How to make homemade fabric softener: a profitable solution or a way to ruin your wardrobe

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When loading laundry into the drum of a washing machine, the housewife usually wants to get perfectly clean, soft and fresh-smelling clothes. But it happens that the car disappointed expectations - the stains were washed off, but the sheets and pillowcases turned out to be so hard that sleeping on them is extremely unpleasant. To prevent this from happening, you need a fabric softener, and one that performs its functions, smells pleasant, and is not harmful to health. Such softeners will be discussed in the article.

Useful tips

The following tips will help keep your towels soft:

1. 
   When washing items made from long pile, you need to set the extra rinse function, which will allow you to more thoroughly remove detergent residues.

2. Load the drum 60–70%, since a large number of items prevents thorough washing and rinsing.
3. Do not wash at temperatures above 600. Too high temperatures make the fabric rough.
4. Choose silicone-based rinses or those designed for children's clothes. Such products provide softness to products for a long time.
5. After washing the product, shake thoroughly and dry vertically in a well-ventilated area or in the air. Direct sunlight and drying on radiators make towels hard.
6. Products with long pile should not be boiled.
7. It is better not to iron or carry out the procedure with steam.
8. It is useful to use a special laundry bag, which will protect long-pile towels from the metal drum of the washing machine.

Hypoallergenic softeners

In stores you can find several types of fabric softeners, the packaging of which will indicate that they do not cause allergies. For example, from the Attitude brand.

Such air conditioners have many attractive properties:

• any fabric becomes soft;
• the item looks fresh;
• the softener does not “eat” the color;
• ironing becomes an easy and enjoyable process;
• does not contain substances that cause allergies - fragrances, GMOs and dyes.

Important! Such products can be used not only in ordinary city high-rise buildings, but also in houses with independent sewerage. The packaging will also not harm the environment; it is classified as completely biodegradable.

Attitude softeners are made either unscented or with a subtle floral scent. These products have all international environmental safety certificates.

Why did the products lose their softness after being processed in the washing machine?

When buying a new towel, any housewife dreams of maintaining its softness for a long period. However, the product loses its original appearance after each wash. There are five main reasons that lead to hard towels:

1. 
   Poor quality of tap water . Unfortunately, most regions of Russia use too hard water. Calcium and magnesium salts clog fabric fibers, which negatively affects the appearance of products.

2. Inappropriate remedy . Particles of inexpensive dry powders get stuck in the canvas, making it rougher. The longer the pile of a towel, the more detergent remains in the fabric, which makes it stiffer.
3. Wrong mode . Each product must be washed, taking into account the properties of the fabric from which it is made. Each type of fiber has its own washing mode (manual or automatic, temperature, rinse, spin).
4. Errors in product care . This includes violation of the rules of drying, ironing, and storing towels.
5. Low quality fabric . Unfortunately, modern industry is designed to produce inexpensive goods that quickly become unusable.

To enjoy the softness of your towels for a long time, you need to clearly identify the cause of the hardness and eliminate it. In each case, either one provoking factor or all five are possible.

Eco-friendly softeners

This fabric softener is labeled “Eco” or “Bio” on the packaging. These are air conditioners from the brands Ecover, Almawin, Mio and some others.

Their advantages:

• versatility;
• suitable for any powders;
• do not contain phosphates, chlorine and surfactants.

Important! Such softeners, like hypoallergenic ones, are sold in packages that are completely recyclable. They can be used in houses with independent sewerage.

Conditioners with light floral scents are popular, and the BioMio brand has softeners with cinnamon and eucalyptus scents.

“Semi-homemade” remedies

To prepare conditioners, you can also use some perfumes and cosmetics, such as hair conditioner. You can prepare a very high-quality product at a minimum cost - you don’t need to buy any additional drugs, you use what you have on hand. At the same time, you probably use an air conditioner that does not cause allergies and smells pleasant.

Option 1

For this fabric softener you need:

• vinegar;
• hair conditioner;
• water;
• pan or jar.

How to cook - features:

• Take water and vinegar in a 2:1 ratio. For example, for 3 glasses of water you will need 1.5 glasses of vinegar.
• As for the conditioner, you will need three times less of it than vinegar, that is, in this case - 0.5 cups.
• All this needs to be mixed.
• If desired, you can add a fragrance - a few drops of essential oil.
• During washing, the detergent is poured into the conditioner compartment.

Option 2

You will need Epsom salt, which is magnesium sulfate. You can buy it at a chemical store, sometimes it is available in pharmacies and departments for gardeners.

The product turns out to be free-flowing.

Important! You can immediately pour Epsom salt into a jar, add a few drops of essential oil and close the lid well.

When washing, place it in the conditioner compartment.

Option 3

Ordinary table salt has an excellent softening effect. The product is prepared in the same way as the previous one, that is, pour salt into a jar, add a few drops of essential oil and, during washing, pour it into the compartment marked with an asterisk.

Option 4

An already prepared solution with Epsom or regular salt can become the basis for a liquid solution:

1. You need to take 0.5 cups of the finished powder per 1 cup of water and dissolve.
2. In another saucepan, mix baking soda and vinegar. For half a cup of Epsom salts with essential oils, you need 1 cup of baking soda and 6 cups of vinegar.
3. Wait for the chemical reaction to complete, then mix the contents of both pans, pour the softener into the jar and close with a tight lid.

Correct wash cycle for softness

To ensure that your laundry always remains pleasant to the touch, you must also follow a few simple care rules:

• Always use the extra rinse option. And to reduce water hardness and soften clothes when rinsing, add 1 tablespoon of salt to the washing machine compartment;
• when turning on the drying mode, it is best to use low temperatures;
• You can only iron with the “steam” option turned on.

Proper care of bed linen guarantees its long service and comfortable use while sleeping.

Bed linen sizes

We sew bed linen for a baby crib with our own hands

Home methods and recommendations for softening laundry

vinegar and soda in her kitchen , but few people know that these two components can not only soften hard fabric, but also remove heavy stains.

Softening fabric with vinegar . Vinegar is a universal remedy for making fabric soft. In addition to softening the product, vinegar will help housewives remove powder residues from the product, eliminate various odors and refresh the fabric. This is especially true for mothers with small children.

To soften items with vinegar, you need to pour half a glass of 9% vinegar and start washing the bed linen.

Softening the product with soda. Regular baking soda enhances the effectiveness of the powder and makes laundry soft and fresh. To soften items made of hard fabric, you need to pour half a glass of baking soda into the empty drum of the machine, and then load the laundry into it.

Softening bed linen with sodium tetraborate . Sodium tetraborate, or as it is popularly called, borax, allows you to soften hard water and enhance the effectiveness of the powder. You can purchase this product at any pharmacy. To apply this method, you need to take half a glass of tetraborate and add it along with the powder to the washing compartment.

The safest softeners

Using baking soda and vinegar can give amazing results. They can be used in different ways, adding essential oils or cheap conditioners if desired.

Option 1

In this case, there is no need to mix anything. Just pour 125 ml of vinegar into the tray compartment and half a glass of soda into the drum. The result will probably surprise you. The laundry will turn out perfectly clean and soft, too. It is guaranteed not to develop a static charge.

Option 2

For this method you need;

• pan or jar;
• soda;
• vinegar;
• essential oil;
• water.

You need a lot of vinegar - 6 glasses. You will need one glass of soda.

How to cook:

1. Pour a glass of soda into the pan.
2. Add a glass of water there.
3. Stir.
4. Pour in 6 cups of vinegar.
5. Soda and vinegar enter into a chemical reaction - the process is very violent.
6. Wait until the mixture stops bubbling.
7. Pour in 6 more glasses of water.
8. Add a few drops of essential oil if you want a scent.
9. Place the storage softener in a bottle with a tight-fitting cap.
10. If you are going to do the laundry right now, pour some product into the softener compartment.

Option 3

There is another way to prepare conditioner from baking soda, vinegar, water and essential oils. The difference with the previous one is only in proportions:

• 1 glass of soda;
• 8 glasses of vinegar;
• 0.25 cups warm water;
• essential oil.

Vinegar needs to be diluted with water, then little by little add soda. After the reaction is complete, mix everything, add essential oil and pour into a bottle for storage. The bottle must be shaken before use.

Important! If you are comfortable with the methods of preparing environmentally friendly laundry detergents and are willing to devote some time to this process, you will probably also find the following tips useful:

• DIY washing gel.
• DIY dishwashing gel.

How to make bedding soft and fragrant

Soft bedding is the key to a comfortable sleep. After several washes, the new product becomes much softer, as the starch is washed out of it. But bedding that has become rough from time to time can be helped by either air conditioning or tennis or foil balls.

Air conditioner. The easiest way to make a product soft and fragrant is to use conditioner when washing. You can buy it at any hardware store or supermarket, however, if there are children in the family, then this option can hit your pocket hard.

Tennis or foil balls. Tennis or foil balls will help replace the air conditioner. When washing, balls help remove static on artificial fabrics and effectively fight old stains. To use this simple technology, you need to put several tennis or foil balls in the washing machine along with your bed linen. If the machine has two different sections (washing and drying), then the balls are placed in the drying section. Rolling over the laundry, they will automatically soften the material.