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Sometimes a photo will go viral on Facebook or just fill the home feed on Pinterest. That kind of thing is exactly why I started this blog. I kept seeing things online and thinking, Really? But does it really work? Is it that easy? I’ve had a few failures and disappointments (see the “boy bathroom smell” disaster) but overall I’ve been pleasantly surprised when it comes to DIY cleaners and the many tips and tricks I’ve tried. These DIY dryer sheets go in the success column! My clothes came out of the dryer smelling fresh, feeling soft and without that annoying static cling I hate so much.
DIY “Forever” Dryer Sheets
- Liquid Fabric Softener
- Water
- Plastic storage bin with lid
- 6 sponges, cut in half lengthwise
- Slice sponges lengthwise, giving you 12 strips
- In the plastic bin, mix fabric softener and water with a 1:2 ratio. My container took 2 cups of softener and 4 cups of water. I read several different blogs and the comments and settled on a 2:1 ratio to be cautious. I didn’t want dark spots all over my laundry. Plus, I’m cheap. If I can get more for less money, I’ll do it! 🙂
- Place sponges in mixture and cover.
- When you are ready to dry a load of laundry, squeeze out all the excess liquid from one sponge. Toss into the dryer, then add your wet clothes and dry.
- When the load is done drying, just pop the dry sponge back into your bucket and you’re good to go!
If you have more liquid in your bucket than the sponges could possibly soak up (like I do, you can make your own DIY Wrinkle Releaser. It. Is. Awesome.
Note: I do NOT have a fancy dryer. It’s not HE, and since I got it at a garage sale for $35, I wasn’t afraid to try something like this. I also have not been using these long enough to see if mold becomes a factor. I will make sure to update this post after a few weeks. However, while doing my research, I never found any complaints of mold. But I promise, I’ll let you know if this turns into a Fail. 😉
What about you? Have you tried any homemade cleaners like laundry detergent or floor cleaner? Were you satisfied, or would you rather stick with the store brands?
Check out some of the other Cleaning Tips and Tricks that I consider successes!
Follow 365(ish) Days of Pinterest’s board Cleaning Tips and Tricks on Pinterest.
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JANICE RAY says
I will try it again with distilled water. I really liked it, but another thing I didn’t clean out the container it was in when I made another batch. That could have affected it too. We live and learn!
JANICE RAY says
I used this several years ago. It worked great at first. Then it smelled soured and was slimy. Now I have just started making another one, and it has distilled water. Would that keep this recipe from souring and getting slimy maybe I just used tap water in it, because it doesn’t say, just water.
Nicole Burkholder says
Yes, if you don’t use it up it can get “funky” after several weeks. I used a small container and refilled it (just tap water.) Distilled water is a great option that will help it last longer and you won’t have to worry about using it up/refreshing it. (I use distilled water for my makeup remover pads and that lasts forever.)
Varina says
I had a hard time finding a container with a lid to place on my washer? I’m using one of the larger containers for detergent pods. The lid is attached and clicks closed. Perfect!
Jan Brownlee says
I have made both the liquid laundry soap and the dry laundry soap. Both recipes called for fels naptha soap (grated fine), washing soda and borax. The liquid type does get gelled and you have to shake the bottle before you measure it out to use. However, you use such a small amount of it – 1/4 cup for a large load. One batch of liquid will last me about 6 to 9 months. A benefit of the liquid soap is that you add 1 cup vinegar while you are making it, which acts as a fabric softener. I use only 1 Tablespoon of the dry laundry soap. With both liquid and dry, you don’t get much suds. The ingredients in the laundry detergent clean the clothes – the excess soap you see is strictly a marketing tool used by the manufacturers to make people think their product is cleaning their clothes better. It is a psychological ploy.
Lisa D says
I made mine tonight with some Melaleuca brand fabric softener and so excited! I’m excited to see how long this will last. I used wash clothes and a wipe container. We will wait and see! Thank you!!
Nicole Burkholder says
Come back and let us know how you like it!
Carleen says
I’ve used homemade liquid detergent for 2 years and absolutely love it…it so cheap, my husband can’t stop talking about it to other people. I wrote about it on my blog. The link to my blog is
http://carleenscraftykitchen.blogspot.com/?m=1
And the link to my detergent is
http://carleenscraftykitchen.blogspot.com/2013/06/homemade-liquid-laundry-detergent.html?m=1
Lynn Ayers says
Why do you put so many sponges in the mix if you only use one at a time?
Nicole Burkholder says
Because I don’t want to dig through the pile of dry clothes that I just pulled out to find the dry sponge snd have to wait for it to rehydrate as I load the dryer again. I do a LOT of laundry with three boys 🙂 Also, I am forever losing one or two, so it’s just nice to have extras handy!
kristi says
About how many uses do you get out if one batch? I just made my first batch today…i may track it.
Nicole Burkholder says
Tons. I had it for a few months and finally tossed it out because I wanted to try a new scent 🙂
Nicole says
Wondering if you are still happy with your softener or if you found mild issues etc. it’s September now so do you still use it?
Thanks!!
Nicole Burkholder says
Yes, I still use it. The only I noticed was that after several months in my garage (through the summer) the soap seemed to separate from the water more and more. I would shake it to mix it again but eventually I just dumped it and made a fresh batch. But I’m only on the 2nd batch since I wrote this post, so that’s pretty good! 🙂
Janna says
This sounds awesome, I’ll have to try. Not to nit pick or anything, but your ratio is backwards. Based on your explanation that you used 2 cups of softener and 4 cups of water and because you talk about the softener first, you should have written “fabric softener and water with a 1:2 ratio.” So that it is 1 part softener to 2 parts water… It might be confusing for some.
Nicole Burkholder says
You’re right! Thanks for pointing that out- I’ll go back and correct that so it’s easier to understand 🙂
Amy says
I will definately try this! I tried some DIY dishwashing tablets I found on pinterest and was so disappointed! They left a horrible cloudy film on all my glasses that was hard to remove. But I LOVE making my own liquid laundry detergent, works wonderfully!!
Nicole Burkholder says
I’ve been using it for several weeks and I’m still really happy with it!
Jennifer Johnson says
Love this I have done the towel soaked in fabric softener before and liked it. I will try this this weekend!
Nicole Burkholder says
I’ve been happy with it so far! Certainly better than finding dryer sheets all over the house 🙂
Brittnei says
I’ve definitely been able to save so much more money making my own cleaners at home and I feel better about them because I know what ingredients I put i them and they are non toxic. I have an almost 2 year old that seems to find ways to get into things constantly.
Nicole Burkholder says
I’m sure there would be a way to make this using your own materials instead of fabric softener from the store. That would be something to look into!
Lauren @ DC Healthy Bites says
Since I installed a washer/dryer combo unit I can no longer use dryer sheets. I really miss them and would definitely try out your method to help reduce household waste. Great idea, thanks for sharing! Visiting from Let’s Get Real!
Nicole Burkholder says
I can’t stand the static you end up with when you don’t use some kind of softener!
Tammy @ creativekkids.com says
I am so doing this as I want to make my own diy wrinkle relaxer stuff anyway–it’s been on my list of things to do. I make my own laundry soap and bathroom cleaner and love it. I made my own dishwasher soap and wasn’t too pleased with it.
Nicole Burkholder says
I LOVE my wrinkle releaser! We use it all the time because I really hate to iron. 🙂 I’ve never tried the homemade laundry soap. I’ve read too many people who didn’t like it as much as the stuff in the store- they especially miss the scent. We love Gain in our house!
Myra says
I tried making the liquid laundry detergent and wasn’t happy with it at all. But now I make the dry kind and I love, love, LOVE it!!! I use a bottle of Purex crystals to give it a nice scent. It’s supposed to make enough to do a year’s worth of laundry for a family of 4. I don’t know if lasts that long or not; my daughter and I have made about three batches of it, but we keep giving it away to friends to try it. We’re that excited about it! You only use 2 tablespoons per load. It cleans really well and smells wonderful.
Nicole Burkholder says
That’s so interesting! I haven’t heard anyone who is REALLY honestly happy with their homemade laundry soap. Most seem like either more work than they are worth or they don’t give you the nice “smell” of clean laundry that you want. I’d love to hear the “recipe” for the dry detergent!
madeline says
I have used the homemade dry laundry detergent for about 2 years now and I love it. I have eczema so a lot of store bought detergents make me itch. Mine is a powder mix and I use:
*baking soda (3boxes)
*ivory soap (3 bars)
*borax (1 box)
*Clorox 2 (1 box)
*oxy clean(1 box)
you can also add purex crystals if you like the scent. Since I use Clorox 2 so that I can use it for all of my clothes, I also add vinegar to my wash. Helps keeps my washer clean and is cheaper than bleach!
Kolleen says
Nicole – I have made my own and it was fine. I used the other soap fels naptha and it was sort of stinky. I used my food processor to chop it up and I was afraid I was going to break the pricey processor! That is why I stopped using it. I recall the recipe used Washing Soda, Baking Soda, Borax and Fels Naptha. I just looked up the recipe and they suggested an alternative to the Fels Naptha … Dr Bronners Unscented Mild Baby Soap. Glad I looked it up I am going to make some more!
Nicole Burkholder says
I have a friend who made her own with fels naptha and she was happy with it as well. She’s the only one I know personally who’s been satisfied with how it worked. That must be the “secret ingredient” 🙂
Natoshia says
1 box Arm & Hanmet Super Soda Wash
1 box Borax
1 small container of oxyclean
2 bars grated of Zote or 3 bars of Fels Naptha
1 container of a scent of your choice. (I use Downy Unstoppable’s).
I love love love it! Everyone I have share it with does too!
Thanks for the dryer sheet recipe!
Nicole Burkholder says
Sounds great, thanks!
Tina says
I made my own dry laundry soap using the Purex crystals and have never been so in love with a soap before in my life!!!
Christina @ Juggling Real Food and Real Life says
Very interesting Nicole. I am looking forward to how this works out for you long term. Dryer sheets are pretty inexpensive, but they seem like such a waste. I find those little suckers everywhere. They fall out of our pants and laundry baskets and are such a nuisance.
Nicole Burkholder says
Well, dryer sheets are at least $3 for a box of 40. That last about a month and half for me. Let’s call is $40 per year on the low end. This costs about .50 to make and will probably last at LEAST six months. So that’s a savings of $39 per year. That may be small, but every bit helps! And I don’t have the annoying little sheets all over the house. 🙂
Chrystal @ YUM eating says
Oh gosh, what I wouldn’t do to not have those all over my house. I have a husband who doesn’t know how to toss them and a small dog and the cat who likes to run away with them!
Nicole Burkholder says
Our dog drags them all over the house, too! 🙂
Stephanie Pass says
I love this idea! I can’t imagine mold would be an issue. My only problem is we have to use “free” dryer sheets because my husband and I have horrible allergies and are really sensitive to the heavy scents of regular dryer sheets. I have no idea if they have liquid fabric softener that’s free of scents. I’ve never bought it, only sheets. I’m going to have to investigate this. Just pinned!
Kolleen says
They do! I found some at Target. Downy has an option as does Seventh Generation, etc.