Add 1 cup (200 g) of baking soda to a bowl and pour in 7 cups (1.7 liters) of white vinegar. Stir the mixture well until completely combined. Add 1/3 cup (80 ml) of the mixture to the fabric softener dispenser of the washing machine or add it during the wash cycle to soften clothes.
To break in construction pants, add a teaspoon of mild detergent to the washing machine with the work pants, and add one teaspoon of liquid fabric softener and a teaspoon of water to the machine's dispenser. If the washing instructions on the pant's tag allow it, set the washing machine to a hot wash.
Fabric Softener #1
The easiest homemade fabric softener is the consistent use of plain white vinegar in the final rinse. Add 1/2 to 1 cup (depending on load size) white vinegar to the last rinse in the washer. Vinegar is cheap and nontoxic; effective and antimicrobial.
Yes, baking soda can actually soften your fabric! The baking soda softens the water, particularly if there is a lot of calcium, and helps to reduce static cling on your clothing. Add between a quarter cup and half a cup of baking soda to your washing machine.
Baking soda softens the fabric. Instead of using a pure detergent, you may add baking soda when washing your fabric. Place one cup of baking soda to your washing machine in a delicate setting. Vinegar works well with fabrics.
Soften fabrics
You can replace fabric softener with vinegar. It can soften fabrics without using the harsh chemicals often found in commercial fabric softeners. Vinegar also prevents static, which means that lint and pet hair is less likely to cling to your clothing.
Here's what you need to do:
Simply add 1/4 cup of white vinegar to the fabric softener dispenser or to a fabric softener ball. The white vinegar will act as a fabric softener AND it will keep your washing machine smelling fresh and clean!
The Kitchen Concoction: Baking Soda & Vinegar
With a few items found in your kitchen pantry, you can mix up your own natural fabric softener. All you need is water, baking soda and vinegar, plus a few drops of essential oils if you'd like it scented. Stir until mixed and add in one-part vinegar (ex: one-half cup).
Pour one quart of warm water into the five-gallon bucket. Add the table or sea salt and stir for about two minutes or until dissolved. Add your T-shirt and swirl it around until it is thoroughly wet. Be sure the air bubbles have all been released so there is nothing between the shirt and the saltwater solution.
Yes, that's right… hair conditioner is a fabric softener in disguise! Not only does conditioner smell terrific, but ounce-for-ounce it's usually much cheaper than fabric softener.
Natural Fabric Softener
If you want softer clothes without using fabric softener, baking soda is a great alternative! Since it helps to regulate the pH balance of water, it also suspends detergent and mineral residue that causes your clothes to feel rough.
If you have a top-loading washer, you can use baking soda in place of fabric softener. It has the same softening effects without heavy perfumes or chemicals that might trigger allergies. During the rinse cycle, when the washer is full of water, sprinkle a half-cup of baking soda into the water.
Vinegar makes for a great natural fabric conditioner because its acidic nature cuts through soapy residue and limescale, helping to keep white clothes whiter. It's also safe to use on coloured fabrics.
Pour 1 cup of undiluted white vinegar into the wash machine during the final rinsing cycle to soften the polyester. Unlike most commercial fabric softeners, vinegar does not infuse fabric with harmful chemicals.
Heat makes the threads expand and loosens the weave in the fabric, especially in a loosely-woven stretchy T-shirt. It's annoying, but often reversible. You just need to learn how to stretch clothes using stuff you have at home.
Baking Soda + Vinegar
While baking soda and white vinegar can naturally soften your laundry on their own, they can also be combined to form a super effective and super simple fabric softener!
Salt water is an age old method of softening clothes, making that old t-shirt fabric feel like you just bought it from the store. Add 2 cups (480 ml) of salt to a large pot of warm water and stir to dissolve. Add your garments or laundry to the salt mixture before running it through the wash cycle as usual.
Add 1 cup (200 g) of baking soda to a bowl and pour in 7 cups (1.7 liters) of white vinegar. Stir the mixture well until completely combined. Add 1/3 cup (80 ml) of the mixture to the fabric softener dispenser of the washing machine or add it during the wash cycle to soften clothes.
Aluminum foil will also fail to soften the clothes like a dryer sheet would. Some people prefer to add vinegar to the rinse cycle in the washing machine as a fabric softener. Aluminum foil will also make your otherwise low-hum dry cycle noisy.
If you need to resurrect items from your wardrobe that have become dull and faded, here's her pro tip: "Soak [your clothing] overnight in a vinegar and water solution. Then wash using half to a full cup of vinegar in the rinse cycle," she says. This should be especially helpful from fulling darker colors.
Vinegar is actually just as good as fabric softener at making your clothes nice and soft. Unlike fabric softener, vinegar does not have harsh chemicals or leave a residue.
These two common household materials can serve as natural cleaners to remove grime and keep your surfaces clean. Because vinegar and baking soda are on opposite ends of the pH scale, they can be combined and used as effective cleaning solutions.