Does anyone have any new ideas on making your own fabric softeners? I am tired of spending a fortune on the products available in the store. Also, I would like to have a very good recipe for laundry detergent and something to remove spots from clothes (those that appear after you wash them in regular detergent or from other things fading on them).
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I have a sister in law who has really bad skin allergies as well as nasal and eyes. Her doctor told her to place a dry towel in a load of clothing in the dryer and it will soften the clothes without the fragrance and skin irritation.
I also dilute my fabric softener. I have saved alot of money by doing this and notice no change in my clothing. It works well for me. Fabric softener can be expensive if you do laundry often. I had saved a couple of the 2 liter bottles for something else, but decided to use them to dilute my 1 liter bottle of softener. So I just divide the 1 liter bottle by pouring 1/2 into each 2 liter bottle and fill each bottle to the top with water and viola!
I have found that white vinegar works just as well as fabric softener If you have a spot to put softener in your washer at the beginning of your wash cycle just add the vinegar instead. If not just put it in the rinse cycle. The vinegar not only softens your clothes it also helps with odors. I won't use anything else. It only cost pennies per load.
This doesn't answer the question, but I think using the dryer sheets is cheaper than the liquid. I've been paranoid about using liquid fabric softener ever since I heard some years ago that it makes clothing less flame retardant. I buy the sheets at the dollar store.
Using an old washcloth soaked in fabric softener really does work!! I buy a gallon of the store brand pink stuff, the only kind they had when I was a kid. I put some on the cloth just before I put it in the dryer though. I didn't realize it would last so long if you let it dry I'm going to have to try that! Those dryer sheets are ridiculously expensive!
It's not "home made', but it has solved my "static cling" problems. Spent the $ for those spiked rubber balls - they look porcupiney, but the spikes are gentler. No fabric softener sheets since! They come in sets of 2 and they help to dry those large items that can clump together, also have made drying down-filled jackets a one time process, instead of 2 or 3 times as before.
When I stopped using fabric softener I found that eventually I had no need for it. I have stopped using any dry or wet softener for decades now and have very little static (once or twice a year). My clothes are always soft unless I hang them to dry then they soften with a bit of agitation. My son is asthmatic and the respirologist firmly suggested these products can be quite damaging to asthmatics. I actually stopped using them before this recommendation. I read a consumer reports comparison of brands that encouraged using half the amount recommended by the manufacturer only once every every 10 loads I think this was almost thirty years ago. Once the chemicals are out of the clothing the static is gone except for the odd occasion.
Read this link www.ehow.com/
3 cups vinegar
2 cups Hair Conditioner
6 cups water (I used distilled from my de-humidifier
Throw in an aluminium foil ball for static. The Blue Dryer Balls don't work for me.
As an old "granola" with teenagers and a messy hubby and dog. The simplest solution I've found is using homemade laundry detergent (there are a million recipes online using 3 basic ingredients) with a distilled white vinegar in the rinse cycle (by either using it in your machine chamber or a downy ball). And line-drying as much as possible. I'm not an ironer, so I'm really careful about how I hang things to dry. The results are amazing and so very simple! Leaving time for the really important things in life :)
I started using cheap hair conditioner, the kind you can get for $1 for a large bottle, and putting about 2 good squirts in the fabric softener dispenser. It works pretty good, if you like a little scent.
For years I have made my own sheets by using small wash clothes or rags and poured a small amount (1/4 cup) of liquid softener into a jar added water (almost fill jar) and then added rags to fill to top, make sure lid is tight turn over so all the liquid soaks even the top. Take one out for each load to dry and when all have been used - redo- no need to wash the rags as they are only used for softener.
Go here for great homemade laundry detergent from local tv newscast about saving money ideas - read all the comments & see the video for more information. www.wthr.com/
When clothes in the dryer are almost dry, throw in a wet sock to guard against static cling.
I like the convenience of using the dryer sheets and they eliminate static cling in synthetics. I cut each sheet into 4 pieces and I buy store brand dryer sheets. I buy them when a box of 40 sheets sells for around $1. I get 160 uses out of one box.
If you find cutting the sheets into quarters doesn't give you enough softening, try cutting a sheet into thirds. Using a half sheet is ultra-softening to me and is still cheap. I think the liquid softeners are more costly and I don't like lifting those heavy bottles.
Purchase a large bottle of your favorite fabric softner; say for maybe 3 dollars. Then pour into a fine mist bottle, mist 3-6 mists inside of the dryer before adding wet clothes. This provides for the best smelling clothes ever, no dryer sheets to look for and so on the cheap. There are six in my family, one bottle will last 3 or 4 months or more or so. Never had any problems with this and have been doing this for 6-9 years.
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