Scent your own laundry?

[mother4good]

I am a scent addict.

I know someone who scents her own laundry with essential oils and scent-free detergent. I REALLY want to try this! My problem is I have a history of staining stuff. I have a really hard time with those oils spots on my clothes. (I have heard them called water spots, but if they were from water wouldn't they dry?) I can never seem to get them out. How can I use the EO's without making more oils spots on my clothes?

Thanks!

PS. tried asking said friend but she just said it was not a problem for her.

[QueenSheba'sMom]

I put a few drops in the detergent bottle, not directly on the clothes

hth!

[mother4good]

Thanks. So you do a whole bottle at a time and not per load? Do you shake it up or add anyother ingredients?

[onemoremom]

Also, some people use a downy ball filled with vinegar instead of fabric softener because it helps dissolve the soap and the clothes stay soft because they don't have the build-up. You can mix essential oils with vinegar, so that might be something to.

[hibana]

I make up scent in a bottle and spray the clothes after they are hung on the rack. I was using flower waters, but I would assume that with only a few drops of EOs per bottle, shaken up and sprayed in a fine mist on damp clothes, you wouldn't get spots. (It also seems more efficient to me than putting the scent in the washer where it gets diluted and washed away)

[QueenSheba'sMom]

Originally Posted by mother4good

Thanks. So you do a whole bottle at a time and not per load? Do you shake it up or add anyother ingredients?

A whole bottle of eo? Oh my goodness, that might be a disaster!

I'd guess that 10-20 drops for the whole container of detergent would be about right, depending on the strength you're looking for.

[bellabear]

Maybe when the clothes are being agitated put the eo in? Just putting eo in when the washer is filling up has never been a problem for me.

[Groovy Mom]

I'm not sure, if you're used the the traditional Downy-kill-'em-with-scent level of "freshness" that you can attain that in a natural manner, LOL.

I use vinegar with Lavendar EO and it leaves the clothes very soft, but not highly scented. I can smell it sometimes, but not consistantly. The clothes just smell... clean. I have a very good nose for smells, too, but just can't smell it. I'm still trying to tweak my "recipe" with the vinegar/scent, though.

I also use lavendar scented detergent. I put a little bit more lavendar in that and I think that has helped a bit. But still, it is a hint of scent rather than a heavily perfumed Downy/Tide smell.

[Malva]

I also put a few drops of lavender oil with the vinegar I use when rinsing. By a few, I mean 4-5 per load.

[Rhiannon Feimorgan]

I have a small cloth bag filled with nice smelling dry herbs, lavender and such. It's sewn with a doubble seam and two layers of fabric so nothing gets out. There is a zipper on one edge so I can re fill it from time to time. I toss it into the dryer with my laundry and it sents the clothes quite nicely. It's not as strong a smell as downy, but it's stronger than what I've been able to get putting EO's in the wash. I put about 1/3 cup herbs in the bag at a time. It lasts about a month before the herbs have lost their sent and need to be replaced. I'm not sure how the cost would compare to EOs as I use herbs from my garden so they are free.

The old fashoned method of sachet of herbs tucked between the clothes in your drawers works very well too. Cloths don't come out of the wash smelling like much, but they smell nice by the time you put them on.

And of corse nothing beats the smell of laundry dried outside on a line. If you give the clothes a good shake before you hang them up and if you put vinigar in the rince cycle to strip off soap resadue, they come off the line suprisingly soft.

[Knittin' in the Shade]

Originally Posted by Rhiannon Feimorgan

I have a small cloth bag filled with nice smelling dry herbs, lavender and such. It's sewn with a doubble seam and two layers of fabric so nothing gets out. There is a zipper on one edge so I can re fill it from time to time. I toss it into the dryer with my laundry and it sents the clothes quite nicely. It's not as strong a smell as downy, but it's stronger than what I've been able to get putting EO's in the wash. I put about 1/3 cup herbs in the bag at a time. It lasts about a month before the herbs have lost their sent and need to be replaced. I'm not sure how the cost would compare to EOs as I use herbs from my garden so they are free.

I do the same thing, with dried lavender buds from my insanely huge lavender plants. I add a few drops of lavender EO to the dried herbs before I zip up the bag.

[Ambrose]

I toss a cotton ball with 4-6 drops of EO into the dryer.