Self-sufficient living and cost savings are motivating many people to make their own laundry detergent. Here are some recipes for homemade laundry softeners. Try out a few of these simple recipes to discover which suits your needs the best.
Homemade Laundry Softeners
Homemade Laundry Detergent
White vinegar is frequently included as the primary ingredient in homemade clothes softeners. For years, people have used vinegar as a natural laundry softener to minimize static cling and soften garments.
Simply mix half white vinegar and half water and put it in a plastic bottle if you want to add liquid laundry softener to your washing machine. Add a teaspoon or two of your preferred essential oil to it if you want to give it a scent. One popular aroma for homemade washing products is lavender. For a fresh, clean aroma, you can also blend eucalyptus and lavender.
At the start of the wash cycle, add 1 cup of the vinegar and water combination to your fabric softener dispenser. Put it in your washer at the start of the rinse cycle if it doesn’t already have one.
DIY Laundry Spray
Try this simple DIY spray if you enjoy adding clothes softener to the dryer.
A cheap hair conditioner is used in this recipe. Six cups of water, three cups of white vinegar, and two cups of your most preferred low-cost hair conditioner smell are required.
Combine all of the ingredients in a gallon jar. This can be added to your washer in the same way as liquid fabric softener from the shop, or it can be sprayed on a washcloth, moistened, and then dried with your wet laundry.
In a gallon jar, combine the ingredients. You can either spray this on a washcloth and then toss it in the dryer with your wet clothing, or you can add it to your washer just like you would store-bought liquid fabric softener.
Another low-cost laundry spray method calls for filling a spray container with plain white vinegar. For a fresh, pleasant aroma, add a teaspoon or so of essential oil, such as eucalyptus oil. Give a washcloth a few sprays of vinegar, then put it in the dryer.
You may be wondering if all this vinegar would leave an unpleasant vinegar odor on your clothes. It really doesn’t!
Homemade Dryer Sheets
The fact that some people really produce their own reusable dryer sheets may surprise you. This one is fairly enjoyable.
You will need an old piece of flannel, an empty diaper wipe box (or a small plastic container with a lid), and some liquid fabric softener.
The flannel should be cut into little squares that are about 10 inches by 10 inches. To minimize fraying, cut with pinking shears if at all possible. After the squares are placed into the plastic container, fill it with about half a cup of liquid fabric softener and one cup of water. Dryer sheets are much more expensive than liquid fabric softener, which you can purchase at the market or use one of the homemade methods above.
Simply take out the moistened flannel squares as needed and toss them in the dryer alongside your damp clothes. Before you need to wash them, you can put them back in the container two or three times. Simply dampen the squares in the container with a little additional water or fabric softener if they seem dry when you remove them. This concept is comparable to the previously mentioned wet washcloth idea; instead of using flannel squares, you might use washcloths. Utilizing what you currently have will save you money, because that’s the whole goal.
As you can see, making your own laundry softeners is a really simple and affordable project. There are several reasons why people make their own laundry products: to cut costs, to protect the environment, and to avoid using chemicals that can irritate their delicate skin. Having a product that you are comfortable with is excellent, and creating it yourself is a great way to do that.
