Thursday 12 April 2012

Hang the washing out...

We had a query on the Kitchen Witch forum today about eco friendly and non toxic fabric conditioners, so I have put together a list to share with you all on our ideas for washing clothes:


Washing Powder:


2 parts of soap flakes - grated soap
1 part washing soda crystals
Mix together and store in an airtight container, use 1 tablespoon per wash.


or


2 cups grated castile soap
1 cup borax
1 cup baking soda
1 cup washing soda crystals
Mix together and store in an airtight jar.  Use 1/8 cup per load.


Fabric Conditioner:


Add a 1/2 cup of baking soda to the water in your washing machine and let it dissolve prior to adding your clothes.  The baking soda acts as a water softener and helps makes clothes super soft.


You can also make a slight variation on the baking soda idea. Just take equal quantities of bicarbonate of soda, vinegar and water and combine and store in a large bottle. As needed, you can then replace your normal fabric softener with ¼ cup of your home made fabric conditioner to your wash. Be careful though as these ingredients together can foam!


Some people toss tennis balls or other rubber balls into the dryer with clothes.  Although the heat of the dryer can cause the rubber to off-gas onto your clothing.  You can purchase plastic ball type things that are made especially for this purpose.


Adding a cup of vinegar to the wash water can also soften clothes.


To help with static tightly scrunch a piece of foil to form a ball and put it in your tumble dryer.  Be careful as it may snag delicate clothing though.


Mix 1 cup of Glycerin and 1 gallon of water. Add 1/2 cup of this mixture to the wash or rinse cycle to soften clothing. 


Try hair conditioner - dilute approx. 3:1. (water - 3, conditioner - 1).


Homemade softener:
2c white vinegar
4c water
Mix ingredients and store in a plastic or glass container.  To use: Shake the mixture and add 1/4c to the final rinse in your washing machine. If you have hard water, use 1/3c.


Try adding 1/4 cup of borax to your wash cycle.


Homemade dryer sheets: Dilute a teaspoon of natural hair conditioner and then pour it on an old (clean) sock. Alternatively, soak the fabric with vinegar. Regardless of your liquid of choice, use as you would any other dryer sheet and simply reapply the solution for each new load.


For fragrant fresh laundry, try putting some dried organic flowers in an old sock or cloth drawstring bag and tossing that in your dryer with each load. Add some essential oils to an old clean rag or sock and put that in your dryer for naturally-scented laundry.

Tansy
x

2 comments:

  1. lol...have just read this in the forum...thank you...i didn't know any of these tips but always up for trying something new...am liking the clothes softening with vinegar one...will save me a fortune!!

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  2. This is great! I especially like the last bit about using a rag with essential oils on it...I can't wait to test it out and get my clothes smelling beautifully :)

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