This Homemade Fabric Softener with Vinegar and Hair Conditioner Recipe is about as easy as can be! You won’t believe how much money you’ll save at the grocery store!
Homemade Fabric Softener With Vinegar
You may already be making Homemade Liquid Laundry Detergent and other DIY Cleaners… but if you’ve been wanting to cut costs on Fabric Softener, you’re going to LOVE this Homemade Fabric Softener with Vinegar and Hair Conditioner!
Becky writes: "Made it, used it, LOVED it, made it again! The vinegar smell goes away once the clothes are dried. Love saving money, and love that our clothes don’t have an overpowering smell to them."
Have you been swapping any of your conventional cleaners for homemade cleaners?
Homemade cleaners save SO much money, and you know exactly what ingredients are going into them!
Now I’ve been making this DIY Fabric Softener for years, and can’t believe how much money it saves! It works SO well, too!
And if you’re wondering how to get the stink out of towels, THIS fabric softener is the perfect trick!
The vinegar infuses the towels when washing, and tackles that mildew smell.
I know what you’re thinking… but vinegar smells! Just trust me… you won’t smell the vinegar at all once they’re done.
So are you ready to save some serious money by making your own Homemade Fabric Softener?
Let’s get started…
Related: How to Score Walmart Deals (20 Secret Tips)
Can You Use Vinegar as a Fabric Softener in Laundry?
Yep… you sure can! It works great on clothing, towels and bedding. Plus, this natural fabric softener will save you so much money, too!
Homemade Fabric Softener Ingredients
- 6 cups HOT water
- 3 cups White Vinegar
- 1.5 cups Hair Conditioner (my favorite is Trader Joe’s Tea Tree Tingle, but you could also try your favorite scent of Suave)
How To Make Fabric Softener with Vinegar and Conditioner
You won’t believe how simple it is to make your own homemade fabric softener!
Here’s what you’ll do…
Mix conditioner & hot water well, until conditioner is dissolved completely. A whisk works well to get the job done.
Add the vinegar, and mix well.
Store in a large container (empty fabric softener container, empty large vinegar bottle, etc.)
Just remember to NEVER use vinegar and bleach together.
When running non-bleach loads, use 1 – 2 tbsp. per load in the fabric softener spot in your laundry machine, then wash as normal!
If washing towels, wash on warm or hot water and make sure to dry completely to keep the stink away.
Give it a try this week, for another easy homemade cleaner swap!
Thanks to frugal friend Holly for sharing this great Homemade Fabric Softener With Vinegar recipe on The Frugal Girls Facebook page!
More Ways to Save Money on Laundry
Cindy writes: “My tip is fabulous… here it goes:
- Buy a small travel spray bottle
- Fill it with liquid fabric softener
- Load your machine
- Grab a clean hankie
- Throw it in the dryer
- Spray it with the softener
- Run the machine
- You now have your own fabric sheets. Reuse til the hankie is in pieces. I have yet to replace mine. Saves me tons of money.”
How to Dry Clothes Inside
This DIY Laundry Drying Rod for Small Spaces is the perfect solution to dry your clothes inside… without taking up any extra space. It’s the perfect solution for small spaces!
Our current home is tiny… so I kept looking for different spots to hang dry my laundry. Then one day it occurred to me… the bathroom was the perfect place!
This works great in our guest bathroom, because that shower is rarely used… and when guests come, I just take it all down and hide it!
What You’ll Need to Dry Clothes Inside
- Tension Shower Rod
- Plastic Hangers
What You’ll Do
- Simply hang an extra shower curtain rod along the top of your bath tub/shower area… and you’ve instantly got a hidden indoor spot to do some drying!
- After you wash your clothes, hang them on plastic hangers on your rod, and it won’t matter if anything is dripping, either, thanks to the drain below!
- Then, just close the curtain, and it’s outta sight!
Sean writes: “This is so brilliant! When I use my shower rod it goes all over the floor! I never, ever occurred to me to put a rod in the shower itself.”
Pearl writes: “I have been hanging hand washed sweaters over an extra shower bar for years. Love the fact that I don’t have to worry if I wring them out enough or not they drip right into the tub. I also put a folding clothes drying rack in the tub sometime to if I am concerned about hanger marks on the shoulders.”
Now… check out how to How to Keep your Washing Machine Smelling Fresh!
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So have you tried this Homemade Fabric Softener With Vinegar yet??
Please leave a comment and share!
I have used this, and it worked very well.
Made it, used it, LOVED it, made it again! The vinegar smell goes away once the clothes are dried. Love saving money, and love that our clothes don’t have an overpowering smell to them.
I just made my second batch of this today, and love it! I will never go back to the expensive, store-bought fabric softeners! It works great in my HE washer, along with my homemade powder laundry detergent. 🙂
Regarding the musty smell in the frontloaders, if you leave your washer door ajar just a bit after using it, you will not get that smell. It is due to trapping the moisture in the washer and it turning to mold. Beats paying for the “washer cleaner” tablets. They are not cheap.
I am loving your site and all these homemade things I can make for my home!
Thanks so much for sharing this wonderful recipe for creating my own fabric softener.
Have been using your DIY clothes detergent for months and LOVE it! Made DIY fabric softener by your directions but the softener was much thicker than Downy. Is that normal? I added a little more water in the dispensing cup in my top-loader because I was afraid it would clog my machine up. Any one else have experience with this problem?
You ladies with the front load washers if you let the door stand open between laundrys you will not have that awful odor, the washers are so tight and they need to be able to dry out. Hope this helps! joe
I made the softener mix just over a month ago and we love it. The only thing is it is now SUPER thick. At first when we were using it, the mixture was still thin and poured out very easily. Now, it’s so thick it’s hard to pour out. Any ideas why this happened, or how to prevent it from happening again? I used the exact recipe listed above.
Also, if you use dryer sheets, more so the brand name ones, you can cut a sheet in half and now you get double the dryer sheets for your money. Just saw that tip recently. Just tried the homemade fabric softener with conditioner that I no longer use. Can’t wait to see the results.
Btw, I used the Suave Juicy Green Apple scent. If I end up liking this for fabric softener, I have a bottle of Suave Shea Butter conditioner that I will use next. Hope it works.
I love all the recipes for laundry soap and softener! can’t wait to try them. Thanks for all the tips and input everyone!