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!
Do you have to use suave conditioner? or can you use another kind? My mother gave my a big bottle of herbal essence conditioner which I LOVE the smell of and would like to use that instead.
i used suave cause i got it on clearance for 33 cents but i don’t see where you couldn’t use any name brand this stuff is great and if you get your conditioner free or cheap it is very reasonably priced my next step is to try it with the sponge in the dryer and see how that works
it says in the comments that U can use any kind!!!!
Suzanne, Yes you can put the vinegar in the same dispenser area. I have been doing that for months. It works great. A couple years ago, I also had a repairman tell me never to use any laundry products with Oxi ingredients. He said it literally will eat the metal. The metal base that my washer tub sat on was literally disintegrating under the tub area.
Now THAT makes sense to me. My washer was under warranty and I had used Oxy products at intervals over the last year or so. Washer had other problems and in addition, they had to replace the base mechanism of the tub d/t the metal was disintegrating. The repair guy asked me about Oxy products, which I wasn’t using at the time. Interesting…
Hi Aurelia ~ yes… you’ll still be able to smell the vinegar when you use it, but the scent will vanish in the wash. 😉
~ Heidi
Hi, I made the fabric softener and I am finding that it has a vinegary smell to that. Is this the normal smell or is it just my super sensitive pregnant nose picking out the vinegar???? I’m not smelling it on the clothes after they are washed and dried just when I open the bottle.
Remember to shake or stir before each use!
My tweaked Fabric Softner recipie. My son complained that his towels smelled like vingar when he got them we so.
6 cups hot water
1 cup baking soda
6 cups vinegar
2 cups suave
I always use a 5 gallon bucket
1 cup bakind soda and 1 cup hot water. you dont have to mix because the next step will.
slowly add 6 cups vinegar. It will bubble and foam. Allow this for a few minutes to get the baking soda to dissolve. next add the other 5 cups hot water and 2 cups suave conditioner. Stir stir stir. I use 1/2 to 1 whole cup in rinse cycle. Also, for a fab sheet dip a white wash cloth in the liquid and ring out. toss in the dryer. Now prior to all this home made laundry stuff, I purcased a mister steamy. I liked it well enough but if you add 4 oz liquid fab soft you made instead of water, you can skip th wash cloth and have clean, great smelling wrinkle free clothing! Good luck and happy laundering.
What does the baking soda do? I’ve used this softner for awhile, and don’t smell vinegar once the clothes are washed.
Bakin Soda neutralizes odors.
To the women who has a HE washer I just had a repairman here to fixa problem I had with my washer he seen my bottle
of oxi clean and told me to stop using it it damages the motor.Just thought I let you know
How does it damage the motor? Think about that for just a minute. The water from the washer can’t touch the motor.
The motor runs a belt or chain that agitates the drum that holds the water, clothing and soap. Some people like to make us think they know what they are talking about. Do a little research on your personal machine and see if I am right.
Well a friend of mine had the same problem and her repairman told her the same thing. I prefer to listen to the repair people who sees these problems everyday. Rather be safe than sorry and end of with repairs that i may have caused my self.
That’s absolutely absurd that Oxiclean would damage the motor. Free will and all that but it’s a load of rubbish. (my husband is an engineer- I asked him and he laughed.)
@Tish I had a repair man come to my house to see why my washer keeps putting holes in my clothes. He said that I was stuffing it too full, which is funny since in the manual it says that you can stuff it as long as the door will shut. My fiance’s mom has the same washer and she stuffs hers too and hers is fine…I think a good majority of the repair men don’t know what they are talking about half the time, but that’s just my opinion.
My HE machine has instructions about how to use OXY.
What R they????Kathy
Lori did you ever find out why you were getting holes in your clothes? My daughter is starting to notice the same thing happening.
Lori – Did you figure out what is causing the holes? I am having this problem and wondered if it was the homemade laundry detergent or fabric softener since this never happened until I started making my own laundry supplies.
As I understand it:
For maximum efficiency:
Top loading washers should not be stuffed full.
Front loaders may be filled up.
My friend’s front load HE machine just went kaput for that same reason. They can’t handle the amount of suds produced by the regular detergents.
Tip: which I am sure u all know. I use equal parts dish detergent and combine with equal parts ++ of borax. Actually I add a bunch more borax. I was told to use 2 Tablespoons, but one is perfect for a full load (for me anyhow) Saves a ton of money and lasts a very long time. Store in airtight container. 🙂
I’m assuming that this recipe with the dish soap is for laundry detergent not fabric softener, right? (since the post is for fabric softener). So, do you mean powdered dish soap? I had never heard of that before. Has anyone else tried this? What kind do you use?
For those of you who use straight vinegar, you say you add it to the rinse cycle. I have a machine that has a place to add fabric softener. Can I add the vinegar there, or do I have to try and catch the rinse cycle?
I just put the straight vinegar in my softener dispenser of my HE machine. But I am going to try this softener for the scent.
I also have a place to add fabric softener. Just put it in there. 1/4 cup of white vineger is more than enough.
I dilute my fabric softner with vinegar 1/2 and 1/2. I buy the large bottles when on sale and have a coupon to get better savings. I usually get 3-4 bottles out of it.
I have a high efficiency washing machine and I do not use the “specially formulated” HE products. I simply use considerably less detergent, and Oxi-Clean. I use the homemade detergent and haven’t had any issues with washer performance or clothes not getting clean. I have soft water so that is another reason that I use any laundry products sparingly. PS I love this site, thanks!!