FO instead of EO in homemade laundry detergent?

[WAsoaps]

Is it OK to put FO instead of EO in dry laundry detergent (especially if I don't have sensitive skin)? Or will it somehow ruin my clothes??

I been reading a lot on here about how the EO scent doesn't stay on the clothes once it's washed so it seems kind of a waste.

 

[Hazel]

I don't know why it would ruin clothes since the FO amount is going to be so small in comparison to the amount of water used for the wash. But I'm not sure how well the scent would remain in the clothes. If you want your clothes scented, it might be more economical to make sachets to put in your drawers and to hang in your closet. Oddly enough, I was just talking to a friend the other day who asked me if it would be okay to put some of the soap I gave her into her clothes drawers. I told her she could but she might want to wrap them loosely in cotton or muslin so they wouldn't be against any clothes. The bonus to this is the soap will also get a little harder and hopefully, last a little longer.

eta: I forgot to mention - I used to use unscented dryer sheets with a dab of peppermint EO on them. I'd toss it into the dryer and it did give the clothes a bit of a minty scent. I stopped doing it because I was getting low on it. It would probably be more effective if you waited until the cool down so the EO wouldn't be exposed to heat.

 

[WAsoaps]

Wow the bit about the dryer sheets a great idea! I actually never realized they sold it unscented! lol

Lemme tell you, I just made a batch (my first) of laundry detergent w/o any EO or FO. (The huge bar of white Zote actually smelled a lot like the Fels-naphta soap) I just pulled my load out of the washing machine. My clothes smelled nice and crisp and stains were lightened significantly.
Also, my clothes felt different. When using regular liquid detergent my clothes come out feeling almost... waxy? Like, it wasn't really cleaned at all. But this homemade detergent made my clothes feel so clean! Love it!!! So excited.

 

[jade-15]

I make my own fabric softener and use Eucalyptus oil in this - comes in a good size bottle and is a fairly cheap oil to buy (I'm not sure if it's an EO or just Eucalyptus oil... is there a difference?) Anyway, my clothes come out very lightly scented of eucalyptus by putting it in the softener. Haven't tried putting anything in detergent.
I know that doesn't answer your original question, but I hope it helps anyway

 

[WAsoaps]

Hi jade,
when you say you make your own fabric softener, do you put drops on the unscented sheets or do you put drops in white vinegar and put that in your rinse cycle? I heard about the latter method today.

I should try just straight white vinegar first.. I keep hearing rave reviews! It's interesting how such a pungent thing like vinegar doesn't make your clothes smell sour! (I'm just not sure how much am I supposed to put in? 1/2 cup - 1 cup, I'm assuming?)

 

[Hazel]

Not jade but I'll mention my experience. I use white vinegar because it doesn't really have much of an odor and the clothes always come out smelling fresh. I have added peppermint EO to vinegar in the rinse cycle (approximately 2 ml EO to 1/2 cup) and even though it made the laundry area smell great, the scent didn't remain on the clothes. I just thought it seemed wasteful to use EO this way so I stopped doing it.

 

[jade-15]

My Mum used plain vinegar and I wasn't a fan (towels crunchy, faint vinegar smell - maybe she used too much?). So I tried one I found online and have been happy with it.
1 L water
1 tbsp vinegar
1 tbsp hair conditioner
1/2 tbsp eucalyptus oil
Mix well before each use, and then use the same amount as you would for commercial fabric softener. So in my front loader that's just a capful in the softener section, but in a top loader it would be added during the rinse cycle. (I didn't bother when I used a top loader.... Would always forget and then the washing was done).