Fabric Softener Could Be the Worst Thing to Use on Laundry

The laundry aisle has shelves full of fabric softening products that promise to make your laundry feel soft to the touch. But recently, the internet has been suggesting that this could be more damaging than helpful—to both your clothes, and your machine.

We asked two experts if fabric softener is bad for your clothes and your washer, and what to use instead.

What Is Fabric Softener?

Fabric softeners do not clean clothes or remove stains; they are liquids that are added during the rinse cycle in a washer to make clothes feel softer, reduce static, and add fragrance.

They work by leaving a layer of electrically charged chemical compounds on fabric surfaces. The compounds coat and penetrate the fibers, making the fabric feel softer and gentler on the skin. The compounds also neutralize electrical charges to reduce static cling.

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Is Fabric Softener Bad for Your Clothes?

Occasional use of fabric softener won’t ruin your clothes, but overuse can cause problems.

“Layers of fabric softener build up over time, which attracts dirt and soil that is difficult to remove,” says laundry pro Zach Pozniak. “Fabric softener causes natural fabrics like undergarments, towels, and bedding, and synthetic fabrics like athletic wear and pajamas to become less absorbent and breathable, and more flammable.”

Fabric Softener Alternatives

• Distilled white vinegar: Fill the fabric softener dispenser with undiluted distilled white vinegar or add 1/2 cup to the rinse cycle to help remove detergent residue that leaves fabrics feeling rough and stiff to the touch.
• Essential oils: Add a few drops of your favorite essential oil to the distilled white vinegar to infuse scent into laundry. Or, you can add scent beads to the wash cycle to add fragrance to laundry loads.
• Wool dryer balls: Add two or three wool dryer balls to the tumble dryer with the wet laundry to help reduce static cling. Air drying clothing will also reduce static charges.
• Hand shaking items: In addition to using vinegar to keep clothing fibers softer, shake each item well as you remove it from the washer before putting it in the dryer. This will help reduce set-in wrinkles. Remove clothes from the dryer while it is still slightly damp and hang to air dry.

4 Items You Should Never Add Fabric Softener To

• Towels, sheets, and undergarments: Reduces the absorbance of towels and linens and traps body soil and oil.
• Athletic wear and compression garments: Reduces breathability and traps sweat next to the skin. Increases odors by trapping body soil.
• Children’s sleepwear: Reduces flame retardancy and increases flammability.
• Microfiber fleece: Reduces breathability during wear.

FAQ

• Occasional use of fabric softener won’t ruin clothes, but overuse can trap soil and odors that ruin clothes and reduces moisture absorbency, breathability, and flame-retardancy.

• Distilled white vinegar is a great alternative to fabric softener because it works well to remove detergent and soil residue left in clothing that causes fabrics to feel stiff and scratchy.

• If you wash clothes properly using the correct amount of good laundry detergent that removes body soil, you shouldn’t need fabric softener to make fabrics feel softer.

• Adding 1/2 cup of undiluted distilled white vinegar to the rinse cycle will not harm the components of a washing machine. However, filling the drum with too much acidic vinegar will cause damage to gaskets and components.