Geeky Housewife

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Vinegar as a Fabric Softener

To save on electricity as well as to cut on the heat generated in our home, I have been hanging our clothes outside to dry. Unfortunately I don’t have a clothes line and have just been hanging the clothes on the trampoline. It works well as clothes are dry within a few hours. The downside is that they are really stiff.

We don’t use fabric softener since my daughter seems have an allergy to it. After reading a tip to use vinegar in the wash to soften clothes, I gave it a try this weekend.

I used about two cap fulls in each load.? It was hard to pour into the cap since it was attached to the bottle, so I guesstimated the amount. The verdict? It worked well as clothes were noticeably softer. The towels were still a little stiff. I think when I wash towels again that I will use more vinegar to see if that helps.

posted by housewife in Household Tips and have Comments (4)

4 Responses to “Vinegar as a Fabric Softener”

  1. This is a great tip especially too save money on fabric softeners but I cannot help but think that it would make my clothes smell like vinegar. I guess if you don’t use a lot it wouldn’t make much of a difference.

    I also thin that the acidity of the vinegar would start to eat away at the clothes, but maybe not. Thank you for the tips.

  2. Bouncing Bob says:

    Thanks for the tip. I tried it on some older clothes and can report that they were noticeably softer. I too use our little round trampoline as a poor alternative to a washing line but I’ve modified it with a mini washing line tied beween the supports. Works a treat.
    Thanks for the tip -

  3. Although time consuming I find that when I’m drying things outside it makes them a bit softer if I shake them out intermittently…