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[-] blaue_Fledermaus@mstdn.io 7 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

A bit of alcohol vinegar can replace or help fabric softener.

[-] NigelFrobisher@aussie.zone 7 points 7 months ago

Fabric softener kills elastic and lots of clothes (including even jeans) have elastic in them. Yeah, you can do separate washes, but ain’t nobody got time for that.

[-] Korhaka@sopuli.xyz 7 points 7 months ago

Not heard of that one. The main one I know is it makes towels less absorbent, my partner's mum uses it and it's like trying to soak up water with a plastic bag.

[-] mycelium_underground@lemmy.world 6 points 7 months ago

Yeah when you coat all the fibers of the towel with slightly modified rendered animal fat, then they won't absorb water. The long hydrophobic tail on the tallow dimethyl ammonium chloride molocule really doesn't want to mix with water. It's almost completely insoluble in polar solvents like water.

Why make things soft by addressing the initial problem(residues and hard water salts in deposited in the fibers when the clothes dry) when you can just coat the whole thing in fat and call it "clean" and "soft"

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[-] missandry351@lemmings.world 6 points 7 months ago

Everything related to cleaning and hygiene industry is a scam

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[-] spooky2092 6 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

Totally in with the 'make your own soap' mentality. I've been making my own laundry soap and liquid hand soap for ~6mo, and I'm still working through the first set of supplies I got for both. Only downside to making it yourself is the time commitment, but I've got it to a point where once I have the batter made, I just throw it and some distilled water into a covered mason jar, put in a covered stock pot with enough water to get around the inner water level and just let it simmer for a few hours.

It's actually super simple to make my laundry soap, it's just a 6:6:2:1 ratio:
Baking soda:Epson salt:washing soda:sea salt

Works great and take the smell out of my potty training son's laundry.

[-] dryfter@lemm.ee 6 points 7 months ago

Gen X here, I only use unscented dryer sheets because if I don't I will get shocked a lot. My apartment is great because the humidity is super low in the winter, but clothing hurts. Humidifier doesn't work because if I don't use distilled water everything gets a rust color on it. Also I'd be going through a gallon of distilled water a day. I can't afford that, but I sure as heck can afford a big box of unscented dryer sheets that solves my problem.

[-] macaw_dean_settle@lemmy.world 6 points 7 months ago

Wool balls do not work with synthetics.

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[-] uis@lemm.ee 5 points 7 months ago

Washing Soda

No. Just no. Sodium carbonate, you americans!

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[-] EtherWhack@lemmy.world 5 points 7 months ago

The only reason why clothes get staticky in the dryer is because of the heat. If you run the dryer for 10-20min after drying with no heat they'll come out without a trace of static.

Ive stopped using softener and dryer sheets a while ago; just detergent and for the first load of the week (usually towels) a short cycle with vinegar to clear up any mineral deposits left by my horribly bad hard water.

[-] BradleyUffner@lemmy.world 5 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

Fabric softener / dryer sheets make clothing feel disgustingly slimy.

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this post was submitted on 20 Mar 2025
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