Recently on my live show viewer Captain Maggie asked if fabric softener was really necessary, so I offered up some fabric softener alternatives. There are many pros and cons for using store bought fabric softener, but it really just comes down to personal preference.
Fabric softener is used for various reasons including softening your clothes, adding a pleasant “clean” fragrance, and preventing static from building up in the fabric. Store bought softeners will definitely help with all of those, but remember that they accomplish it by leaving a chemical residue in the fibers of your clothes. That isn’t ideal for someone with sensitive skin or allergies, for example.
Fabric Softener Alternatives
So here is just a small list of fabric softener alternatives for you to choose from. I’ve tried all of them and can say that to varying degrees they all work pretty much as well as store bought softeners.
- Take a spray bottle and fill with 1 cup white vinegar and 1 1/2 tsp of your favorite essential oil. Spray this mixture lightly on your wet clothes as you transfer them to the dryer. Don’t worry, the vinegar smell disappears but the essential oil fragrance will linger!
- In a small bowl dissolve 1/2 cup baking soda in 4 cups of warm water, then add directly to your washing machine.
- Using the cooler settings on your dryer will help eliminate static
- Always hang synthetics to dry, running them through the dryer creates a lot of static
- Add a few drops of essential oil to wool dryer balls and pop them in the dryer. This is my favorite alternative to fabric softeners – you can see the one I like to use here (affiliate link):
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