Fabric conditioner

booter

I've tried vinegar, but I do like the smell of line dried washing, with Comfort .

If it's any use op, Comfort's on offer at Morrisons just now - 3 x 3l bottles for £10.

Kirri

Only use Ecover - I get it when it's on offer. I can't bear the over strong chemical fragrances, they linger too long and give me headaches not to mention what's in them.

Even with a tumble drier my jeans come out too crusty feeling without fabric conditioner.

MysteryMe

I didn't stop using fabric conditioner to save money, quite a few fabrics including anything microfiber specifically says not to use it.


My towels are expensive Egyptian cotton and not scratchy at all, fabric conditioner affects the absorbency and breaks down the thread structure.

fatbelly

According to Wikipedia

Fabric softeners work by coating the surface of the cloth fibers with a thin layer of chemicals causing the clothes to feel softer. These chemicals have lubricant properties and are electrically conductive, thus preventing buildup of static electricity. Other functions are improvements of iron glide during ironing, increased resistance to stains, and reduction of wrinkling and pilling. Cationic softeners bind by electrostatic attraction to the negatively charged groups on the surface of the fibers and neutralize their charge; the long aliphatic chains are then oriented towards the outside of the fiber, imparting lubricity. Vinegar works on some materials in a similar way, as the hydrogen ions bind to the anionic groups on the fibers. Most good quality all-cotton towels do not need to be treated with fabric softener and with repeated washings and dryings, because they become softer naturally

but, more worryingly

Fabric softeners contain chemicals that impregnate fabric and are released over time. These chemicals may come in direct contact with the skin and may be absorbed or inhaled. Certain ingredients release formaldehyde, which has been linked to cancer in laboratory tests. The chemicals that are taken in by the body can also cause asthma. Among other softener components are benzyl acetate (linked to pancreatic cancer), benzyl alcohol (an upper respiratory tract irritant), and chloroform (a neurotoxin and carcinogen). Some chemicals are neurostimulants or irritators and may be linked to central nervous system toxin exposure symptoms like headaches, disorientation, mood swings, numbness in face or extremities, memory loss, or irritability.

shammyjack

DPJames wrote: »

Well I've only had a brief look, but the cheapest white vinegar I've found is £2.29 a litre. Fabric softener about a pound a litre. So I'll stick with the real stuff for now guys.

£2 for 5l at most chinese and asian supermarkets .

ktk

Soap and washing powder are alkalis, so the acidic vinegar will neutralise them. The reason soap feels slimy is because it contains alkalis like sodium hydroxide.

Willowpop

shammyjack wrote: »

£2 for 5l at most chinese and asian supermarkets .

Beat me to it. That's what I pay for mine, and always use it instead of fabric conditioner on my towels.
For my clothes I use lidl doussy, but when I run out I use white vinegar until I restock. Because of the rinse cycle, there is no lasting smell of vinegar, and fabrics are lovely and soft.

Air_Cooled_75

I have a Miele washing machine and although it has a softener compartment they don't recommend using it! I only put a small amount in these days but might try a couple of washes without and see how it goes.

terra_ferma

I have sensitive skin and some allergies, I gradually became sensitive even to delicate fc, so stopped using it completely and wash my clothes separately.
Recently it got worse, and now nobody in the family uses it in case residues in the w/m cause me problems, didn't have to ask, we still have a couple of bottles that I didn't want to waste, but they've stopped using it because they care.
Your loved ones should come before your clothes.

(incidentally BB advice was correct, vinegar is used by a lot of people who have allergies or want to save money, never tried it but it's a well known home made softener, sometimes hitting the little search box at the top of the page before posting nonsense might be a good idea.... ?)

Mercenary

I also have sensitive skin (ever since Persil brought me out in a full body rash some years ago ) and I use white vinegar instead of fabric softener too. There's no smell of it after the laundry has dried and if you line-dry it still has that wonderful outdoors smell. You can't reproduce that smell with the synthetic over-scented softeners.

You shouldn't use softener on towels, polyester fleece (it ruins it) or microfibre items anyway.