How to make a 100% natural fabric softener at home?

DIY is a great compromise towards a more sustainable life. In fact, fabric softeners and detergents are only part of what DIY can guarantee. From comfortable towel racks for the bathroom to anti-stretch mark treatments up to real moisturizing treatments.
Here is an example of organic do-it-yourself for a body scrub to get smooth and firm skin!

Commercially available detergents and fabric softeners are products you absolutely must escape from. But what can be done to prevent the laundry from becoming too rough? In reality, it all depends on the hardness of your water, literally whether it is hard or not. Hard or calcareous water is water that contains many minerals of calcium and magnesium. This results in rough and stiff cloths (especially bathroom towels, you probably know this feeling), but it also reduces the effectiveness of the detergent.

See also

Indoor plants: are you ready to create your urban jungle?

How to furnish your home: practical tips for every type of home

Neem oil for plants: natural and effective against insects and parasites

© Getty Images

To avoid this phenomenon, there are several solutions: use a fabric softener (which is not recommended for all the reasons mentioned above), tumble dry (but it's not very eco-friendly!) Or create a natural and biodegradable home softener at the 100%.

All the essentials

• White vinegar: makes the water less hard.
• Citric acid: for its anti-limescale and anti-limescale action.
• Essential oils: to cleanse and perfume.

Practically
Diluted white vinegar is an excellent softener (avoid pure vinegar, which can attack the elasticity of clothes). The simplest way is to prepare the solution previously in a bottle: 2⁄3 of vinegar in 1⁄3 of water (+ possibly a few drops of essential oil of your choice).
In the same way you can also prepare a home fragrance!

© Getty Images

Recipe: softener with essential oils

Ingrediants:

• 1 tablespoon of baking soda;
• 150 ml of vinegar
• White;
• 250 ml of water;
• 20 drops of essential oil of your choice (lemon, lavender, pine, eucalyptus, ylang-ylang ...)

STEP 1: Pour the water and baking soda into a bottle. Shake the bottle to mix the baking soda well.
STEP 2: Add the vinegar very gently (attention, the foam is a lot), then the essential oil.
STEP 3: Shake the bottle before each use. Pour the equivalent of 2 tablespoons of fabric softener into the special compartment of each washing machine.
Another ingredient that can be used in place of fabric softener is citric acid. Citric acid has the advantage of being effective even at low temperatures, so it is ideal for washing at 30 ° C (but it is also perfect for higher temperatures). You can prepare your own formula.

Recipe: Special softener for low temperature laundry

Ingrediants:

• 125 g of citric acid;
• 350 ml of demineralized water;
• 20 drops of essential oil of your choice (lemon, lavender, pine, eucalyptus, ylang-
• ylang ...)

STEP 1: Dissolve citric acid in water. Add essential oil and pour into a bottle with a funnel.
STEP 2: Shake the bottle before each use. Pour 2 tablespoons of the preparation into the softener compartment before each wash.

Other easy and inexpensive recipes can be found in the book My natural products for the home by Alix Lefief-Delcourt.