I have been told this before, but I tried this last weekend. I was not happy with my dryer sheets; I would rather not use them. Our sons use them so we have lots of them. Our clothes and towels were not coming out very soft and had a bad smell. So I tried wetting a washcloth with vinegar and putting it in the dryer with the towels.
Wow, when I took them out of the dryer they were soft and smelled so good. From now on I will use vinegar on a cloth.
Source: I read this from a book also called "Jerry Bakers Old-Time Vinegar, Garlic, Baking Soda, and 101 More Problem Solvers".
By Pati Mishler
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I would love to give this a try. Can you tell me what type of vinegar you used apple cider, distilled etc? Thanks!
I use just regular white vinegar in my washer as a fabric softener for towels. I like liquid fabric softener however it tends to build up in towels and then they are not as absorbant. Vinegar in the fabric softener dispenser right in the washer works really well.
White vinegar helps with limescale build up on the elements and is a natural antibacterial.
I use the vinegar to take the buildup of detergent and fabric softners off of clothes. I put a drop of lavender scented oil on a washcloth to throw in the dryer.
How much vinegar do you put on the wash cloth to put in the dryer. Do you use a wet wash cloth with the vinegar on it, one that has just come out of the washer to use? This sounds like a good idea not to use dryer sheets.
I use about 1/2 cup of vinegar in my rinse water in the washer using a Downey Fabric Softener ball. Works well to use the vinegar in the rinse water of the washer. Linda
I use vinegar (white) in the clothes washer and don't need to use fabric softener at all. I was using white vinegar in my dishwasher instead of a rinse aid too and it worked just as well. But a while after I started doing this my dishwasher quit working (the electrical panel). Maybe it is not connected to using vinegar, don't know, but it made me cautious. Then I read somewhere about the acid in vinegar causing problems, but don't know. Just sharing. Feedback welcome.
I have this book also! And I use Vinegar instead of fabric sheets. Fabric sheets do stop up the screen on your lint trap of the dryer. I have also used diluted fabric softener on a wash rag. I use very little of the FS and mostly water. I have a downy ball that I use, too. Mostly, though, I use the vinegar.
The cleanest my clothes ever were was when I used homemade laundry soap with the vinegar in the rinse. And smelled like the great outdoors without the pollen!
I tend to put a capful or so of white vinegar in my washer at the beginning of the rinse cycle. (I am visually impaired, so just let the cap overflow a little to be sure I've completely filled it. It prob works out to about two capfuls, actually.) The trick is not getting distracted, and actually catching the rinse cycle, lol!
White vinegar is best as it has no color to effect the clothes, it works on all washable fabrics. Everything will smell fresh and clean not like vinegar, even if you smell it as you put clothes into the dryer.
Vinegar and water is an awesome cleaner!! My mom had spray bottles all over the house that she used to clean almost EVERYTHING!! Her house was always spotless..including the mirrors and the sink fixtures as they shone like new!!!
White vinegar is the very best fabric softener you can use and it's antibacterial and cheap! I replaced fabric softener with white vinegar in the washing machine years ago and my washing has never been better. I rarely use the dryer but when I do there's no need to add extra vinegar to it as the clothes and particularly towels come out soft and fluffy.
I bet the vinegar is a better choice over dryer fabric sheets because it won't leave an invisible lint film on the lint trap. If you don't clean the dryer lint trap every 2-3 months it builds up preventing the dryer from releasing the hot air. Left long enough it will cause a fire in your dryer.
To see how much buildup you have on the screen remove it from the dryer and run it under water - you will see that the water stays caught in the screen - not good.
To avoid a fire remove the lint screen and run it under water. Take an old tooth brush and scrub the screening with it then rinse off, dry and put it back in the dryer.
You can't add too much vinegar. I throw a cup of vinegar in my final rinse. Then I save money by hanging the laundry out in this hot South Texas heat.
I have been adding white vinegar to my washer for the final rinse for years. Clothes do come out very soft.
I also learned from Dr Oz that you can put white vinegar to your arm pits to eliminate the smell. Once the bacteria hits the air that is what makes your arm pits smelly. I tried it and it does work. Just be careful if you shaved first because the vinegar will sting until it dries. I just pour about a teaspoon into my palm just enough to get your arm pit wet with white vinegar. You will not smell like a salad so give it a try if you find yourself out of deodorant.
I am curious, do you wet the cloth entirely, and ring it out? Or is it just a few wet spots on the cloth.. I wouldn't want to over do it. Thanks.
I tried the regular vinager as was told and the cloths were not soft neither smell as good as the post says.
I recently read a new tip to soften clothes in the dryer. It was to take a new sponge, cut it into 4 pieces, put them in a container with water and fabric softener. The ratio is 1:1 (1 cup water to 1 cup fabric softener). Before adding freshly washed clothes to the dryer, squeeze out 1 or 2 pieces of sponge and toss them in the dryer, then dry your hands on the clothes as you put them in the dryer. Since I had a partially used bottle of fabric softener on hand that I had not used because I was using white vinegar or the plastic dryer balls, I thought this would be a good way to use up the fabric softener. It works to keep static down and clothes are soft. Reading these tips reminded me that I need to wash my lint screen now that I've been using fabric softener for a while. You posters are the best with coming up with clever, money-saving tips. Thanks.
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