Any negatives to using vinegar as fabric softener?

[Indoobidubly]

Like a vinegar smell on the clothes? Or skin irritations (regular fabric softener gives me a rash) due to the fact that the vinegar is altering the pH in the washer? etc

Thanks.

[knytingen]

Vinegar doesnt smell aftherwards, if you are really afraid of that you can use some etheric oils with the vinegar.
But the vinegar can ruin the elastic in the clothes over time, I would never use vinegar for my strechy jeans.
And yes, it is possible to get skin irritations from vinegar, but I dont think thats normal. I have only seen this on babys using cloth diapers.

Im using vinegar for my towels and bedsheets to make them soft. I dont use it for my clothes.

[snitker79]

I was not aware that vinegar affected elastic. I have been using it on everything and only softner on my old towels that are too built up with softner to not get soft with just vinegar.

What do you use with you clothes then?

A slight drawback I have found since I stopped using liquid softner and dryer sheets is that things get a bit more static if overdried and if fleece items are drying too.

[glorified_rice]

Originally Posted by snitker79

I was not aware that vinegar affected elastic. I have been using it on everything and only softner on my old towels that are too built up with softner to not get soft with just vinegar.

What do you use with you clothes then?

A slight drawback I have found since I stopped using liquid softner and dryer sheets is that things get a bit more static if overdried and if fleece items are drying too.

I'll just chime in here I too use vinegar w/ towels and sheets...not on clothes anymore. I did for a while after switching over from using fabric softener. My clothes don't seem to need it anymore. I think after the buildup from using softener goes away, the static problem gets better. Balls of wadded-up aluminum foil in the dryer work pretty well on static.

[artemis33]

I use vinegar on my sheets and towels but I DO smell a bit of residue. It might be that I use to much sometimes (I don't measure really, just a couple glugs) or it might be my really low water use frontloader (which I kind of think is a problem - in the future I'll research them more carefully).

[PenelopeJune]

Interesting. I've been using vinegar as fabric softener for about a month now. I've not noticed any smell at all, and my clothes are nice and static-free. I didn't know that about the elastic. I'm using it with my cloth diapers, so I really hope it doesn't break down the elastics in some of them!

[oneotamama]

Originally Posted by artemis33

I use vinegar on my sheets and towels but I DO smell a bit of residue. It might be that I use to much sometimes (I don't measure really, just a couple glugs) or it might be my really low water use frontloader (which I kind of think is a problem - in the future I'll research them more carefully).

So I'm not the only one who dislikes their "efficient" front loader, huh?! Ugh. I've had mine for 6 years now and wish the thing would break.:

I use vinegar w/no problems.

[Ruthla]

I don't use fabric softener or vinegar or anything at all. I don't have a lot of fleece things, but those I hang to dry instead of throwing in the dryer with the cotton stuff. When I dry a fleece blanket, it goes in the dryer by itself on low.