Vinegar as Fabric Softener

[sweet sparrow]

I've heard of using vinegar as a fabric softener and I'd like to try it. How much do you use per load? Does it work in HE machines?

Has anyone tried putting it in the blue Downy ball? This seems like it might be a smaller quantity than the suggested amount I've read on internet searches.

I've also read that vinegar can break down elastic over time so I'm worried about any clothing with lycra, spandex, etc. Does anyone have an opinion on that?

And finally, I read that there may be more static on your clothes in drier winter months. Is that true?

[anisa]

i always wonder about this.

vinegar is an acid. i don't know about soaking my clothes in it on a regular basis.

i haven't used softener in years, only a bit if it is a dry winter so that the static doesn't drive me crazy.

you get used to it

[Brynhilde]

I saw someone else on here post about using Vinegar as fabric softener. I am kind of iffy on that.. I hardly use softener but using Vinegar? We used Vinegar to clean out the washing machine once in awhile.. but never for clothing. I imagine clothes would stink after using even a little bit of it.

[sweetproserpina]

I've used it occasionally in the blue downy ball (just fill it up halfway) but in a top loader. I haven't tried it in my new front-loader yet. It works fine, and your clothes don't smell like vinegar! Honest! As far as wear and tear, I can't imagine the small amount of vinegar would be damaging, or at least any more so than regular detergent.

I normally don't use any fabric softener though, and don't notice a big difference.. Your best bet would be to just give it a try and see if you can tell the difference!

If you want your clothes scented, just throw a clean rag into the dryer with a dab of your favourite essential oil.

[Denna b]

I've used vinegar off and on in my front loader. I like it but am a junky to the scents of fabric softner. No smell is left. They say it helps get laundry soap out of clothes also.

[Brynhilde]

If you want your clothes scented, just throw a clean rag into the dryer with a dab of your favourite essential oil.

That's a good tip!

[MortgageQueen]

Vinegar won't hurt you clothes and it basically works as a water softener. . so it should be fine to use in your machine. Quantity of Vinegar vs, water? I would think maybe 1/4 cup?? not sure. My mom uses it all the time with no problem. It's a great product for those with chemical and scent allergies.
Sometimes I throw 1/2 cup in my dishwasher when I have a really large or dirty load. . .works like a dream.

[Darth Penguin]

I add around quarter of a cup of white vinegar. There's next to no smell and it wears off much quicker than I find the the smell of bleach does.

Not that I use them together, of course.

[Gsxrboy]

I use vinegar on and off when washing clothes and so far it has worked extremely well. I mostly wash my workout wear with it to get rid of the funky smell and at the same time sanitize it. I simply put the vinegar into the bleach portion of my front load washer. Most top load washers have a bleach dispenser as well. Never put vinegar directly on the clothes, it is an acid.

[Anthony123]

You will get more static in the winter because the air is dryer. Cold air doesn't hold as much moisture as warm air.
I'm not certain if vinegar will prevent static form the dryer but because it is an acid and detergent is alkaline, it will neutralize any bit of alkalinity left in the clothes and therefore work as a fabric softener.
Personally, I don't use a fabric softener and my clothes seem fine. But I don't use too much detergent....have to be careful with those lid measuring cups with the liquids, fill them to the (hard to see) line, not to the top of the lid...a regular sized, not too dirty load requires only about 1/2 cup, where it says #1 on the line, #2 or about 3/4 of a lidful for very dirty loads which I don't believe I have ever seen with my clothes, only for cleaning rags and the steam mop pads or the coveralls I wear working on the car or nasty jobs around the house. If you are using twice as much soap as needed, your clothes will still be quite alkaline with some detergent residue even after rinsing and you will surely need to use a fabric softener to neutralize it. Even moreso for loads using bleach which is highly alkaline. Vinegar is obviously less expensive than fabric softener but perhaps a person should pay more attention to using the least amount of detergent possible and maybe they won't need a fabric softener. I simply can't find a reason to use a softener for my clothes.

Static is a still big problem though and for the much less than a dollar per month I spend on dryer sheets (stockpiled on sales with coupons of course) it's a convenient and low cost way to deal with it.
For the cost of vinegar, might as well use it if you want to mess around with it (I won't) but I just wanted to point out that if you are using the correct amount of detergent (rather than twice as much as you need by filling the lid to the rim) than you likely will need to use a fabric softener. So if you instead do it as I mention here, you save half the cost over time on detergent and don't have to pay for softener at all. Dryer sheets, needed to prevent static when not using fabric softener, costs mere pennies per load.
You could still use the vinegar doing it the way I do it, and if it makes things better then why not? Personally I don't even see a reason to try it, my clothes are fine, soft and static free at a cost of only a few dollars per month for all products used.
Not sure if this is of help to the OP but to some others, look at that lid on your liquid laundry detergent and look for the #1 line. If you've been filling it to the rim, you will see that you are using twice as much as you need too and then of course you need fabric softener to have nice soft clothes. And the manufacturers of these products love you. Why wouldn't they when you are spending 3 times as much per load than you actually need to? How much does that add up to over the years? Something to think about. And while you are thinking, consider that my 'cheapest way to do laundry' came about not just by thinking but doing, experimenting, trying lots of ways and picking the best way. Asking on a forum helps to get some ideas but you still have to try all the ideas. That takes time, months, maybe years, but do try. With decades left to live, you'll save lots once you figger out the best way for you. And that's just with laundry, there are plenty of cleaning and other household tasks where you can save a lot of money by getting quite adequate results for very minimal expense. Vinegar as fabric softener can be one but what if you could save half the cost of detergent and not need softener at all? Hopefully this information helps those who need it.

[Kayotic]

I use vinegar all the time and love it and I don't find that is carries a smell at all. I also use good dryer balls too which helps with the static and drying time. I believe there are newer dryer balls that you can add a scent to now if you like, I prefer unscented though.

I also vary the amount of vinegar depending on the type of clothes but usually use a few tbsps per load.

[shirl57]

1. One more tidbit on this topic. Purely by accident years ago, I learned that you don't have to use a full dryer sheet every time and then throw it away. Go with half a sheet. So when I pulled out that 1/2 dryer sheet years ago after it adryer had dried my clothes, I liked the fresh smell of the sheet so left it out sort of a subtle room freshener. Next time I went to dry my clothes I threw it back into my next load. What the heck? The clothes weren't staticing. Guess that used 1/2 dryer sheet worked. So I tried it again and again and again and used it quite a few more times. After that I put it aside and did the same with another 1/2 sheet and after a couple months of more laundry, now I've got 2 of the 1/2 sheets, kind of limp but by feel they still had that feel that I could still get some more use out of them.

Fast forward. After a couple years I had only used (saved) about 6-8 half sheets (equal to 3-4 full sheets). If someone had told me that without me doing this myself, I would've not believed them, it seems impossible. But it is possible. The only thing I found was that when I'd get the clothes out of the dryer, I'd have to go fishing for these used little 1/2 dryer sheets. So decided to safety pin them together. Piece of cake. Didn't have to fish for them in the clothes. And I've kept this tradition for the last 20 plus years. I just kept adding another 1/2 once every so many months to this stash, and every so often when the oldest piece (which by now was so limp) (years later), I would throw that one away. But honest to goodness, those little suckers last for years and years, even when they're really limp and you think they have no power left in them.

I only learned this by accident and I guess the manufacturer wouldn't like me too much, and the best thing was, I didn't even have to extreme coupon to save money over all these years. And you know something else, my clothes and bedding have always come out clean and fresh for literally pennies not over weeks or months, but over the years. When not in use, I just stack them into a little box next to my real new dryer sheets and that's life for me.

2. They are also good for sticking one under the seat of a vehicle as a room freshener and just leaving it there on a permanent basis. Again, that saves on any of those fancy costly air fresheners that are so common.

3. And for quilters, the really used ones (really limp ones) work wonders as backing inside a quilt when trying to sew squares together.

[freefreefree]

never try it, but maybe I should do an experiement

[lekate]

I've never used dryer sheets, I know "everything causes cancer", but they have known carcinogens in them, not only that but can irritate the skin and cause breathing problems for not only your household but those who live nearby. I use dryer balls, works fine, cheaper and better for the environment.

[freefreefree]

I've never used dryer sheets, I know "everything causes cancer", but they have known carcinogens in them, not only that but can irritate the skin and cause breathing problems for not only your household but those who live nearby. I use dryer balls, works fine, cheaper and better for the environment.

That is true