Fabric Softener is the one household product that has eluded me as far as making my own! So this year, I thought I would give it a go…
Making your own house hold products is such a rewarding process! I have covered various other cleaners and personal care products in other blog posts but have yet to cover the one we do daily.. Laundry! For the last few weeks, I have been using soap shavings with water to make a beautiful laundry gel (more on that in another post) but would like to focus specifically on laundry softener in this article. I want to make my own fabric softener because, like so many other mass produced products, what seems like a harmless product actually contains some pretty nasty stuff. Experts explain that commercial softeners cause allergies and, taking into consideration their high content of chemicals, they are actually not that health-friendly. “If you cannot put it in your mouth, do not put it on your skin either” is an old saying, and you may want to think about it the next time you decide to buy a softener. Fabric softeners contain chemicals that impregnate fabrics and can be released over time and absorbed into your skin or inhaled. Fortunately making your own is not that difficult and easy to do with some basic ingredients. But because we are all different, I thought to add a few variations so you can see what works for YOU!
Softener # 1
Ingredients:
10g baking soda
150-200 ml hot water
800 ml apple cider vinegar
20 drops essential oil
Preparation:
You need a big plastic container (3-5 L), because of the bubbling reaction between the vinegar and baking soda. Combine water, baking soda and apple cider vinegar together. The ingredients will cause a chemical reaction, releasing bubbles all over the place, but will eventually calm down.
Add essential oil of your choice, close and shake well.
Once the liquid “settles,” pour it into your softener tank, and make sure you use a jar, as it works best.
Softener # 2
Ingredients:
2 cups hair conditioner
3 cups white vinegar
6 cups hot water
Preparation:
Mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl or bucket and transfer to a jug or bottle once done. You can use any cheap hair conditioner for this, one bottle will be sufficient.
To make it (and your laundry) smell fresh, add a small amount of any essential oil you like. When you are ready to use it, use in the same way you would use the store bought version.
Softener # 3
Ingredients:
½ cup baking soda
2 cups Epsom salt or any coarse salt
20-30 drops of essential oil
Preparation:
Mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl or bucket and transfer to a jug or bottle once done.
Making the fabric softener yourself gives you total control over the ingredients and helps you to avoid the toxic additives that are present in commercial softeners. There are actually many more fabric softeners out there but these three should give you a good taste of how easy it is to make this product yourself. Have fun with it and let me know how it goes!!
Comments