Non-Toxic DIY Fabric Softener
Have you taken a look at the label on the back of your fabric softener lately? Or were you distracted by that cute snuggly bear on the front of the bottle? He’s there for a reason you know. A whopping 83.33% of fabric softeners get a D or F rating from the Environmental Working Group (EWG)! Yikes!!! Fabric softeners actually coat our clothes with a layer of chemicals creating that “soft” feeling.
No, thank you! Not on my kiddos! So, I decided to dabble in some recipes to make my own and I came up with a non-toxic DIY Fabric Softener that we really love. You can make it with the scented (using essential oils) conditioner that I recommend, or you can use the non-scented conditioner that I also link to below and add in your own essential oils to make your own unique scent. I switch it up sometimes and use Purification Essential Oil or Stress Away Essential Oil (because Moms need all the help they can get!).
Non-Toxic DIY Fabric Softener
Ingredients:
- 2 cups water
- 1 cup distilled vinegar — like this
- 1/2 cup non-toxic conditioner (I prefer to use this conditioner or the Lavender Mint from Young Living, they are both great non-toxic conditioners)
- Essential Oils of your choice — I add in essential oils if I use a non-scented conditioner.
Directions:
- Combine all ingredients into a large glass jar
- Put on a plastic lid (plastic is important because the vinegar will rust a metal lid)
- Shake
- Use as you would your regular fabric softener, during the rinse cycle
- Smile and know that you are not coating yourself and your family in toxic chemicals just to have soft clothes 🙂
User tip: If you want your clothes even softer, then add wool dryer balls to the dryer with your laundry. We do this and it’s awesome! I add some essential oils directly onto the balls, too, for an extra oomph of scent. You can even make your own dryer balls following this DIY how-to.
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Hi, my name is Kate.
I love food. Real food. We eat all of the things that nursing school taught me were bad for you: butter, eggs, bacon, and raw milk.
I am a Nurse, a Mom, and a Real Food loving blogger. Just trying to save the world.
I made this fabric softener today, and have completed a few loads of laundry. Wow! My clothes smell amazing, and are so much softer than using plain vinegar.
I used Young Living’s Copaiba Vanilla conditioner – Thanks so much for sharing such a great recipe!
Glad you liked it Nora, I bet the Copiaba Vanilla conditioner does smell amazing in this recipe!
How much of the DIY fabric softener do you use per load of laundry?
Usually about 1-2 Tbsp
What type of conditioner are you using?
Like a hair conditioner?
Can you post a link on how to make your own dryer balls the one on this post can no longer be reached. Thank You
Sure, here’s a link: https://www.oilyrockstars.com/2016/01/diy-wool-dryer-balls.html. Thanks for the heads up, I will fix the link 🙂
How many drops of essential oils would you use for this amount of softener?
maybe 15-20 drops, depends on which one you are using
Where did you get the jar with the plastic lid?
I buy the lids here: https://amzn.to/2YJwo02. They have wide mouth and regular mouth
What is the sauce pan for?
measurement, it’s a measuring cup.
I read that vinegar will break down elastic in clothes. Do you know if this is true
I have not heard that before, but it is acidic