DIY Eco Clothing Freshener
Most people use fabric softeners when cleaning their clothes to make them smell pleasant and fresh. The problem is that fabric softeners contain a lot of chemicals, toxic and harmful for the health ingredients which aren’t recommended. There is a better way to keep your clothes fresh and smelling wonderful. Here are some ingredients and methods you can apply to make your clothes scented without toxic ingredients. Try them out and choose your favorite.
Getting Odors Out
If your clothes smell of smoke you can hang them outside, especially in a cold place. Leave them for one or two whole days until the smoke stink completely vanishes. Then clean them in the washing machine as usually or hand wash them.
Here are some effective methods to make your clothes smell fresh using natural products in the washing machine and dryer. Add ¼ cup of baking soda in the wash basin of your machine when it’s being filled with water. Leave the baking soda to dissolve in the water before you add your clothes in the machine. This will make them softer and will regulate the pH level of the water in the machine. Baking soda is known for neutralizing odors. If you have front-loading or HE machine just add the soda in the detergent container.
A better way to refresh your clothes without the use of fabric softener is using vinegar instead. Manually pour vinegar in the rinse cycle of your washing machine. An appropriate option for machines with fabric softener dispensers is pouring ¼ to ½ cup of vinegar into the dispenser and letting the machine do the work. It’s easy, safe and will lead to the desired results – eliminated odors from your clothes. Vinegar just like baking soda softens the clothes and absorbs unpleasant smells from them.
Make Your Own Dryer Sheets
You can make your own dryer sheets and put them in the dryer to deodorize your laundry. You will need a small piece of 100% cotton cloth which you should soak in water and squeeze the excess liquid from it until it becomes damp. Pour 10 drops of your preferred essential oil (orange, lemon, lavender or any other) over the cloth to absorb them. Run your dryer with heat and then put the aromatic cloth in it running your dryer again but on no heat cycle for about 10-15 minutes. Your clothes will smell nicely but without such a sharp and irritating aroma as when using fabric softener. You can repeat this cycle as many times as necessary until the odor completely disappears from your clothes. Just soak the cloth with essential oils to use it again.
LondonCleaners W9 are advising you to add essential oils directly to your laundry detergent regardless if it’s homemade or store-bought. You can use 1 oz. of oils and skip the second drying cycle. This will make your clothes properly cleaned and deodorized as well. Cleaning stains, spillages and removing odors from your clothes should be done as soon as possible. Try these methods for refreshing your clothes and you will get excellent results. You can make a spray deodorizer using distilled water, rubbing alcohol and essential oils. Just spray on the washed clothes and leave them to dry.
Keeping your clothes clean and fresh can be done with the help of self-made detergents for washing machines and hand washing. There are plenty of recipes for cleaning stains, washing clothes and refreshing them. Use the ideas presented here to make your own clothes fresheners. Make sure you have done effective and thorough cleaning and removing of the stains from your clothes before you deodorize them. You can make your clothes smell of your favorite essential oils using the methods for refreshing stinky clothes presented here.