I have known for a long time that vinegar is a natural liquid fabric softener. The only reason I never made the switch was because I was in love with the fragrances of store bought. I have been wanting to switch, though, in the effort to continue to cut unneccesary chemical usage out of my home, as well as for the purposes of cutting costs. I finally found a pleasing solution to that problem.
It is really quite simple, and I can't believe I never thought of it before! Basically what I did was to take a large jug of vinegar, and add 1 to 2 teaspoons of a fragrant essential oil. Before each use, I shake the jug, just to make sure it is all mixed up well. And for ease of use, I use a Downy liquid fabric softener ball to dispense my homemade fabric softener during the wash cycle. It has been working quite well for us so far, and right now my fabric softener is lavender scented. I won't be buying any more of the store bought liquid fabric softeners, although I will be buying some new scents of essential oils to experiment with :) While essential oils can seem expensive, since a little bit goes a long ways, they really do last for quite a while. For saving money on my essential oils, I order them from www.vitacost.com .
I have thought of using essential oils in laundry myself, but I didn't want to test it just in case it left oily stains on clothes. Are you noticing any kind of residue like that?
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Thanks LeslieNNC! I haven't had too many problems with that. If I don't go overboard with the essential oil in the vinegar, I really don't have that problem, and if I make sure to shake the bottle well before I use it, it cuts down on those problems even further. I did have a few issues (not many though) with that when I did use too much essential oil in there, but it was also easily fixable. A little bit of spray on stain remover on the spots and a rewash took the spots right out.
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