Vinegar as a fabric softener?

Aurora_Borealis

Well I have just done my first load of washing using vinegar instead of fabric conditioner and I am truly amazed, I shall be finishing the fabric conditioner I have and moving permanently onto vinegar. No smell of vinegar and my towels feel nice and soft. :T
Does anyone know if there is an alternative to using dish wash powder in your dishwasher?
harrys nan, sorry, I don't know if it will help with static or not. Have you tried doing an internet search on it, I find the wisegeek.com quite good for answering my queries. :j

mudgekin

Hi

I am seriously tempted to try this but atm all we have at home is non brewed condiment since both DH and I hate the taste of malt type vinegar in anything. Would this work?

Grouchy

Thanks for starting this thread with the tip.

After reading, have started using about 2 capfuls of white distilled vinegar in place of fabric conditioner and find it excellent and effective !!!! Cheap (approx 40p a bottle), no more residue on clothes (hate that horrible streaking and gukky feel to some fabrics), very good natural smell of clothing, kinder on skin (have exczema).

Would highly recommend a trial if you haven't already.

Cheers

Icey77

I've been converted to vinegar as a fabric conditioner and now buy it in 5L containers from a Chinese supermarket via ebay

But what do you OS'ers do with it after that? It's a pain to try and pour from the 5L container as it slops everywhere and I end up wasting some and the kitchen then smells of vinegar :mad:

Do you decant it, if so into what? Or do you pour straight from the container, if so how do you do it without slopping and wasting it?

Thanks

Artytarty

Why not decant into rinsed out milk cartons, that would be easier to manage. Use a cheap plastic funnel if you have one to transfer it or a jug if you don't.

ravingandsaving

Don't know about using vinegar as a dishwasher detergent, but I use vinegar as a rinse aid in my dishwasher (rather than buying pricey rinse aid), along with a few drops of lemon essential oil. Makes my dishes and glasses nice and shiny, and streak free.

shandyclover

Another good reason to switch to vinegar...

I've just found out some fabric softeners have animal fat in them!:eek: I had no idea.
http://www.onegreenplanet.org/animalsandnature/products-you-didnt-know-contain-animal-ingredients/

While I am not vegetarian, my daughters are. Suddenly the feeling of rinsing my family's clothes in animal fat makes me feel a bit ill.

Vegan/vegetarian fabric softener is available, but not not that easily or cheaply from what I've found. Will be using vinegar from now on - does anyone know if it works for woolies?

Lindalina

I make fabric softener from vinegar, It works great!