Quickie Natural Fabric Softener
There’s been chatter about the health hazards of fabric softeners and fabric sheets. People with delicate skin or allergies are often impacted by these products being used by people around them. Also, they cost a silly amount of money for some petroleum byproducts and perfume in a big ol plastic jug.
Especially since you can make your own for pennies.
Phase One:
1 part Baking Soda
2 parts Hot Water
Phase Two:
1 part Vinegar
Essential oils to scent preference. I recommend 1/2 tsp per gallon or less. Lavender is great, grapefruit, lime, lemon, and lemongrass are my faves currently.
Procedure:
Use a container that is double the size of the ingredients. Put it in the sink or tub in case of spillover.
Mix the baking soda and water, stir till the powder is dissolved (mostly dissolved, you’ll likely have some grains left).
Add the vinegar. Remember that baking soda and vinegar react by fizzing, (remember all those volcanoes in elementary school?), hence the recommendation of a large container.
Once it’s stopped fizzing, pour into clean jars and close. Shake jar before use. Use by adding 1/4 – 1/2 cup in the rinse cycle.
I Have a question. How losng would this last in a container? , if yo were to sell it ?
Thanks for your time.
Assuming the container was sterile when you started, and you used purified water…it should last for a really long time. I’ve never sold it, so I’ve never done lab tests on it to get it FDA approved for my insurance liability company, so I don’t have a firm verified answer for you. That said, I’ve had a jug in my laundry room for about 6 months with no bacterial growth. Keep in mind that because there’s not an emulsifier in the formula, the essential oils will separate, and so the product will have to be shaken before use…which you’ll want to include on labels, were you to market the product, else folks could dump EO or fragrance oil straight into the wash, which could cause problems.
Hope that helps! Cheers!
Your site is too cool! I found you on the Made in America site (in case you want to know how I found you).
Can your fabric softener be used in washing machines with a fabric softener dispenser? I’m always multi-tasking while doing the laundry so I never know when the final rinse is happening. If not, would one of those containers you fill up with softener and throw in the wash work? Many thanks and duly bookmarked!
I have a front-loader washer, and I just shake it up and put it in the dispenser. So far, so good.
And thanks for reading and commenting!
A bit surprised it seems to simple and yet uesufl.
With all these silly webiests, such a great page keeps my internet hope alive.
What does the baking soda do? I have just started using my own laundry soap made with castille soap, borax, and washing soda and I am using vinegar in the rinse cycle (love the idea of adding the essentials to this
Since I am already using the washing soda, I was jut wondering what the baking soda would do for my rinse cycle. Thanks!
I read your page on cosmetic ingredients and think I just answered my own question. It’s a softener
Correct.
The water here is so hard that our shower heads will develop stalactites if not regularly monitored. Almost everywhere I’ve lived has had water hard enough to justify adding a bit of bicarbonate just to even things up a bit. 
BTW, I LOVE your ingredients list!! I have bookmarked it and am sure I will be checking it regularly. Thanks!!
Thanks. Let me know if you notice anything missing, and I’ll try and research it and put it up.