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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We love using this DIY carpet powder on the carpets, what an effective and frugal way to make carpets smell fresh!
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So have you tried this Homemade Fabric Softener With Vinegar yet??
Please leave a comment and share!
This is the homemade fabric softner
that I make…
2 cups of favorite fabric softner
2 cups white vinegar
2 cups water
Put in an empty fabric softner bottle and shake until
well mixed…I have a front load washer and It works
perfectly..I just use the bottle cap to measure out
what I would normally use of the regular fabric softner…
I have never tried it with conditioner, but may give it a try…
Cheryl, does using the fabric softener instead of conditioner leave a “fresh,clean” smell on your clothes? I love the homemade fabric softener using the conditioner but there is no “fresh” smell on my clothes and I really prefer that smell. Thanks! 😉
you can buy soap scents at hobby lobby or micheal’s that will scent the fabric softener. their website usually has a 40% off coupon as well. this scent contains no soap. i use just about maybe a 1/2 tsp. or less for 1 gal vinegar. it smells weird at first, but when the vinegar is gone, it leaves a nice scent. i do want to try the conditioner recipe, and i think after hearing some comments, i will still put in some fragrance.
How do you make homemade laundrysoap for he machines? Me and my mmom would like to know. This fabric softener sounds like a great idea but we want to know how to make the soap as well. Ifsomeone could.please send me the intsructions I would be ver greatful and so would my mom. Thankyou so much I’m.I. love with this.site
Static is caused by over drying the clothing. If you have static problems keep a spray bottle handy with just a touch of conditioner or fabric softener in a full bottle of water spray a bit on your clothing or chair, car seat where ever it is a problem. I worked 14 years in a laundry and we dealt with it all the time. This worked for us! I still use this method in my home now. I keep a small spray bottle in the car too… I don’t like the winter time and cloth seats… I get zapped all the time while getting out of the car. Spray the seats now and then really helps with this issue.
Love this site~… thanks!
I use vinegar as my fabric softener as well. I use separate detergents for myself, husband and 2 of my kids then I use another detergent for my daughter. She has 60% burns on her body due to a fire.
So, I would like to also know about flame retardant. I still use regular fabric softener, but I use 1/2 lid full plus 1 full lid to dilute it hoping it will help w/ the flame retardant. Of course I have no clue if it does or not. I used to use a TON of fabric softener, but not anymore after seeing just how quickly her clothing went up in flames.
I also take a regular size spray bottle and fill it with 1/3 fabric softener and 2/3 hot water. I use about 4 sprays before putting wet laundry in it to cut down on static and I use 1 dryer sheet. It’s very dry here and gets very static-y.
***1 full lid of water***
Oh and I can not tell you the last time I had to purchase fabric softener. It lasts FOREVER this way.
I quit using fabric softener years ago because something in it (chemicals?!) removed the flame retardant on my children’s pjs, etc. Would this be a safe alternative? I already make my own laundry soap, dishwasher detergent and would be super excited if I could have fabric softener again 🙂
How do you make your own dishwasher soap? I would be very interested on how to make it and how it works. thanks
Here is the recipe I use 🙂
Homemade Dishwasher Detergent
1 cup washing soda
1 cup borax
2 packages unsweetened lemonade mix
Mix all together and keep in an airtight container. Use 2 tsp in the main detergent hopper and 2 tsp in the pre-wash detergent hopper.
I just made this and can not wait to try it! Thanks for the recipe!
I tried the homemade dishwasher detergent and it left a TERRIBLE film on my dishes… my recipe also had the same 3 ingredients and also epsom salt
Splash a cup of white vinegar in the bottom of the dishwasher and add 1 or 2 DROPS of dishwashing liquid to one of the hoppers.
Do you have do it yourself ingredients for wrinkle releaser?
Wrinkle remover is just water and fabric softener! Fill spray bottle almost full with water then add fabric softener. I never measure, but 4 cups water with 2-3 tablespoons fabric softener! I love it!
I love this recipe and I have used this one and several similar from other sources. Here is my problem, we live in rural Virginia the gnats LOVE vinegar. I couldn’t figure out why I was covered each time I went out the last few buggy days. So I need to find an alternative to the vinegar. Anyone have a suggestion for me?
THANKS and Merry Christmas!
how long will the fabric softener stay good for?
Hi Frugal Girls! Great site with so many amazing tips! I love the light smell and softness my clothes get from this fabric softener, and of course saving money is always great too! However, I still get quite a bit of static from my clothes. Is there a way to eliminate this w/out resorting to dryer sheets (my son has seriously sensitive skin)? I put the solution just in in the wash using the downey ball – static, I tried combining this with also spraying some solution on a wash cloth (15 spritzes) to toss in the dryer – static, I tried spraying the solution (around 10 spritzes) directly onto the clothes in the dryer – static. Should I saturate a wash cloth or sponge and toss that in? Perhaps I’m using too much detergent? Would a homemade detergent result in less static cling? I have all the ingredients for homemade detergent, I’m just waiting until the rest of my store-bought stuff is gone. Thanks for sharing! This stuff is so great!
try not over drying. i look for my clothes to get dry, but still barely damp. i have not had a issue with moldy or musty smells. it definitely cuts down on static. if i accidentally leave a load too long. i can usually just dampen a hand towel and dry for about 10 mins on low and the wrinkles and static are gone!! Tennis balls in the dryer help too.
Most store bought fabric softeners have carcinogens in them, so this is a great alternative! I usually just use vinegar, but this will be great to add the nice smell that I sometimes miss from fabric softener.