| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| BannBarr |
Posted - Apr 20 2009 : 4:33:39 PM
Anyone know of a Green alternative to Fabric Softeners? I read somewhere that plain vinegar works--does it? If so, how much do you need to add to the rinse cycle? |
| 25 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Missus Miranda |
Posted - Nov 14 2011 : 09:21:25 AM
quote:
Originally posted by coffeemom
This is the fabric softener I use all the time: 1 quart white vinegar, 1 cup dried lavender, 5 drops lavender essential oil. Put all ingredients in a container and let it "steep" for a week. Strain into a container you can easily pour from and use it! I put mine in a Downy Ball. Works great!
I may try this approach without the old man knowing! I bought detergent a while back, even though someone had given him a HUGE bottle of another brand, and he asked why. I told him that the kind I was buying was the only thing that didn't make me break out in hives. The only problems are 1) it isn't always available at my grocery store and 2) it's more expensive than most! We already use vinegar to clean the coffee pot, and anything we can do to save money and go back to basics works! 
Farmgirl 3535
Pflugerville, TX |
| Rosemary |
Posted - Oct 30 2011 : 4:45:22 PM
Suzanne, you might want to try more felted wool balls. I'm not sure just one would really do you much good. I use 6! |
| hummingbirdjoy |
Posted - Oct 30 2011 : 11:52:19 AM
Great idea to use the downy ball with vinegar. Always use vinegar
to clean my washer so that makes sense. Very much liked Michele's
tip freezing the orange, lemon and lime peels and later mixing with
the vinegar.
What I make with my
hands, I give with my heart .... |
| Tammyb |
Posted - Oct 29 2011 : 6:22:53 PM
I have been using plain old white vinegar for years with great results. Soft cloths, no static or smell. Just put it in the dispenser where the softner should go.
Tammyb
#541
Live to leave a legacy
|
| Rosemary |
Posted - Aug 22 2011 : 8:19:35 PM
Vinegar is great, but my new love is wool dryer balls. |
| thebyrdhaus |
Posted - Aug 21 2011 : 09:39:04 AM
I use vinegar and wool balls and they work great. I bought some 100% wool sweaters at a local thrift store, cut circles from them and wrapped them around a tennis ball. I stitched it all together will wool yarn and then threw them in a load of wash and felted them. They work great!They felted great and can hardly tell they have been stitched on. So much cheaper than buying wool yarn to make balls.
Patty #1840
A rind is a terrible thing to waste. Compost.
When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, “Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted.”
-Jesus in John 6:12 NIV Bible |
| birdie71 |
Posted - Jul 23 2011 : 08:12:01 AM
I use vinegar too! Works fantastic! Plus vinegar helps fabrics from bleeding or fading.
Robin
Farmgirl Sister #1301
Farming in the Sonoran Desert? Hmmm?!
my mama's (ceejay48) craftiness ~ www.cjscreations-ceejay.blogspot.com
my daddy's craftiness ~ www.aspenforge.com |
| Kimarie91 |
Posted - Jun 25 2011 : 05:55:46 AM
Wool balls seem to be working! YEAH! I finally tried the vinegar and it softened really nicely. My sons karate uniform that was pretty dirty came out nice and white too AND my washer spinner seems to be more shiny and white. So glad I found this thread. |
| Wildcrafter |
Posted - Jun 24 2011 : 8:15:18 PM
I'm going to try the vinegar in the washer with my felted ball in the dryer and see if that takes care of the static. Thanks for posting!
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| SusanScarlet |
Posted - Jun 24 2011 : 7:19:51 PM
I received my dryer balls and they are working great. I use vinegar in the fabric softener dispenser in my washer and then the dryer balls in my dryer. Even in dry, static-y West Texas, I'm not having static in my clothes. |
| herb19355 |
Posted - Jun 22 2011 : 12:48:22 PM
I also add vinegar, but one additional thing that I do ~ is to run my towels in the dryer for about 3 minutes... while I add the next load of clothes. For some reason, they do not get stiff on the line... I would also do the same to jeans, but my DH likes "them so stiff they will stand in the corner on their own!".
Debi
herb19355
GA Farmgirl #2515 |
| walkinwalkoutcattle |
Posted - Jun 22 2011 : 12:35:09 PM
I've done the tin foil ball before, but it wasn't super successful, for some reason, for me. I am a rep for a cloth diaper company that sells those wool balls, so if anyone needs any, I'd love to help.
Farmgirl #2879 :)
Starbucks and sushi to green fried tomatoes and corn pudding-I wouldn't change it for the world.
www.cattleandcupcakes.blogspot.com
|
| Primginger |
Posted - Jun 22 2011 : 05:29:22 AM
You also can try a tin foil ball, it does something to get rid of the static in the dryer, this is what I have been using for the past month, I just fluff the tin foil after each load and throw it back in. I also make my own detergent so I've saved a bunch of money this way, I decided against the homemade liquid detergent cause I think it's too glopy for me, so I do the dry powder.
Enjoying my little Homestead
www.heirloomhomestead.com |
| Kimarie91 |
Posted - Jun 13 2011 : 2:32:06 PM
I've heard about the vinegar so I'm ready to try that. I have never heard of the wool dryer balls so I checked that out this morning. So far I've got two wound and have wool for four more to get ready tonight. I can't wait to try this after the balls are felted! |
| Wildcrafter |
Posted - Jun 13 2011 : 11:47:08 AM
I have been using a felted tennis ball size ball that I made for over a week. Haven't seen any relief from static.
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Cedar Mountain Herb School and Botanicals
Become a fan! http:/https://www.facebook.com/pages/Cedar-Mountain-Herb-School/199194060117277
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| SusanScarlet |
Posted - Jun 08 2011 : 1:50:25 PM
I ordered felted wool dryer balls yesterday. I'm going to use them in the dryer along with my scented vinegar in the washer. I can't wait to give them a try. |
| batznthebelfry |
Posted - Jun 08 2011 : 11:48:29 AM
My neighbor friends family eat alot of oranges, lemons, limes in the spring & summer so she collects the peels & freezes them until she gets enough for a gallon jar then packs the jar with them & uses white vinegar over them to fill the jar & sets it in a sunny window for a few days until the vinegar smells like the peels...she then composts the peels so nothing is wasted...she uses this in her laundry & as a cleaner for floors & counter tops...I would do it but how can one person eat that many oranges???? so I just use plain vinegar.....:)....Michele'
Chickens rule!
The Old Batz Farm
Hen #2622 |
| henlady35904 |
Posted - Jun 04 2011 : 2:59:28 PM
Suzanne, I learned a long time ago, never to put fabric softener including those little sheets in your towels. It acts like a repellant and will not absorb. I too use a Downey ball with vinegar and no problems. I have some hard dryer balls with little prickley things I use when I can't dry on the line. |
| texdane |
Posted - Jun 04 2011 : 05:06:45 AM
I've been using vinegar for over a year and I love it. We have hard well-water, and it gets the whites whiter, too. I can't imagine it would hurt the enamel of a washer, unless you use an awful lot.
Nicole
Farmgirl Sister #1155
KNITTER, JAM-MAKER AND MOM EXTRAORDINAIRE
Chapter Leader, Connecticut Simpler Life Sisters
Suburban Farmgirl Blogger
http://sfgblog.maryjanesfarm.org/ |
| walkinwalkoutcattle |
Posted - Jun 04 2011 : 04:50:50 AM
I've heard about those wool balls. My dryer is getting up there in age, so it may be a good idea to help it in any way I can. LOL.
Farmgirl #2879 :)
Starbucks and sushi to green fried tomatoes and corn pudding-I wouldn't change it for the world.
www.cattleandcupcakes.blogspot.com
|
| Rosemary |
Posted - May 30 2011 : 11:32:17 AM
Y'all really might want to try felted wool dryer balls. I switched to them about a month ago and Ill never use anything else. They soften clothing without chemicals and you don't have to worry about catching the rinse cycle to put in vinegar (which was my previous method). You buy them once -- not cheap, but well worth it -- throw 'em in your dryer and leave them there for years. As an added benefit, they tend to help clothing dry faster, so you can save a little money that way, too. I got my dryer balls from a woman whose site (http://wooldryerballs.com/about) was recommended here on Farmgirl Connection in another thread. You can also make them yourself. That thread had instructions, IIRC. |
| FarmDream |
Posted - May 30 2011 : 06:05:24 AM
Lorraine,
You can't put the vinegar in with the laundry soap. The wash water drains before the rinse cycle starts. At least, in my experience it won't work.
I also don't have a downy ball but have grown accustomed to when my machine starts the rinse cycle. My ears are tuned in to "that" sound.
~FarmDream is Farmgirl Sister #3069
Live Today, Cherish Yesterday, Dream Tomorrow
http://naturaljulie.etsy.com
http://julie-rants.blogspot.com |
| walkinwalkoutcattle |
Posted - May 30 2011 : 03:52:08 AM
I have a downy ball, so I'll try that. I've got a softener dispenser as well but had NO idea that softener went in in the rinse cycle. You learn something new every day, I guess! :)
Farmgirl #2879 :)
Starbucks and sushi to green fried tomatoes and corn pudding-I wouldn't change it for the world.
www.cattleandcupcakes.blogspot.com
|
| Lorraine Michelle |
Posted - May 26 2011 : 10:11:03 PM
do you have to use the downey ball??? can i put the vinager in iwith the laundry soap?
LorraineMichelle
Farmgirl #3007
Chickens are like potato chips...
You can't have just one! |
| KathyC |
Posted - May 26 2011 : 10:27:35 AM
Megan,
I don't have an automatic dispenser and I have to watch the cycle to get it in there are the right time and yes sometimes I miss it. I have really long hair so the static really gets to me. I keep planning on setting the timer on the stove to remind me but I forget to do that too.
Someone, I think here at MJF, mentioned a ball of foil in the dryer would help also, so I keep a ball on the dryer and throw it in when I forget the vinegar in the wash and it does seem to help.
Kathy |
