A while back I came across a recipe for homemade liquid fabric softener, and we tried it, but still had an issue with static in our clothes, even though I also use dryer balls. So, I went back to dryer sheets since they seem to be the only thing that keeps the static at bay.
The homemade liquid fabric softener calls for the use of conditioner and white vinegar... I really don't want the scent of vinegar in my dryer, even though I know it'll dissipate after a while. You can find the recipe here, at One Good Thing by Jillee: My Homemade Laundry Products “Cheat Sheet”
Apartment Therapy posted an all natural alternative, but I'm not sure how much help it would be for static: DIY Dryer Sheets
Other alternatives mentioned elsewhere were:
Aluminum foil balls
Natural wool balls
Avoid drying your synthetic fabrics with your natural fabrics
Spray a little white vinegar on your wet clothes in the dryer
Wash with baking soda and rinse with vinegar
Use plain old conditioner instead of adding the vinegar
Too many choices!
So, I decided to try a little something of my own. Plain conditioner was mentioned, but that wouldn't give your clothes a lot of scent. If you're like me and like some scent to your clothes (not too much, or I get a headache), then you like your fabric softener or dryer sheets to have a nice smell.
What I did:
- 1/2 Cup warm Water
- Purex Crystals (or Downy Unstoppables, or the Gain things...)
- 1 Cup Hair Conditioner (I had Garnier Fructis, two bottles of it, which I'm not currently using)
- Old fleece fabric (I had white)
I added the crystals to the water and mixed until dissolved:
Then I added the cloths (I had 9 already cut)
Then comes the messy part: squeezing the glop off the cloths and letting them dry. I tried drying them flat, but that was a fail:
So, I hung them on a hanger with clothes pins:
It took two days, but they were finally dry... very stiff, though. I wondered if they'd work. So I put a very fuzzy blanket in the washer. One of those cheaper blankets, maybe made of poly fibers, not fleece. Totally synthetic, I'm sure. If it came out static free, then I'd know they worked.
It did NOT come out static free. Boo! Thank goodness I had a regular dryer sheet left. This week's tryout is a FAIL.
Back to the drawing board...
