Please recommend fabric conditioner

abbecer

Sorry don't know if this is the right place to put this post.

I am trying in all areas to be a good MSER and have made quite a few changes already. My washing powder is now 1/2 and 1/2 leading brand with no frills stuff with added soda crystals etc. One thing i do spend a fair amount on is fabric softener. I am not bothered about leading brands just really nice smelling concentrated stuff does the job. I am currently buying Asda's on new purple one that smells gorgeous. However i wondered if anyone can recommend a concentrated one that smells nice and the smell really lasts. I know if i was true OS i wouldn't use it, but i have a serious problem with sniffing it!!! I will re-rinse clothes if they don't smell of it enough!! So this is one thing i will NOT do without but would like to be more cost effecient if poss. Thanks in advance.

Rebecca x:j

MrsTinks

Why the answer is VINEGAR of course Seriously!

Use vinegar and then a few drops of essential oil of choice of even a mix and bobs your uncle It's better for your clothes, doesn't smell of vinegar and I'll bet no-one is allergic to it either
The nice smell will be there I promise, and I use about 3 drops of lavender and it makes the whole kitchen smell of lavender

abbecer

Thanks for that tine. I will give it a go with next load. I love oils and am always burning them so this is a fab idea. Do you add oil and vinegar into the drawer?

Rebecca x

MrsTinks

yep I give it a good slug of vinegar (the white distilled stuff, not the brown malt vinegar... that might stain...) in the fabric softner drawer and then I put in about 3 drops of essential oil. I love lavender so use that a lot but you could mix and match I would say make sure you use essential oils and not the cheaper ones you can buy loads of places at 3 for £2 or whatever I have no idea what they might do to your clothes

If you tumble dry your clothes you could also try adding a drop to an old sock when you tumble dry your washing cheaper and better than the sheets you can buy and smells LOADS better

MrsTinks

Oh if you want a more exact measure then 60-80ml of vingar should do the job and of course it helps your machine stay free of limescale too a bonus not to be sneezed at If you are going to use vinegar the cheapest way of doing it will be to bulk buy a large amount from chinese shops or indian food shops

pollyanna24

I use the bog standard Tesco one for 33p. Would vinegar work out cheaper than this?

Nicki

Given, why OP says she uses FC, and the fact she sometimes even re-rinses her laundry to make the smell of FC even stronger, I would be amazed if she liked the results of using vinegar! I must confess I haven't tried it myself, but don't really use FC anyway and my laundry always seems soft enough (do TD the towels though)

Anyway getting to the point, to cut the costs of FC I would bulk buy the cheapest one I liked every time I saw it on special offer, or in stores where you can collect loyalty points which could ultimately be exchanged to get some free. I would also experiment with gradually using a bit less, so that you get used over time to your clothes not smelling so strongly of it, and it lasts longer. I would also regularly change the scent I was using, as over time your nose gets used to smells and you stop noticing them, and this may be why you now sometimes feel you want to re-rinse. Finally, if you really can't cut down on the amount you use because you miss the smell, you could consider boosting the fragrance with a few drops of essential oils in a complimentary scent, and then reducing your quantities of the FC.

elaine373

lidl`s Adritt is a good one.(The blue one) Its not the cheapest but lasts me ages and smells nice too.

jcr16

when my children were smaller i used to comfort pure and very mild ones. but now i only like using lenor ( the lilac one) and comfort( again the lilac one) i have tried vinigar in the past and yes granted it does make things soft and there is no nasty smell. but i miss the smell of lavender freshness ( even if it is a fake smell, lol )

my neighbour has a wholesale card and often goes to the mainland and bulk buys for everyone , and she often buys me loads and it works out so cheap. i think i last paid £8 for 15 litres. lasted months.

MrsTinks

jcr16 wrote:

when my children were smaller i used to comfort pure and very mild ones. but now i only like using lenor ( the lilac one) and comfort( again the lilac one) i have tried vinigar in the past and yes granted it does make things soft and there is no nasty smell. but i miss the smell of lavender freshness ( even if it is a fake smell, lol )

my neighbour has a wholesale card and often goes to the mainland and bulk buys for everyone , and she often buys me loads and it works out so cheap. i think i last paid £8 for 15 litres. lasted months.

If you miss the smell of lavender then why not add a few drops of essential lavender oil?? I add 3 drops and I find the smell far stronger with this than with any other Fabric softner I have ever used!

MrsTinks

Nicki wrote:

Given, why OP says she uses FC, and the fact she sometimes even re-rinses her laundry to make the smell of FC even stronger, I would be amazed if she liked the results of using vinegar! I must confess I haven't tried it myself, but don't really use FC anyway and my laundry always seems soft enough (do TD the towels though)

Vinegar contrary to what everyone might think does NOT make your clothes smell like a fish and chip shop I was doubvious too (I HATE the smell of Vinegar!) but I had some towels that were not as soft as I felt they ought to be so I thought I'd try vinegar as it is supposed to help remove the soap build up on the fibres and make them soft again... Reading the Thrifty book it suggested using a few drops of essential oil and I figured it was worth a go

Now I only use fabric conditioner if I run out of vinegar! Or if the OH is being helpful and does a load - he still doesn't believe I am not using fabric softner... Bless him!

If you all think we're mad then please give it a try before you dismiss the idea, what's the worst that can happen? You might have to do a rinse cycle with fabric softner?


Go on... try it.... you know you want to :rotfl: