Make your own all-natural fabric softener with ingredients you already have at home
Fabric softeners are products known for making clothes feel pleasantly soft, fragrant and easier to iron, but unfortunately they are also a chemical detergents that can be harmful to both your health and the environment. It is therefore good to know that there are all-natural alternatives that you can use to make a homemade, eco-friendly fabric softener.
How to make an all-natural fabric softener
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Baking soda is an excellent cleaning product and can also be used to make an effective DIY fabric softener. All you need to do is put half a cup of baking soda directly into the washing machine's drum before starting a wash cycle.
You can also make your own fabric softener by mixing baking soda and salt together. Mix a few cups of both ingredients together, add a few drops of lavender or citrus essential oil for a pleasant scent, and put two or three spoonfulls of this mixture in the drum before starting the rinse cycle.
White vinegar is another natural ingredient which is ideal for preparing a homemade softener thanks to its disinfectant, anti-odor and anti-limescale properties. However, it is important to use vinegar in moderation to avoid damaging the metal parts of the washing machine.
Mix a liter of white wine vinegar with a few drops of essential oil of your choice and use this mixture in the fabric softener dispenser tray.
Citric acid (which you can buy in herbalist's shops or online) is also an excellent ingredient to use as a natural softener thanks to its anti-limescale properties and its ability to soften water. Dissolve 150 grams of citric acid in 1 liter of demineralized water, add some essential oil and pour approximately 100 ml of this mixture into the fabric softener dispenser tray for every 4-5 kgs of laundry.
Finally, soap nuts, from the dried fruit of the Sapindus Mukorossi plant, are another excellent natural alternative to synthetic fabric softeners. These nuts release saponins molecules when they come into contact with hot water and these molecules are have excellent cleansing, antibacterial and disinfectant properties.
Place the nuts in a cotton bag and place them in the washing machine's drum together with the dirty laundry. Addtionally, these nuts can also be used for multiple washes. Set the wash at 40 degrees C or higher and, if you want a stronger scent, you can add a few drops of an essential oil to the bag.
Opting for all-natural, homemade fabric softeners is beneficial for you health and for the environment. Ingredients such as baking soda, salt, white vinegar, citric acid and soap nuts offer effective and sustainable alternatives to traditional chemical fabric softeners.
