vinegar for 10 years. Works great!
I think too many things are overfragranced these days. When I can smell someone’s laundry products 10 feet away it is CRAZY. Nice to be able to control how much… or do none at all.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Amen sister! Since I’ve gone scent free, scented laundry products make me nauseous and make my sinuses go crazy!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Will this also help control static?
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Judy…..yes, the vinegar helps control static in the dryer.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Also, drying your clothes until they are ‘just dry’ helps too. Static is caused by the friction of the dry fabric rubbing together, like socks on a carpet, so if you can figure out how long your loads take to dry (mine take about 45 minutes in my dryer) and don’t continue to run the dryer after your items are dry, you shouldn’t have static and you will save electricity!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I use straight vinegar in a downy ball, like Susan does. I only get static when I leave fleece in the dryer too long. :)
Hi Jillee,
I forgot how much fun it is to make stuff from scratch. I was a soap maker for years before full time work had me back to just “buy” it.
Love your blog. Now I am a huge fan of essential oils. When you say “scent-booster of choice” are you saying fragrance oils? Can you give an idea of how much you used above to make it seem ideal for you?
Keep up the great work! Brenda
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I just mixed some using a lavender vanilla essential oil instead of the fragrance crystals. Got my first load in using both my detergent and homemade fabric softener and I can’t wait for the cycle to finish!!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I was just going to ask about using essential oils! How much did you use?
I also was wondering if you had any experience with using vanilla extract instead of vanilla essential oil as I cannot afford 20$ for a bottle of the essential oil at the moment.
Another spectacular idea!!! Can’t wait to whip up a batch and get to it on the laundry today. At this rate I am going to clean the store out of vinegar, baking soda and hydrogen peroxide!!! Thanks Jillee!!
xoxo
http://www.roddyjones.com
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