Homemade Fabric Softener Tutorial

It seems a lot of people are feeling the pinch of the economy and looking for ways to save money.  I have been getting tons of emails about the homemade laundry soap tutorial I did a while back.  Several people have asked me about fabric softener, so I thought I would share a couple of my favorite homemade alternatives.

Liquid Fabric Softener

The easiest alternative is to buy yourself a gallon of vinegar and then add 10-20 drops of your favorite essential oils.  DO NOT use fagrance oils as they may contain artificial colors or scents that could damage your clothes!  I personally like lavender, peppermint or eucalyptus.  You can put this in your fabric softener ball and it does not leave a residue on your machine.

Fresh Lemon Fabric Softener

You will need 2 C. water, 5 C. white vinegar, 1 C. baking soda, 20 drops lemon essential oil

 

Mix vinegar and water in 1/2 gallon jar, THEN slowly add the baking soda.  DO NOT try and add the vinegar to the baking soda or you end up with this:

Finally, add your lemon essential oil.  You use 1/2 – 1 C. per load of laundry.  Again, I like to stick it in the fabric softener ball.

Dryer Sheets

The simplest method: Use a clean cloth place 2-3 drops of essential oil on the cloth and toss in the dryer.   Refresh with a drop or two of oil between loads.  Wash cloth after every few loads.  This adds a nice fragrance and does not ruin your dryer like the store bought sheets.

Some combos to try:

cedarwood and patchouli or sandlewood for a masculine scent

orange oil and geranium  for a floral scent

peppermint and eucalyptus for when you have a cold

orange, lemon and grapefruit for a fruity scent

 

Another option is to mix: 1 C. water (distilled or filtered is best), 1/2 C. alcohol (I use isopropyl or vodka) and 20 drops of your favorite essential combo.  Place the wet clothes in the dryer and spritz 4-5 times with softener mix and dry as usual.  This leaves a nice scent on your clothes without being over-powering.

 

Happy Laundry!

Homemade Laundry Soap Tutorial

Well, I didn’t get to the Big Cook-part 2 today, but don’t despair, I will get to it tomorrow and hopefully be able to even post some pictures.  But, I did get to making some homemade laundry soap and thought I would share my method with you.  I have calculated my cost for this laundry detergent and it is less than 1 cent per load! (that is based on what I paid for my ingredients, your cost may be slightly higher or lower!)

You only need 4 ingredients to make homemade laundry soap.

1. 1/3 bar of soap (I prefer fels-naptha, but I know others have had success with ivory, dreft and even dollar store soap, so choose something you like the scent of that doesn’t bother your skin) (cost. approx. 33 cents)

2. Borax-1/2 Cup (this is available at just about any department or grocery store in the detergent aisle)(cost. approx. 7 cents per 1/2 cup)

3. Washing Soda-1/2 Cup (this is a little harder to find, but check your local grocery-again in the detergent aisle) (cost. approx. 10 cents per 1/2 cup)

4. Water -1 gallon (plain ole tap water is just fine–I would avoid pond water, smelly lake water, etc… :0) (cost. approx 5 cents per gallon using tap water)

 Total cost:  Approx. 55 cents per gallon.  64 loads per gallon.  

Step 1:

Grate 1/3 bar of soap.  I like to use the fine side of a hand grater.  You don’t want powder, just small shreds.

Step 2:

Dissolve soap shreds into 1 qt. warm water over low heat.  Stir until completely dissolved.

Step 3:

Add 1/2 cup EACH of borax and washing soda.  Continue stirring over low heat until powders are dissolved and mixture becomes thickened (only take a couple of minutes) –sorta like a soft-set pudding.  Don’t worry if it doesn’t thicken up too much, it still is effective. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Step 4:

Pour thickened mixture into 3 quarts of cool (not cold)water in a bucket.  Stir thoroughly.  This will fairly quickly become a giant mass of jelly like substance.  You can stir as it cools for a few minutes to thoroughly mix the gel.

That’s it- you have made homemade laundry soap!   You can store your soap in whatever you find convenient.  I have a container with a pour spout that works fairly well-every once in a while I get a thick spot that is hard to get out.  A Bucket works well, especially if you have a loose fitting lid to keep stuff from falling into the bucket.  Also, you could reuse a laundry detergent container you already have.

To use the detergent you only need to add 1/4 C. to each load.  Your laundry will come out clean and fresh smelling!  The bonus to this detergent is that I have been able to virtually eliminate the need for fabric softener.  Occasionally in the winter I find the need for some fabric softener and I have a homemade solution for that too (maybe another tutorial??).

This laundry detergent does NOT produce a lot of suds and is safe to use in the new HE washers and front loaders!  It does not look like it is doing much, but it really does work.

If you feel your soap is too thick and gloppy, you can add an extra gallon of water when you are mixing it up and then use 1/2 cup per load.  You might have to let it sit overnight to really set up if you use this much water.

If you are having trouble finding any of the ingredients they can all be found at Soaps Gone Buy, but of course this will increase your cost some.

Please feel free to post a comment if you have any questions, the comments are moderated, but I usually get to them within a day or so.