I've gone cold turkey!

[Sad Eyed Lady]

Some of you may remember on the old forums we were discussing fabric softener in the laundry and I was a die hard user. When I looked into the chemicals involved and one article actually said that fabric softener was probably the one most toxic thing we used in our home, then I vowed to give it up. I toyed with the idea of an alternative for awhile, but after reading so many of your posts I decided to go "cold turkey" - and I haven't looked back. Thanks for helping to free me from the evil snuggle king!

[janharker]

When I think of it, I throw a couple of those rubber dryer balls in the dryer. They work great for fluffing things while they dry. Rarely do I have to deal with static. And I do think things dry faster when I use them.

[Sad Eyed Lady]

janharker I almost always dry my laundry outside, or in bad weather inside on a drying rack. If I used the dryer much at all I would try to dryer balls.

[Mrs-M]

I'm sooo proud of you Shalom! In our home (back when I used to use it- shame on me), standard complaints mentioned were dry itchy skin and a greasy sort of feeling on the fabric (clothing, etc). I never used the liquid form, just the sheet styled ones (Bounce), but after giving it up my husband noticed a big difference in how his clothes felt next to his skin and how well towels absorbed.

[Tammy]

I agree about the absorbancy problem. I don't feel like my skin gets dry when the towels have been washed with softener.

[chas&rod]

Do you add vinegar or something to the wash? I have ALOT of static if I dont use something. I hang clothes outside when weather permits but we have been having alot of rain lately.

[Tammy]

All I use is half the recommended amount of laundry soap. I use a locally produced homemade lye soap.

I hang the good clothing from the dryer when they are about 80% dry - to avoid ironing.

The rest I dry all the way. We are usually at 5-10% humidity. I never have static.

I did the same when we lived in the humid midwest and no static there either.
We use almost no manmade fibers though. Mostly cotton.

[saguaro]

I have never been a big fan of fabric softener for a lot of reasons mentioned...towels don't dry well and there is a funky greasy feeling that I don't like. Also, just the idea of washing my dish towels in the washer that has probably leftover residue from the softener left in it bugs me somehow. I switched to vinegar years ago.

I am in the Midwest where the humidity is high enough during most of the year so static isn't usually a problem. Only in the winter and I deal with it.

[Gina]

Do you add vinegar or something to the wash? I have ALOT of static if I dont use something. I hang clothes outside when weather permits but we have been having alot of rain lately.

I don't know about static, but I used to use acid in the last rinse in the washer. I don't use a dryer and hang everything inside on lines. The acid made clothes and especially towels softer, but over time I sort of stopped using it (I kept missing the timing on the last rinse) and just live with it. I found the clothes soften over time anyway, or maybe I 'm just used to it.

At first I used vinegar, but I switched to very dilute pool acid because it was much less costly. But you do need to be careful with pool acid - and most people are not comfortable using strong chemicals. I would keep a dilute gallon of the acid - approx 3/4 water, 1/4 pool acid and add about 1 cup of that to the final rinse. (Always add acid to water)

[Mrs-M]

I believe "over-drying" is the #1 problem related to static-cling. As far as vinegar rinses go, I don't combine it with my laundry routine much anymore, but when my kids were in diapers I ran regular vinegar rinse loads to remove any excess detergent left behind in the diapers which helped prevent diaper rash and irritation (old-fashioned top-loading machine), and to maintain pH balance. Vinegar definitely helps increase softness.