Did you know you can make your own Homemade Fabric Softener Crystals like the ones Purex makes? All you need is 2 ingredients too – Epsom salts and your favorite essential oils.
If you have ever used those fabric softener crystals in the store you will know one little container of these will cost you upwards of $5.00-$6.00 depending on the size. My own homemade laundry recipe costs around $20 for a year of detergent and one of the ingredients I use is the Purex crytals. The Purex Crystals in the recipe is the most expensive ingredient, so I attempted to make my own fabric softener crystals recipe to save money. And I was able to save $4.12 off the recipe.
How to make Homemade Fabric Softener Crystals
First I turned over a container of Purex crystals to read what was inside of them.
Sodium Chloride, PEG Distearate, Bentonite, Sodium Silicate, Fragrance, Silica, Liquitint Red ST, Liquitint Blue HP.
Okay – so Sodium Chloride is salt. The rest of the ingredients are basically fragrance, colorants and thickeners. Stuff we don’t really NEED, right? The more natural the better I say, because I have a little girl who has very sensitive skin.
Epsom salts + essential oils for fragrance are all you really need!
Just take your Epsom salts, and pour them into a bowl. A 2 lb. box (a little over 4 cups) of Epsom salts only costs $0.88 at Walmart!
Then add about 40 drops of your favorite essential oils.
Order (my favorite brand) essential oils here.
My favorite scent for my homemade fabric softener crystals is a combination of 20 drops of Lavendar and 20 drops of Lime. The combination is heavenly. But you can really just add whatever scent you love the most. In fact you could probably have it be non-scented if you wanted to as well which would save even more money. The salts alone would soften your clothes.
After you add in the oils, mix it all up until thoroughly blended. It took less than 2 minutes of mixing to be totally incorporated.
And Voila!
You have homemade fabric softener crystals!
Store them in an air-tight container or just pour the whole 4 cups into your homemade laundry recipe. If you use store bought laundry detergent you can just add a small scoop (1-2 tablespoons) of these crystals to your wash to soften your clothes.
Oh and try not to sit and just sniff your jar all day long. I know it’s tempting…. I know.
While the smell is strong in the jar, it’s not as strong on my clothes coming out of the dryer. Purex crystals were stronger, but they also had a lot of strange fragrances, mine are pure essential oils that I know are good for me to be breathing in. My clothes do smell lovely still and they are so soft using this recipe.
The next time you make homemade laundry detergent make sure and also make this homemade fabric softener crystals recipe along with it to save you money. This takes the price of my detergent down to just around $16.89 vs. $20.21. Sweet!
Recipe for Homemade Fabric Softener Crystals
- 4 Cups Epsom Salts ($0.88 for 2 lb. box at Walmart)
- 40 drops Essential Oils (about $1.00)
- Mix them together and you are done.
Final price $1.88 for homemade vs. $6.00 for Purex Crystals at the store!
Homemade DIY Fabric Softener Crystals
Like Purex, but much less expensive.Print Pin RateServings: 4 cupsInstructions
Thoughts? Have you tried to make your own fabric softener before? Have any other great homemade recipes you would like to share?
Here are more DIY recipes you might be interested in:
- DIY Burt’s Bees Chapstick copy cat recipe
- DIY Homemade Greek yogurt
- DIY Making Homemade Mozzarella Cheese
- Making Homemade Butter
- Learn to Cut your little boys hair with my tutorial
- Using Coconut Oil as a Moisturizer
- DIY Homemade Soap making
- DIY Homemade Natural Deodorant
- Making your own Homemade Baby Food
Find more frugal living recipes and DIY ideas here.
About Karrie
Food is my love language. But so is saving money. So I like to combine the two a lot and make thrifty make ahead and freeze meals to save time. Because life is busy, and freezer meals can come to the rescue for all of us. And yes, they actually CAN taste good. Read more...
Comments & Reviews
Julie says
I LOVE this fabric softener. It works amazing!! However….. I bought Epsom Salt Technical Grade from a hardware store. Would this be safe to use? I didn’t realize there were different types of Epsom Salt.
Thank you!!
Frank says
Epsom salt hardens water. Contains magnesium. Recipe is flawed.
Renae says
Hi! I Tried your Home Made Fabric Softener Crystal Recipe & LOVE it!! I LOVE that it is SUPER EASY to make! I Followed your Suggestion of Using 20 Drops of Lavendar Oil & 20 Drops of Lime Oil, but I wasn’t too Crazy about the two scents when Combined together & I don’t like them enough to use them seperately. Do you have any Essential Oil Scent or Blended Scent that has a Nice CLEAN Scent to it….something that smells Similar to The Purex Crystals “Fresh Spring Waters” Scent?? That is my FAVORITE SCENT….the Fresh Spring Waters Scent that Purex Offers. Do you have any Scent Available to that scent that smells Similar that you would Recommend Using? Thanks!
Dawn says
I began using homemade fabric softener a year ago last Christmas (the version with water, vinegar, baking soda, & essential oils). Some things I have noticed as an improvement:
1. Our towels actually absorb water now when were drying after a shower/bath, and when doing dishes!
2. Clothes feel softer not ‘waxy’!
3. Not so much sneezing in the house (we have our dryer vented in during the winter months), though this might be in addition to added moisture in the air.
4. And the best saved for last… my husband and I along with our 2 children had bumps on the back of our arms, looked like ingrown hairs. Now, we are all ‘bump free’!
Rebecca says
Some one mentioned a liquid version. I made a concentrated liquid 8 cups H2O + 4 lb Epsom Salt + 2 tsp of Lavender Oil. Warmed & melted salt in a pan poured into a container added oil close lid & shake. add 1/8 cup per load in the dispenser or downy ball. Works great, even better than my softner from Melaleuca which is all natural that we were using, everything is super soft for more of a scent add more pure essential oil. Thanks
Melinda Brooks says
I would like to order some of the essential oils from DoTerra but I am not interested in becoming a consultant– can we order through you?
Thanks for your site — it is wonderful
Jenny Lynn says
I would think that actual salt (Sodium Chloride) would be a better choice than Epsom salts, which are not actually salts at all. Epsom salts are made from Magnesium Sulfate. I would be interested to hear if anyone has done a comparison between the two.
Frank G says
It is a salt. Magnesium sulfate: Mg+2 SO4-2. Actually it’s a hydrate. It hardens water. Using it as a fabric softener makes little sense. NaCl is a water softener, which is why the commercial product uses it. This recipe is flawed.
Helen says
You spelled lavendEr incorrectly. Also, this is not a fabric softener but a laundry booster. The bentonite clay is a natural mineral from the earth and it absorbs and adsorbs all the pollutants and dirt in your clothes. It is also very healthy to soak in with some Epsom salt for a cheap detox. For fabric softener that whitens and softens clothes, use coffee filters and out them in a baby wipes tub. Pour vinegar and your favorite essential oils in. Use one coffee filter for three loads of clothes at least. It works great in conjunction with homemade laundry soap andEpsom salt/Pyrex crystals.
Julie says
I think it is both a great fabric softener and booster. Also…. *OUT* them in a baby wipes tub.?. I assume you meant put them in…….
Ben Pauley says
I’m slowly starting to convert to natural laundry care as well as other natural products for cleaning. So far I love using vinegar as my fabric softener of choice as I feel it does help reduce static and remove any extra residue my commercial detergent (since I have yet to find something that cleans thoroughly and not fade/leave holes in my clothes). But I love, and do mean LOVE Downy Unstoppables. I was wondering if I could use this recipe in place of downy more as a scent booster than a softner? Will the Epsom salt and vinegar combo cancel each other out as a softner (like recipes that call for a vinegar and baking soda mixture as a softner)? And then one last question since I have only smelled essential oils and not used them. I love the smell of this beard balm and the essential oils in it are juniper, lavender, rosemary and bergamot; should I be concerned with this combo or is it a safe mix?
Karrie says
There should be no salt left on your clothes. The salt softens your clothes and is rinsed out in the final rinse.
Echo says
not to worried about softness but it would really interest me to know what this recipe does for static cling. gads i hate getting zapped!!!
Karrie says
I haven’t had too much static cling..but I don’t think this recipe takes all of it out 100%.
Meryl says
For static cling I’ve read about using foil balls in the dryer.
Becky says
Hi!
I have been looking for more frugal and more natural methods for housekeeping. I have read that some people use vinegar as a fabric softener and skip the dryer sheet. If I use epsom salts in my detergent do you think I can skip the vinegar idea? (I have very hard water and have an HE wash machine)
Leanne says
Hi, love your ideas. I use the Purex Crystals in my homemade laundry detergent so I was surprised to see your fabric softener idea. When I checked my bottle of PC, it says “Laundry Enhancer” for keeping laundry fresher longer. In fact, it says not to put it in the fabric softener dispenser.
I use a homemade fabric softener made from water, vinegar, and hair conditioner. It seems to work on all the laundry that I use it on. I don’t use it on towels or washcloths.
Leanne says
I use all my homemade laundry products in an HE washer without any issues. The homemade products seem to keep the scum and smell out of the washer. When I was using commercial liquid detergent, both were pretty bad. I would guess it’s the vinegar in the homemade fabric softener (vinegar, hair conditioner, and water version).
Dona says
So if I am ready this right is goes in the wash cycle?
Johnna says
Salt is corrosive. Do you not worry it may corrode something in your washing machine over time? I know when we scuba dive we have to thoroughly rinse all equipment whether it is metal or not because the salt in the water will ruin it fairly quickly.
Echo says
love the idea of this but what about static?? i am sensitive to static electricity.
L'lani Ramirez says
What about Dr Teal’s Epsom Salt with Lavender? I know it probably doesn’t have pure oil, but just wondering if it would be ok to put it in a load.
Dona says
I will try this next time.
Roslyn says
How much of the homemade softener crystals did you add to how much homemade powder detergent? Just looking for a ratio for mixing the two. Recommendation for ratio if mixing it with DIY liquid detergent also. Can’t wait to try this. I just used the last of my purchased softener and have the ingredients on hand.
Kristin Egelund says
Does this help with static cling as well?
Rudi Pittman says
Have you compared the epson salt solution to the homemade recipe that uses vinegar, water and some cheap hair conditioner? I’ve been using that for a while and it works quite well. I was curious which had a lower cost per usage.
The recipe in question is here: http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/homemade-fabric-softener.htm
Homemade Fabric Softener
2 cups cheap hair conditioner
3 cups white vinegar
6 cups warm water
Pour everything into an old fabric softener bottle or other container and mix well. If you are using a bottle, just give it a few good shakes.
Richelle says
Using cheap hair conditioner defeats the purpose of an all natural solution…
Claudia Phillips says
I’ve been using Epsom Salts with essential oils as a fabric softener for about a month in my HE machine. LOVE IT! My favorite scent is lemon oil and peppermint oil. Smells so fresh and clean.
Missi says
How do you use it in your HE? Do you just mix the salt in with your detergent or do you have to put the Epsom in water and then pour into the detergent slot? We make our own detergent so if this works for us better than the vinegar I’ll mix it into our next batch. But I’d like to try it first, just adding it in. Tips on how to do that? Dissolve first then add or just dump a spoonful in with the soap?