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Homemade Fabric Softener

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Homemade Fabric Softener 0 Picture

Ingredients

  • 6 cups water
  • 3 cups white vinegar
  • 2 cups hair conditioner

Details

Servings 1
Adapted from onegoodthingbyjillee.com

Preparation

Step 1

It contains all the ingredients that make sense to me to be in a homemade fabric softener, and it is

add it as a rinse

Directions:

1. Mix water, vinegar, and hair conditioner in a

; stir. Do not shake it; it will cause foaming.

This makes a whole gallon of softener. If you have storage space issues or you just don’t think you’ll EVER go through that much softener (especially is you are utilizing the “spritz” technique), cutting the amounts in HALF would be pretty simple (even for mathematically-challenged me!)

I just couldn’t stand it!  I had to make this! I had an incredibly busy day yesterday…important meeting, lots of paperwork to be done…but I somehow managed to squeeze this into my morning. Not that it’s that HARD!

It literally took like 5 minutes to make.

I took the advice of one of the comments below and heated up both the vinegar and the conditioner in the microwave just a little bit before mixing in the bowl. Then I poured it all into this jar I found at Walmart that I was planning on using in my pantry reorganization project.  I’ll just have to go buy another one. :-)

An astute visitor noticed my sudsy finished product and surmised I may have mistakenly used a bottle of BODY WASH instead of CONDITIONER…because…get this….Olay doesn’t MAKE hair products! lol!

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I have a HE washer but I'm not seeing any thoughts on whether you can add this mixture to the actual softner compartment. Should it be used strictly in a downy ball?

Celeste thanks for the idea about the foil balls! I have 5 large dogs and that makes for lots of clingy dog hair. Immediately when I read this I added one ball, then when I had more used foil I added a second – not only do I have little-to-no static cling (I also, though, use Jillee’s home made dryer sheets) but after using for a few weeks, I can tell the foil is working to cut down on the dog hair!

I’ve made a couple of batches of this softener and am not crazy about it, but it isn’t a fail either. I like the rich fresh smell from the grocery store stuff and so added essential oil to this recipe. It still doesn’t smell all that much. It takes a LOT of oil to leave a residue of scent in the clothing. I’m thinking of reducing the water because it takes a lot to do the same job as the stuff I was using and I would like it more concentrated. Maybe less water, more vinegar? Also, my laundry had static so it was a fail from that standpoint. I would love to find out if anyone has tweaked this basic recipe to get a concentrated form that leaves scent and no static.

I have a sister with major allergy issues & a son with eczema. The enviromental health clinic recommends the vinegar rinse and foil balls. Essential oils would be a bad idea for some. I don’t do well with scent. I didn’t realize the foil attracted pet hair; can’t wait to tell my prince charming that does most of the laundry here. I wonder if the vinegar could be used as dryer sheets using the pour some on an old face cloth and toss in the dryer with the foil balls? My son is going to have the most unusual laundry products in his apartment of 5 friends. He is sensitive to strong products and I’m teaching him to be frugal too. He’ll spend less on laundry products and won’t have to carry the heavy jugs up the icy winter hills. I hope he will make the yogurt too, one roommate is bringing a slow cooker.

Thank you so very much for the aluminum foil ball tip!! I am just trying two of them crumpled up in the dryer. Wondering if it makes a difference if the foil is crumpled with the dull or shiny side facing out, or if it is just a random crumple AND also wondering how BIG the foil balls should be AND if they should be loosely crumpled or tightly crumpled. Can you specify if it makes a difference? Thanks again for the idea!

My son works for a plumbing supply co. They also sale appliances. One of the reps told him that you should periodically take you dryer vent out and wash it if you use dryer sheets. He didn't say anything about the softeners in the wash. It probably wouldn't hurt to do it either way. I am going to make this very soon. Sandy

I have been washing my dryer vent for a while. It really seems to make a difference in the amount of time it takes to dry a load of clothes after washing the vent. If you pour water on the vent and it is slow in seeping through, then you have a build up from the dryer sheets on the vent and heat is not getting to where it needs to be. To me that is $$$ saved on my electric bill. Also I have been making the laundry soap, fabric softener and dishwasher soap for about a year and half, LOVE it.

I made my first homemade fabric softener. I wanted something that wouldn't leave a residue in my fab soft dispenser but make the clothes soft, smell nice and no static. I made a small batch to start. 4 cups water, 4 cups white vinegar and 1 cup of water based potpouri in Linen scent. Clothes are soft and not staticy (sp?) and the scent is light which is good for a family with allergies. I don't like heavy perfume scents so this worked great for me. You could probably add 2 cups for more scent. The bottle of potpouri was $3 for 34 ounces at Walmart.

O, I forgot to mention that I just give the jug a shake before using. I saved an emptly fab softner bottle. It was a large one since we have 6 people in our family to do laundry for. Next batch will fill the bottle and I just use 1 capfull per washload.

I just made this tonight and mine didn't really mix together the conditioner kind of clumped in the water and vinegar. Will it mix together by tomorrow? Did I do something wrong?

Use hot water or heat the softener on the stove until the conditioner melts. Mine did the same thing.

If you soak a washcloth (or parts of one) in the softener, do you let it dry before using it in the dryer? I'm thinking it might makes spots if thrown in wet. No?

For the lady that wanted to make hair gel, just use lemon jello and delute it to your thickness.. It can be in a jar thick, or thin and put in a spray bottle or squirt bottle. Start out with 2 TBS. 1 1/2 cups of warm water and mix together. ALWAYS refrigerate. I mix small portions so as not to get old. Apply to slightly damp hair roll up, crunch or blow dry, not harmful to hair. Also if in a hurry and don"t have time to wash and style hair, use a cotton ball dipped in alcohol and wipe down strand of hair and roll up, dries quickly. Especially handy for little girls who want their hair curled. Hope this is helpfull, used this on my baby who just turned 40 45 + year hairdresser

I made my first batch today .. It did not make 1 gallon ,, it made a little over 2 litters.. I used a old coke bottle and filled it … I also use suave and so far my loads are soft.. I needed a way to save money .. Thank you do much .. Can you use a dryer ball in a HE machine… ?? Thank you so much for this..,

The dryer balls work by separating the clothes and fluffing up the fibers. This keeps your clothes tumbling separately instead of clumping together, which helps them dry faster. They do not contain or dispense fabric softener. The fluffing of the fibers supposedly helps soften them. They do not soften as well as fabric softener, though, especially if you have hard water.

We have always used fabric softener on our towels. Works fine. Especially if you can’t bring yourself to buy really expensive fluffy towels. It makes the bargain ones seem more luxurious. At least if it’s not actually softening them, I still don’t mind using the stuff because it makes them smell better and makes the freshness last longer.

This recipe has been around for quite some time and is awesome. I have been using it myself for ell over a year. The great thing is that you can use ANY conditoner with ANY scent. It's completely customizable. I use Suave because I usually buy it on sell when I have a coupon and doesn't cost me a thing! I have a HE machine and put it in the fabric softener as I would any other fabric softener. Keep in mind that once month, I run vinegar through the detergent, bleach, pretreat, and fabric softener sections on a short wash to keep any kind of build up. No one told me to do it, but I figured it couldn't hurt! I definately recommend trying this out. One thing to keep in mind, do not shake the mix because it will suds up. Just stir well. This stays a nice consistency and does no gel like I have heard others doing. It's awesome!

Leena…if you are washing delicate items by hand, follow the garment's care instructions, and add 1 or 2 tablespoons of vinegar to the last rinse to help remove soap residue.

Jessica….hmmmm…not sure why it's separating…but I don't think it will hurt anything. Just give it a little shake before you use it.

I too have to use HE and I find that the vinegar actually helps clean my washer and I don’t have to buy the washer cleaner as often. I make my own detergent & softener & thus far have had no build up problems or rinsing problems.

if i can make a suggestion …i make my own fabric softner but we use sponges let them soak in a gal. jug and as we need them we pull them out ring it out to about almost dripping throw it in and put it back in the jug when the dryer is done !! works well with us !!

I am using this same recipe for sometime now, & I love it! I pour it into a Downy ball, & throw it in at the start of my wash. If you use more conditioner it makes the mix too thick! I tried it & ended adding more vinegar to thin it down! I have no problem with the vinegar smell.

This is a great recipe!!!!! I am the worlds worst about finding a new shampoo at the store and buying the matching conditioner to only use half the bottle. I always end up with a lot of extra conditioner. I have also make my on ferbreze and it calls for fabric softner. definatly going to try to use this fabric softener in that too!!!!

I wonder if this will work for homemade wrinkle releaser? A few years ago I found wrinkle releaser ( I think it was Downy). If one of my family needs to were a shirt that is wrinkled, I squirt the shirt and lightly stretch or brush the fabric and the wrinkles fall out. When I ran out I found the stores in my area had quit carrying it. The other brand was more expensive, didn’t work as well and was stinky. So I googled and found this: 1tsp fabric softener + about 16oz distilled water. It works great. I bought some fabric softener just for this purpose. Since I don’t generally use fabric softener it will last a long time, but when it runs out I will try this recipe or some variation of it instead of buying more softener.

I just want to say thank you! I’ve made this about 5 times and I really like it. It does wonders for my whites, helps remove the sweat stains in t-shirts and is good for my machine as well. No more sewer smell in my machine. I have a (European) front loading machine and a special compartment at the top in which I put my fabric softener. This compartment used to be all gooey and even a little moldy now it is squeaky clean. Oh and one of my girls has very sensitive skin, I haven’t heard her complain so far. I don’t use a jar but a big plastic old milk container it holds exactly the amount I make according to your instructions. I’m lucky I can get scented cleaning vinegar (Lavender or Eucalyptus).

I only wish there was a way to make the fabric just a tad softer with it. Any ideas?

I have been doing this with fabric softener and small sponges from the dollar store . I mix 1 part fabric softner to 3 parts water . I drop into a container of this mix about 6 small sponges . When I put my clothes in the dryer (Winter or rainy days ,sun shine does the work on the clothes line) I just grab a sponge and drop it with the clothes. Simple. When the clothes are dry simply put the sponge back into the fabric softener. I bought a small bottle of fabric softner last February . Still on the same bottle. Works for me.

I use this recipe also. I heat up my water in the microwave until it gets good and hot, but not to a boiling point. Then I pour my conditioner in and mix it up, then I mix the vinegar in. I also use a whisk to help get all the chunks of conditioner dissolved once it is all mixed. An important note though on my trial and errors(see we are not all perfect!) don’t heat your water to a boiling point. You would think it would help the conditioner to melt faster, but I did this and it broke down the conditioner and everything and I do mean EVERYTHING came out with static cling in it. Even the things that don’t normally get static in them. I have used just straight vinegar for years now and I do have to say that I love this recipe so much more. Even though the vinegar did an awesome job, I found that certain things always had static in them no matter what. Since I have switched I have no static, even those pesky blankets come out soft and static free. Hope my experiences help your bloggers!

I just made my first batch and am excited to try. Also, bought all the ingredients to make the laundry detergent. The hubs is happy to be saving some $. Thanks for all the great tips!! Will definitely be passing this info along!!

I have used a version of this and feel that my clothes are softer than when I used Downey! I mixed mine up and then poured it into an old Downey bottle and it is easy~peasy!

I’m sold! I made the softener this afternoon & the smell is wonderful. The conditioner I chose was the Suave Refreshing Waterfall Mist. It almost has a relaxing spa type scent, nothing too overpowering but just enough to smell heavenly. I looked @ the essential oils but couldn’t find a fresh linen scent so scrapped that idea pretty quick. I ran 2 loads of using the Homemade Liquid Laundry Detergent recipe that’s on here with the Borax, Super Washing Powder & (blue) Dawn topped off with a tablespoon of the Downy fragrance additive. I used a fabric softener lid to measure the softener and a cap full was plenty to do the job. I was very pleased with the outcome. Everything came out nice and clean with a great scent as well. I opted to make only half a batch of the softener to see how I liked it, the scent, etc.. Coming from a fabric softener fanatic, I can tell you without a doubt I will be making this again. (same goes for the laundry detergent!)

Hi. I am wondering…is the “Downy fragrance additive”…the Downy Unstoppables? I am so excited to try this recipe (as well as many more).

I’ve seen this recipe before, but kept searching for something different to add to it so as to avoid chemicals in conditioner. I suppose I could try maybe an organic conditioner, but than that would defeat the purpose of saving money as they’re usually pricey+( But still, I think it’s a much better alternative than the heavy perfumed fabric softeners, which make me sick smelling their strong fragrance.I’m going to give this a try. I love your blog & have found so many great ideas on here..look forward to more of your posts! =)

I have been using a similar recipe for a few months and love it. You heat the 6 cups water to boiling and the conditioner dissolves easily in the water. My recipe only takes 2 cups of vinegar (which may be where you are losing some of the good fragrance) and I have a HE washer and only use 2 Tablespoons. Has been working fantastic for me!!

You mentioned being mathematically challenged – I’d have to agree …. you said this makes 1 gallon which is 16 cups but your recipe adds up to 11 cups. However, in the picture it shows 4 ingredients – is one missing in the recipe?

BTW, I used hot tap water then put everything in a pot & heated it on the stove for a few minutes & used a wire whip to blend it all – it worked perfect.

I made this about two months ago, wish I would have seen the part about microwaving the solution a bit, because I did think it was a tad lumpy. I also felt it wasn’t scenty enough, I think If I try again I will add some extra scent.

I have tried and love this fabric softener! I had issue of conditioner clumping and I have done 2 things first I heated the water and vinegar and I use my immersion blender to mix it all up and voila no more clumps!! A whisk works very well also! This is so easy and cost effective and I will never go back to commercial fabric softener again. I also use drier balls to help with static cling and they work great as well! Thank you for sharing this frugal and wonderful recipe! I use a 1 gallon repurposed juice jug with a handle to store mine in but an empty vinegar jug would work fabulously as well.

I haven’t heard of using liquid potpourri in the fabric softener….do people use that instead of the conditioner? I am confused….I like my clothes to smell clean and have been using scented conditioner but it doesn’t smell strong…please help. (:

When I made it the first time, I used some kind of Garnier conditioner that I had in my bathroom and I wasn’t going to use since I went poo-less and I simply mixed everything together. It was rather lumpy but it worked.

This time, I used Suave “Everlasting Sunshine” conditioner that I found at Walmart for $1.50 (and I still have about a cup left for next time). I mixed everything together in a large bowl and microwaved it for 1:30, whisked and then zapped it for another 1:30 and whisked again and I have no clumps whatsoever. Also, the scent is out of this world and it covers the vinegar smell much better than the Garnier stuff did. It also clings to my clothes so they have a little bit of an extra scent to them.

The only thing I will change with my process next time is that I will use a large bowl WITH a spout. I had a little bit of spillage while I was trying to pour the heated mixture from the bowl into the funnel to get it in the jar.

This sounds great, but Im trying to avoid putting a “coating” on the clothes and dryer like the Fabric softner does. Wouldnt conditioner for hair also “coat” the clothes? Im using a foil ball in the dryer but would like a little more umph and maybe a little scent. Im thinking of trying the vinegar and scented oils in the Downy Ball. Potpourri oil is not sin safe, be sure anything you use is skin safe. Even some Essential and Fragrance oils are not skin safe. It should say on the bottle or at the manufacturers site.

have you continued using the mixture without the vinegar? i’m wondering if that’s what I need to do to keep our clothes from reeking of vinegar.

I have made this for a long time, but I do it a little different. I heat the vinegar and the water. I use a cup less water. After it is heated it will also make the vinegar less smelly I then add the condtioner and let it cool. I use a bit less since there is less water. I like the crystals like Downey and purex. I think I have a idea of how to make them. If it works I will let you know.

My house smells great!!! heated it up WELL and it mixed great(make sure you let it cool enough before pouring into a plastic container)

Be very careful with the vinegar as it will rust out parts. I just recently had to replace the hinges on my LG front loader because I was obviously spilling the vinegar over the cup capacity, it dripped down and ruined the mechanism for the hinges. Thankfully my husband is handy and was able to change the hinges out so our cost was $41 vs $160.

question for anyone using the vinegar & essential oils… has anyone done this using the dryer sheet method?? and also i seen some people dillute their vinegar?? i really want to make homemade dryer sheets since i dont use fabric softener in the washer but i dont really like the idea of the conditoner i have 2 lil boys with very sensitive skin and i think that would probably irritate them..EVERYTHING DOES! lol if anyone has any feedback on this it would be greatly appreciated!

After finding this on pintrest a while ago I finally ran out of softener and made this over the weekend. I’ve done 5 loads so far and must say its working very well!!! I accidentally left a load in the washer over night, which usually means I have to run it again because of the moldy smell the clothes will get but they still smelled clean!!! I will say that I added an extra cup of the vinegar after reading most of the comments saying that can be used alone instead of softener. So thank you so much!!!! I cant wait to try some of your other DIY projects on here!!

I made the fabric softener exactly according to the directions. I put the fabric softener in the cup in the agitator of our top loading HE washer. The clothes smell NOTHING like the fabric softener and don’t seem very soft at all. I tried adding the fabric softener directly to the tub and ran second rinse cycle (our washer & dryer are in the garage completely out of ear shot from most areas of our house so this isn’t something I’m willing to do anyway, but I wanted to try it out just to see if it worked) and the clothes were a tad bit softer, I guess, but they smelled NOTHING like the fabric softener. SO, I tried the “spritzing a wash cloth with the fabric softener and adding the cloth to the dryer” method. Still, the clothes smelled absolutely nothing like the fabric softener and weren’t any softer. So, my last ditch effort was to pour some of the fabric softener on a dry wash cloth (used about 1/4 cup) and throw it in the dryer. The clothes were definitely softer, but they smelled of vinegar (no, I didn’t use more vinegar in the mixture than what the recipe calls for. In fact, I probably used a bit less because my hubby HATES the smell of vinegar.).

I have made several batches of this softener, I even tried the essential oils with plain conditioner, but I lucked up on the BEST.. Suave Naturals Refreshing Waterfall Mist… It comes in the 15 fl oz, which is pretty much the 2 cups needed.. It smells wonderful, like the old fashioned snuggle. I really wasn’t a fan of wanting my clothes to smell like fruit. In addition to this I am using the powdered DIY laundry soap, and in it is the Purex crystals. I use the Fresh Spring Waters, so they work well together and it makes my clothes smell great! ( I don’t use that much of the liquid softener if i do use the powder since it’s double duty, but sometimes they need that extra oomph!)

I made a batch today and it worked great. I did heat the water and conditioner just a little to keep it from separating. Love the idea and that I can choose what scent I like.

I tried this my clothes not as soft as I would like . If I add more vinegar will they not smell like it ? I hate the smell of vinegar ! If I use a higher price conditioner woud it not be as cheap to just buy downey to begin with ?

I’ve been using this for several months now, I have an HE and have had no problems. I wasn’t completely satisfied with the softness of my clothes, so I add more than two cups of conditioner. I also add a few drops of fragrance sometimes. I love this because you can choose your scent. If you want to pay just a bit more(not much)you can buy something like the Suave Rosemary Mint conditioner. The possibilities are almost endless! BTW…thanks so much for all your wonderful “make it yourself” recipes…you have changed my life! Seriously! One other note, I ran across another pin where you take cloths(I use small washcloths), soak them in the fabric softener, hang them up to dry completely, roll them up and store them in an empty baby wipe container and use for dryer sheets. They’re good for several loads. I had seen a pin where you soak a hand towel this way and use it, but after so many loads, it began to smell like burnt grease or something..yuck! The individual cloths work much better for me.

I never seen an answer about the making a gal. Its only makes 11 cups, which isn’t a gal. So should you fill it all the way up to make a gal. with water?

Hello, I just made the fabric softener . I used white rain conditioner that i bought for 88cents . lol. I made half the recipe to try out and put in a small drink pitcher that I can also use to mix it in . Thanks for the hints.

Thank you for this post. I have an HE w/d and found this did NOT work in my dryer, BUT it DOES work in my washer. I simply add it to the softener cup (up to the Max line). My clothes come out slightly fragrant and soft. I’ve yet to run out of fabric softener sheets to know how well it really does with static. I use 3 cups water to 1 cup vinegar and 1 cup hair conditioner. I put it all into an empty 3 liter Coke bottle. It’s easy to pour and I like seeing something I made. :) It does thicken up upon standing to the same consistency of commercial fabric softener. I’ve also started making my own HE detergent and dish powder. Next on my agenda is deodorant. I don’t mind doing laundry nearly as much now considering how little cost and time I put into the cleaning agents. Again, thank you for your post and your knowledge. I love your site. :)

Thanks so much for reminding me of my go to homemade stuff. I do make the laundry soap and to scent it up good this is what i add. I add essential oil. Our house loves Rose scent (especially the towels and sheets) for the girls and the men like Cool Water scent. Yeah = its a take on the cologne. It still smells really nice.

I am going to try the fabric softener for sure and the new “liquid homemade laundry soup”. I will add scent to the fabric softener – maybe something that will complement the laundry soup scent. Like, Lavendar and Rose go well, I think. And possible Vanilla with Cool Waters. ?? Whatchya think? You can get scented oils pretty cheap on Amazon. Or you can make your own. Thats another blog!! LOL Thanks for the posts!!!

I started by adding the conditioner to a 4-cup measuring cup. I then added 2 cups of hot water from the faucet and stirred. #1, the mixture foamed, like you said it wasn’t supposed to. (YES, I am SURE I was using conditioner!) #2, the conditioner broke into chunks and clumps. So, I added a cup of the mixture to another measuring cup and added in another cup of hot water, followed by a cup of vinegar. I stirred it all together and waited (impatiently) for the clumps to dissolve. Then, I thought that maybe the clumps would dissolve later, because I knew this recipe wouldn’t make a FULL gallon and I would have to add more hot water. Well, after all was said and done, the mixture was VERY foamy and clumpy.

I was set to make this today, then had a question in regards to the measurements of the ingredients as there are only 11 cups worth of liquids mentioned, but you said this makes a gallon, which is 16 cups ?

I did make the liquid laundry soap, and just love it !

This is good if you are trying to penny pench, however, it will coat your clothes over time and create blueing, just like regular fabric softner. If you truely want to have softer clothes, without the extra chemicals, all you need is vinegar and add essential oils. the strength of the vinegar is what is washing out the smell from the softener. If you are having problems with static clean, pull your clothes out of the dryer with wet/damp hands, the dipoles of the water molecules attract static. If you are hanging clothes, towels especially, shake them out several times then fold. This will get the starch out of them and make them softer.

I love this recipe. I make it with Free & Clear Hair Conditioner for Sensitive Skin because some family members have eczema. It is a little pricey, but I just couldn’t justify using Downy unscented in big plastic bottles. I wish we could get manufacturers of liquid soaps, shampoos, etc, to package their products in something so that we can reuse the containers we already have. I would love to go into a store and refill the container I have from a big barrel. We do something similar with our water bottles.

I love this fabric softener. I add the downy unstopables to the mix when it is still hot and it smells great. Also love the no-grate liquid laundry detergent. So far so good. Do need to pre treat tough stains though (Dawn and oxiclean works great. Thanks Jillee! Love the crock-pot rotiserie chicken!!!!

I just made your softner .It went togather great . i have my frist load in the washer (with your homemade washing powder) . It ony cost 1.00 for a gallon ,got my con. at dollar tree . you cant beat the price . Thanks for making this easy for us to do !!!!!

5 Stars for coming up with the most well put together dish soap idea I have seen and I have been searching all over the place to find one that I could make. I work swing shift, crazy hours and its diff for me to keep things around here done and work as well. Thank you for this recipe as it will be the one I recommend to my Daughters-in-Loves as they will like it too. oh, I never ever said daughters in law, just don’t like the way it sounds. This idea will save our household budget a lot of money from now on, especially since we will be laid off most of December. Its like that every year, so every penny counts and that is why I am stocking up now. We will be ready this year. I have found so many wonderful ideas on Pinterest and am so glad I joined. Happy homemaking to you and thanks again!!!

One more thing to add, the Liquid Fabric Softener is just the greatest. Am putting my small shopping list together for in the morning.

Ok, I was so excited to try this! I absolutely am in love with the homemade laundry detergent I made (powder) so I thought I would give this a whirl. HATED it. The clothes were soft and it controlled static cling a lot better than I hoped. But the SMELL. I tried this several times, no matter what scent I added everything smelled like vinegar. Ew. It was all I could smell all day. People I work with commented one day, and I went home and threw it out. I tried to reduce the vinegar and add more water, reduce it and add more conditioner, well, I tried everything. If anyone has any tips on this let me know. I also tried the dryer sheet version with it and the same results.

This recipe worked well for me, and my clothes didn’t come out smelling like vinegar. However just now I was doing another batch, I added one tablespoon of baking soda to the mixture. The smell of vinegar dissapeared. The only thing I am curious is if maybe the properties of the vinegar would diminish. Anyone has any thoughts?

I just made some with EO Lavender Aloe conditioner in an old Clorox 2 bottle I was about to toss out. Recycling and making my own softener! EO is a great brand, no sulfates or nasty stuff in it, no colors and just natural lavender oil as the scent. It smells very strong but I added a couple drops of lavender essential oil for good measure ( I love lavender) I can’t wait to use it, and to make No Grate laundry soap w/ my EO All Purpose liquid soap soon too. It will be relaxing aromatherapy every laundry day.

@Sarah it could be your water that is mixing with the vinegar and making the smell stronger.

Question – Living in Australia, I find it difficult to get 1 gallon containers – a bit like trying to find Mason jars here – any Aussies tell me where?. Anyway, I have an endless supply of 2 litre containers. Question is – Is there any reason for the 6 cups of water? Can I reduce this to 3 cups of water? This would then give me 8 cups of liquid which equates to 2 litres and would fit into my recycled fabric softener bottles. Does half the amount of water make any difference to its efficiency? It would just make it thicker right? And I could use less?

Hi Robyn: Adjusting any recipe is the same, whether it is making cleaning supplies or cooking food. Just keep all your ingredients in correct proportion to each other. If you divide the amount of water by half, then use only half of all the other ingredients. Follow the same directions for mixing the ingredients, and you should always be successful.

This works great! I cut the recipe in half so I could fit it into the empty 60 load size Downy bottle I already had. Used Suave Naturals Everlasting Sunshine scent….managed to make a mess by neglecting the part that says do not shake…oops!

Hi. I love this site. I also make my own detergent and softener. I have discovered something that heals fever blisters and would like to know if you are interested. Thank you for your time

I warm mine on the stove and it takes away the foam and melts all the chunks so its nice and smooth without shaking it. I then add some clean smelling scent. I have a front loader HE machine and I add it right to my dispenser with no problem. But if you have chunks it will clog your dispenser and overflow water all through the dispenser door and cause a waterfall, trust me.

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