5 Homemade DIY Natural Fabric Softeners

It should come as no surprise that fabric softeners have a long list of artificial ingredients and chemicals in them. So if you want that cozy, soft feeling without the headache-inducing scent, you can try one of these natural alternatives:

1 Baking Soda: Add a 1/2 cup of baking soda to the water in your washer and let it dissolve. Add your clothes.

2 Vinegar: Add 3/4 – 1 cup of vinegar to either the wash or the rinse cycle. You can also, according to one reader, do a combination 1/2 cup of vinegar with 1/2 cup of baking soda and then 1/2 the amount of your regular detergent. This combination apparently not only cleans well, but softens and cuts down on cling.

3 Borax: Add a 1/4 cup of 20 Mule Team Borax to the rinse cycle.

4 Tennis Balls: We’ve known people who swear this works, but we’re not a huge fan of this method because we find the tennis balls can leave a smell. But it might be worth a try.

5 Separate Your Synthetics: Keep synthetic fabrics out of the dryer since they’re the biggest culprits when it comes to static. Natural fibers like cotton, bamboo, hemp, and linen are best dried on their own.

Other suggestions?

(Image: Gaiam)