Today, Kristi of Life Soap Simple joins us once again to complete her series of tutorials on natural laundry care. Last week, Kristi showed us how to make natural laundry soap. Today she'll be showing us how to make scented fabric softener and dryer sheets that will help to reduce static cling, promote fabric softness, and impart a refreshing aroma into your laundry.
Natural Laundry Care Tutorial, Part 2: Scented Fabric Softener and Dryer Sheets
Making your own fabric softener and dryer sheets is made easy and cost effective by using ingredients and materials readily found in most households. If you like a light scent on your clean laundry, you can coordinate the scents of your laundry powder, fabric softener, and dryer sheets.
Fabric Softener
Equipment
- Measuring cup
- Measuring spoon
- Permanent marker
Ingredients
- 32 ounces Distilled White Vinegar*
- 1-2 teaspoons Essential oil*
Making the Softener
Add your essential oil to the vinegar container and shake well to incorporate. Label your container to let others in your household know that it contains essential oils and is NOT for culinary purposes.
Using the Softener
The vinegar mixture should be diluted with water before being used in your laundry. For regular sizes loads, combine 1/4 cup of vinegar mixture with 3/4 cups of water. For large loads, use 1/2 cup of vinegar mixture and 1/2 cup of water. Add the diluted mixture to the fabric softener dispenser at the beginning of the wash cycle. If you do not have a dispenser, add the softener at the beginning of the rinse cycle.
This will leave a faint essential oil scent but you will not smell vinegar on the rinsed and dried clothing. The vinegar helps soften your clothing, and aids in reduction of static in the dryer phase. This softener also works well with air dried or line dried clothing.
*Never use vinegar on Dry-Clean ONLY garments.
*Use recommended precautions when using essential oils.
Scented Dryer Sheets
Equipment
- Used 100% Cotton T-shirt
- Ruler
- Scissors
- Small airtight container with lid
Ingredients
- 3-5 drops Essential oil*
Making the Sheets
Measure and cut 4" x 4" squares from your cotton t-shirt. One shirt will make quite a few sheets, so you can have a stack ready to go, or give away the extras as gifts. Place 3 – 5 drops of your selected essential oil on each square. Do not use more than 5 drops per square, as too much essential oil can leave stains on your clothing or make you sick. To preserve the aroma of your dryer sheets, store them in an airtight container between uses.
*Use recommended precautions when working with essential oils.
Using the Sheets
Place one sheet in the dryer along with wet garments and dry as usual. These dryer sheets can be used twice before they need to be refreshed. To do so, simply toss them into your washing machine to launder, than add fresh essential oil.
Thank you, Kristi, for sharing your awesome tutorials with us! I for one cannot wait to get started on my natural laundry routine. I think I'll use a combination of Mandarin and Basil to scent my first batch of soap and softeners. What scents will you use to fragrance your laundry supplies? Please let us know in the comments below. For more great tutorials and luscious soap photos, check out Kristi's blog!
I really want to try this! As someone on a budget and also trying to live a more wasteless lifestyle I tend to not buy dryer sheets. I’ve been missing them but have gotten use to not using them. I do miss that lovely extra scent that landry tends to have with dryer sheets. I think I’ll try a lavender or lemongrass scent! 🙂
Im glad that you found this article to be helpful, and I cant wait to here how you like making and using these homemade dryer sheets. Please let us know how it goes for you. Lemongrass is a great choice of scents, by the way. Its definitely on my list to try out.
I love these natural cleaning tutorials 🙂
Im glad you enjoyed this article, Cathy! Do you have any other favorite natural cleaning posts on the web?
does the essential oils stain ur clothes?
This may be a dumb question, but where can I buy essential oils?
Hi Marilyn.
Essential Oils could stain your clothes if they are used in too high a dose, but in this recipe the small amount used should be safe. However, for particularly delicate garments, hand washing is always best.
Hi Vanessa. We offer a wide selection of Essential Oils at http://www.FromNatureWithLove.com. You can find everything you need for this project on our web site, plus hundreds of other cool, DIY bath body ingredients. Use discount code NBWS4277 to take 7% off your order!
thanks for the info bout the oils am gonna try it. have u tried this recipe?
Hi Marilyn,
Youre welcome! Glad to be of help. Yes, I like this recipe a lot. Its a simple addition to my laundry routine that I have used many times.
What kind of essential oils can I get do they have the oils @ like walmart or mijer ???? I’m really hooked on snuggles fabric softner and just resent just started making myown laundry soapcan u help
Hi Shawnice. Essential Oils arent generally available at most department stores. I dont think that youd find any at Walmart or Mijer. You may be able to find some locally at a health food store. We recommend that you purchase your Essential Oils from www.FromNatureWithLove.com, our main web site. Use discount code NBWS4277 to save 7% on your online order.
I love vinegar in my wash! And adding oils just makes it better, I went with a citrus mint using peppermint, spearmint, sweet orage, pink grapefruit, and a tiny bit of dill weed!