Did you know conventional fabric softeners and dryer sheets leave a residue on your clothes? That’s what makes them “feel” softer. Chemical fabric softeners can also cause skin irritation or breathing sensitivities. Get your clothes fluffy, soft, and smelling fresh without toxic chemicals using our Natural DIY Fabric Softener.
Our laundry routine changed when we began cloth diapering. You have to be very careful not to use detergents that will leave behind any build-up or residue. That build-up can lead to serious stink! Even though we no longer cloth diaper, we’ve been glad to not have that continual expense of buying dryer sheets and fabric softeners in our home supply budget.
Here’s the washing routine that we use to get our clothes fresh and clean with natural ingredients in a regular load of laundry in our HE washer:
New to essential oils? Learn more about how we use them and why you should use them as well.
Natural DIY Fabric Softener
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup Dr. Bronner’s Organic Lavender Pure Castile Soap
- 5 drops Lavender essential oil
- 5 drops Bergamot essential oil
- 1/2 cup baking soda
- 1/3 cup white vinegar
Directions
- Add soap and essential oils to normal washing machine soap dispenser.
- Sprinkle 1/2 cup baking soda over the clothes in the washer.
- Pour 1/3 cup of vinegar into the fabric softener dispenser (or add during final rinse).
- Wash color loads and towels on cool water as normal.
- Dry laundry and enjoy freshly scented, soft laundry with no harsh chemicals!
That’s it. It’s an easy routine for us and it keeps our clothes clean and soft without adding harsh or dangerous chemicals.
A Couple of Extra Laundry Tips:
- DO NOT add the vinegar to the beginning of the washing cycle. It will react badly with the Castile soap and you will not like the results. Find out the details about this reaction here.
- For a load of whites, we would add 1/2 cup hydrogen peroxide to the normal place assigned for adding bleach. Then we wash on a hot water setting.
- And, of course, if you’re having big, stinky trouble with your laundry you should try this simple laundry trick that really works.
- Try some of these other tips to remove additives from your home cleaning routine!
Karri says
My HE washer has no liquid fabric softener dispenser. Normally you are supposed to use one of those Downy balls. Could I put the vinegar in a Downy ball so it will be released during the rinse cycle?
Beth K says
You could try that! I’d love to hear how that works for you.
Jane says
I put vinegar in my downy ball all the time when I put it in with my towels. Works fine ..
Terry says
Can the vinegar be added at the beginning of the wash cycle in the Fabric Softener dispenser?
Beth K says
That’s exactly what we do, Terry! Just don’t add it to the wash basin at the beginning of the wash cycle. It doesn’t play well with the Castile soap.
Tracy says
I’m new to oils and trying out some recipes ~ I did have a question, the above says that you add the soap and oil in detergent dispenser, so this is in place of the other reciepe you posted for liquid detergent?
Beth K says
You’re exactly right. If you use our liquid detergent recipe then the essential oils are already mixed into the formula. This version posted above helps with people who want to use Castile soap because of sensitivities or personal preferences about gentler, natural cleaners.
Leslie says
I’m sorry if this is a silly question- you place the 1/4 cup of liquid fabric softener into the soap dispenser with the laundry soap, correct? Or you use this in place of laundry soap? I usually place 1/4 capful of thieves detergent into the dispenser and was going to add 1/4 of your recipe. Is that what you would recommend? I have teenage boys who play sports so laundry can be pretty gross!! Thanks for clarifying 🙂
Beth K says
Here’s where everything goes:
Add detergent and essential oils to normal washing machine soap dispenser.
Sprinkle your baking soda directly over the clothes in the washer.
Pour the vinegar into the fabric softener dispenser (or add during final rinse).
Teenage athlete smell is the worst. LOL
Debbie says
So I’m using Thieves Laundry detergent. That would go into the bottom of my machine. Then clothes. On top of the clothes sprinkle the baking soda and put the vinegar into the liquid fabric softener dispenser, it that correct?
So the baking soda and vinegar are the liquid fabric softener , and you like the way this works?
Thanks for your help, I’m trying to get rid of chemicals in our house and our laundering style needs revamping, this sounds like a great way to do it.
Beth K says
The baking soda will mix with the detergent during the wash/agitation portion of the cycle to add extra cleaning power for stains and odors. The vinegar acts as the liquid fabric softener after the detergent has been rinsed. This helps reduce odors and also helps rinse away any starch or detergent residue leaving your clothes softer.
Becky says
I don’t have a fabric softener spot in my washer and has no agitator in in with a spot for soap. It also locks until it is done washing. How would I add this fabric softener to my washer? Any ideas?
Jenny says
You could get a Downy ball and just put the vinegar in that. I use at least 1/2 cup because I do large loads though.
gLORIA says
Could I put the vinegar in a Downy ball so it will be released during the rinse cycle?
Beth K says
Sounds like a great idea if you already have a ball designed to release during rinse cycle! Let us know how that works for you.
Xana says
Can this be safely used with cloth diappers?
Thanks!
Beth K says
I used cloth diapers on my littles for years and OH how I miss those precious days. With that in mind, I used cotton, mixed fabrics, and laminated diapers and I would NOT use this recipe on any of those. It is possible that the Castile soap in this (because it’s a soap and not a detergent) could leave a thin film on your diapers that will make them less absorbent (and I know better than most that less absorbent means LEAKY!). I hope this helps. ~Beth
Dona says
So, is the castile soap in place of laundry detergent? If I have another homemade laundry detergent can I use that in place of the castile soap?
Thanks!
Diana M says
Exactly! You can follow this recipe or use our liquid detergent in place of the Castile soap. The vinegar is acting as the fabric softener.
Carol Balbiani says
Do I understand this correctly? The vinegar is the actual fabric softener and the rest of the ingredients are another form of laundry soap for the clothes washing? We could just use the other laundry recipe for washing and the vinegar for the rinse? I already use vinegar for rinsing in my HE front loader. Can EOs be added to the vinegar in the dispenser for the rinse?
Diana M says
Hi Carol! Yes, you got it. People with sensitive skin can use Castile Soap as a washing agent, or another detergent in its place. You can add the essential oils directly in with the vinegar to help soften your fabrics.