How To Make Toxin-Free Fabric Softener

Learn how to make three different kinds of natural fabric softener for your clothes: an environmentally-friendly, cheap and effective alternative.

We’re always on the look out for more environmentally friendly alternatives in our day-to-day lives. The reality is that we can easily make most of the products we find at the supermarket ourselves with natural ingredients that we have at home. Today we’ll be talking about how to make a toxin-free fabric softener.

This is a natural alternative to the fabric softeners you can buy, which are full of chemicals that damage the environment. These chemical products can also affect our health without us realizing, causing allergies or serious skin reactions.

To avoid these issues, we want to show you how to make homemade toxin-free fabric softener, which will give the same or even better results than the one you usually use. Find out for yourself how easy it is to make a toxin-free fabric softener at home.

To start with, this kind of fabric softener can be made using natural, cheap ingredients. It is also extremely versatile because it works for all kinds of clothes and with all the programs on your washing machine, as well as for hand-washing.

How to make toxin-free fabric softener

There are several ways of making this kind of product at home. You most probably have all the necessary ingredients in your pantry.

So, now we’re going to show you a range of options with different ingredients. The ideal thing would be for you to try all of them and then choose the one that suits you best and gives you the best results.

Before you start, you need a sealed container to keep the fabric softener in. You could use old recycled softener or detergent bottles or empty water bottles.

It is recommended that you add it to the washing machine just before the rinse cycle, not at the start of the wash.

1.- Homemade fabric softener with white vinegar

To make this softener, you need the following ingredients:

• 1 pint white vinegar
• 2 pints of mineral water
• 2 tablespoons of baking soda

Preparation:

• Firstly, mix the water with the vinegar.
• Add the baking soda little by little. Allow the foam to dissolve and disappear.
• Once the three ingredients are well mixed, it’s ready to use.

The vinegar also acts as a powerful stain remover as well as helping to get rid of smells. Because of this, you can also apply it to clothes that have coffee, wine or sweat stains. Leave them to soak in it for around 10 minutes, before washing them in the washing machine as normal.

2.- White vinegar and essential oil fabric softener

For this version, you’ll need the following ingredients:

• 2 pints of white vinegar
• 10 drops of the essential oil you like most

This version is very simple to make, you just need to mix the two ingredients and it’ll be ready to use.

3.- Baking soda, sea salt and essential oil fabric softener

For this third option you’ll need the following ingredients:

• 15 drops of the essential oil you like most
• 9 oz of unrefined sea salt
• 2.5 oz of baking soda

Preparation:

• Firstly, add the 15 drops of essential oil to the sea salt.
• Stir until the essential oil has been well absorbed by the salt.
• Then, add the baking soda and stir again until you have a uniform blend.

When it’s all well mixed in, your fabric softener is ready. Add 2 to 3 tablespoons to each wash just before the rinse cycle.

These three toxin-free fabric softeners are also ideal for baby clothing, because they don’t contain any unknown ingredients.

If you suffer from skin allergies, you might like to make these fabric softeners to avoid risking skin reactions. Also, the ingredients are very easy to get hold of and don’t cost a lot of money.

Lastly, another benefit of these fabric softeners is that they can get rid of the bacteria that remain in the drum of your washing machine. So, you’ll not only be helping to care for your clothes but also your washing machine.

Try out these recipes and stick with the one you like best. They are effective, quick to make, and very simple. Advantages all round!