Inside: Want soft clothes without all the gross chemicals? Try this AMAZING homemade lavender and vinegar fabric softener. This homemade fabric softener works great!
A few years ago I started using a homemade fabric softener. It smelled great and looked just like the fabric softeners you buy in the store. It worked really well too. As time went on I got sort of grossed out by using it though. It used a hair conditioner that smelled great but was full of ingredients I didn't even know how to pronounce. Our clothes get really bad static in winter and I usually like to use a liquid softener along with my dryer balls.
After searching around for a while I finally found a solution that I love. Plain old white distilled vinegar works great as a natural fabric softener. Vinegar softens clothes by removing any soap residue and removes any of the minerals in hard water. Because of this, it will leave your clothes feeling soft and fluffy like you used the store-bought fabric softeners.
I added some essential oils to make a homemade lavender and vinegar fabric softener. If you don't care for the smell of lavender you could easily add another essential oil instead. This softener works and smells great! If you have been looking for a more natural solution to keep the static down in clothes check out this homemade vinegar fabric softener.
The lavender and vinegar fabric softener is crazy easy to make! You will want to start with about 4 cups of white distilled vinegar and a bottle to store it in. I just picked up one of these cheap flip top bottles at Meijer. You can get them for around $3 at Meijer. Then add the 4 cups of vinegar to the flip top bottle. Finally, add about 10 drops of lavender essential oil (or essential oil of your choice) to the bottle.
That's all you need to do to make the lavender and vinegar fabric softener! Before you use each time give the bottle a good shake. Then add about 1/4-1/2 cup of the fabric softener to your fabric softener dispenser. Your clothes will come out smelling great and feel so soft! It's easy, natural, and only takes minutes to make up a batch.
Homemade Lavender and Vinegar Fabric Softener
glass bottle
4 cups white distilled vinegar
10 drops lavender essential oil (or essential oil of your choice)
Start with 4 cups of vinegar and pour into the flip top bottle. Add about 10 drops of lavender essential oil or essential oil scent of your choice to the bottle. Shake the bottle well before each use. Add about 1/4-1/2 cup of vinegar fabric softener to fabric softener dispenser for each load. Clothes will come out soft and be smelling great!
Tonya Thrash says
Does it need to be stored in a glass bottle?
Julie says
Hi Tonya, no it doesn't need to be stored in a glass bottle but I would be careful what kind of container you are using. If you are reusing an old container make sure that bleach or hydrogen peroxide wasn't previously stored in it. Vinegar can react with either bleach or hydrogen peroxide causing bad gases or even chemical burns.
Jhc says
So many of these recipes for home made products suggest purchasing containers. Why not just reuse and relabel empty spray bottles, plastic jugs, etc that you would normally recycle??
Julie says
I always like to recommend a new bottle because I never know what would have been in other peoples old bottles. In this case, vinegar can react with bleach or hydrogen peroxide and cause gases or chemical burns. As long as you are careful with what bottles you are putting them in then go for reusing or recycling your containers.
Jen B says
I just tried this idea with a load of towels, but I didn't add the essential oil because I was too lazy to dig it out. (I don't like to use regular fabric softener with towels because it can make them less absorbent.) Worked great! I will do this again and try it with the oil next time. Thanks!
Julie says
You are welcome!
Julie says
We have a fragrance allergy in our house so we try to keep things fragrance-free. If I just used vinegar with no essential oils, would my clothes come out smelling like vinegar??
Julie says
You can use just vinegar and they should still come out smelling fresh and clean. Sometimes they smell like just a hint of vinegar before they dry but once the clothes dry I have never noticed it.
Julie says
Great, thanks! I'll give it a shot, especially now that winter is coming and clothes are feeling stiffer.
Sharon says
I was a little confused by you saying you purchased the flip top bottles and then you said to store it in a glass container. I looked up the flip top bottles and the biggest they had was 4 oz. So do you keep filling the flip top bottle, just doesn't seem to make sense to me.
Julie says
The bottle in the link should be 33 3/4 ounces, not 4 ounces. I hope that helps.
Katie says
Hi. I tried out the recipe and didn't notice a lavender smell on my sheets after they were dried. I wonder if the vinegar cancelled out the smell of the oils. I even used the brand you suggested. Any ideas?
Julie says
You can always try adding more essential oils in the vinegar if you want a stronger smell. I hope that helps.