Fabric Softeners & Dryer Sheets

This first article is from: 

www.wikihow.com › ... › Laundry › Laundry Cleaning Products

Jul 10, 2012 

Steps

1. Look for dryer balls at dollar stores, drugstores, grocery stores, or health food stores. They may be found in the cleaning products aisle. These reusable balls toss in the dryer along with your clothes and linens, fluffing them and enhancing drying to reduce your dryer's energy usage. Some dryer balls will contain baking soda to freshen the laundry.
2. Gather or buy lavender buds and/or dried lemon or orange rinds (available at farmers markets, tea and herb shops, and bulk stores). Put a half cup or so in an old, clean sock (a good use for those lonely ones), tie off, and toss into the dryer with laundry to freshen. This can be used through several loads and enhanced with 5 to 7 drops of essential oils of lemon, lavender (especially good for bed linens), sweet orange, or pine (for household goods like washable rugs). When used up, the sock can be opened, emptied into the compost, and refilled several times.
3. Betsy Jabs at diyNatural recommends scrunching up a ball of aluminum foil to toss in with laundry to reduce static buildup. The ball can be used over and over.
4. Distilled vinegar can be added to your washer's rinse cycle to soften fabrics. This is especially useful for natural fibres. Diluted vinegar is slightly acidic, which closes the cuticle of the fibre, making it smoother.  

Warnings

• In the unlikely event that a member of your family has skin irritation after the switch to homemade dryer sheets, suspect an allergy or contact dermatitis to one of the essential oils used. Discontinue the oils and make future sheets with one essential oil at a time until the offending oil is discovered and can be removed from the mix.
• None of these methods should void your dryer's warranty, but to be sure check your owner's manual and customer service at the manufacturer's website before using.
   

This next article is from http://www.diynatural.com/homemade-fabric-softener-dryer-sheets/  

• Vinegar is my fabric softener of choice.  Aside from being a natural softener, it also removes soap residue in the washing machine and reduces static in the dryer. You can add vinegar directly to laundry during the rinse cycle or pour vinegar into the fabric softener dispenser of your washing machine. I have even added 1-2 drops of my favorite essential oil to the vinegar in the softener dispenser. My mother caught me standing over the washing machine one day with a glass dropper in one hand and a bottle of lavender essential oil in the other, and commented that it looked as though I was running a science lab out of my laundry room. I feel like a scientist sometimes as I experiment with combinations of my favorite oils in the laundry.  Sweet orange brightens and fights stains, lavender offers a calming effect, and peppermint can help fight tough odors on clothing. You can pre-mix your fabric-softening vinegar by using the following recipe:
  

  Vinegar Laundry Softener

• 1 gallon white vinegar
• 20-30 drops of essential oil
• 
  
• Plain lavender is one of my favorites, or a combination of sweet orange and lemon when I need a pick-me-up on laundry day!  A third suggestion is to use peppermint, although I would cut this back to 15 drops because it is quite potent.
  
  Just shake well before each use and it’s ready for the rinse cycle. For small or average loads add 1/2 cup to the rinse cycle, for larger loads add about 1 cup to the rinse cycle.
  UPDATE: Once clothes are dry you will not notice the scent of this homemade fabric softener. Many readers have asked, “So why use them?” One benefit of including the essential oils is that many contain antibacterial properties and will help disinfect laundry. (Lavender, sweet orange, lemon, and peppermint (and many more!) are all antibacterial.) Essential oils like lemon and sweet orange have also been known to brighten laundry and fight stains. Feel free to leave out essential oils if you wish…vinegar is also antibacterial. I’m a sucker for essential oils in my laundry mainly because I enjoy the aromatherapy the oils provide during this mundane chore!
  Dryer sheets Over the past few years we have researched many alternatives to commercial dryer sheets. Why? Because there is evidence that toxic fragrance chemicals can be present in commercial dryer sheets that can be absorbed into your skin when you put your clothes on. This was enough to convince me that commercial dryer sheets might not be the best choice for my family, and the cost savings of do-it-yourself dryer sheets was an added bonus. You will love experimenting with different scents along the way, and will never have to put dryer sheets on your grocery list again!
  Cut cotton cloth into small squares. I use 5-inch squares of cotton t-shirts that I’m retiring. Add 3-5 drops of essential oil to your cloth and throw it in the dryer with your next load. These cotton dryer sheets can be used for 2 or 3 loads, each time adding 3 more drops of your favorite essential oil. Wash the cloth after a few uses and experiment with a new fragrance the next time! Some of my personal favorites are lavender, lemon, or grapefruit.
  If you don’t have essential oils and would like to try some other safe alternatives, consider the following:
  
• Dampen hands with water & fluff laundry as it comes out of dryer to reduce static cling.
• Use non-chemical dryer balls. Can be purchased at Bed Bath & Beyond for a few dollars.
• Use felted wool dryer balls (available on etsy.com – get at least 6 to be used in each load).
• UPDATE: If static is your issue…a ball of aluminum foil in the dryer does wonders for decreasing static! It turns into a nice smooth ball and can be left in the dryer for many loads!

I probably spend too much time in my “science lab” now, experimenting and enjoying the laundry aromatherapy. I’m also enjoying the peace of mind knowing that I am not putting chemicals into my family’s laundry.

Avoid chemical perfumes

Homemade fabric softener and dryer sheets contain only what you choose to put in them, that’s part of the beauty of making your own cleaners.  Commercial dryer sheets coat your cloths with a thin film of artificial chemical perfumes. Our sensitivity to these chemical perfumes decreases over time, but when you stop using them your senses return to normal and you won’t believe how noticeable and repulsive the artificial fragrance chemicals are.  That’s a good thing.
Your clothes will take a few wash cycles to lose the coating from commercial detergents and softeners, but the sooner you get started the sooner your family will be free from harsh chemicals and perfumes.
Try the above solution next time you do laundry… we made the switch and will never go back!
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This article copied from : http://www.liverenewed.com/2011/06/how-make-homemade-dryer-sheets.html (adapted from Northern Cheapskate)
Supplies:

• Flannel Fabric cut into strips or squares (I used a flannel receiving blanket)
• Natural Fabric Softener (the best/only one I’ve found is by Ecover and I really love it!)
• Warm Water
• Empty Wipes Box, or some other type of container to store the wipes

Directions:

1. Start by cutting your flannel into strips or squares. I made strips because they work best for rolling up as in the very top picture (the strips are folded in half the long way in the picture above).
2. Mix together 1/4 cup of natural fabric softener with 3/4 cup of water in a small bowl. Use warm/hot water to help it mix better with the softener. Use a fork or a whisk and mix quickly, but it may be a little separated and not completely combined – that’s okay.
3. Place your wipes inside the container you are going to store them in. I usually use a repurposed disposable wipes container.  You could also roll your wipes together* and stand them up in a glass jar so you can pull a wipe out from the middle.  Honestly, I’m too lazy to do this most of the time, but it is convenient and looks pretty!
*To roll your wipes up, lay them out in a line so they are overlapping.  The more they overlap, the easier they are to pull apart from the middle of the roll.  Lay your first strip down and then lay the next one over 3/4 of the first strip.  Then lay the third wipe down so it is overlapping 3/4 of the second strip, and continue until all your strips are laid out in an overlapping line.
Start rolling up the stripes, making sure to grab the underneath strips as you roll.  Once they’re all rolled up you can place them in a jar or other upright container, and start pulling the wipes from the middle of the roll.  I hope that makes sense, sorry I didn’t take a picture to better show you how to do this step.
4. Pour your softener and water mixture over the wipes and shake gently to combine. Let sit for at least an hour so the wipes can absorb the solution before you use them.
5. Shake the container a little before using, and add one sheet to the dryer with each load of laundry. It’s okay if the solution is not evenly distributed on the wipe, or if the wipe is not completely moist, it will still work just fine.
6. Dry your clothes as usual.
Enjoy your soft, lightly scented, and chemical free clothing!
If you want to use fabric softener as a part of your laundry routine, this is a great way to save money and extend your bottle of natural fabric softener, which can be a little bit pricey. You can also use Ecover’s Fabric Softener to make a great natural air freshener .
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