Why Fabric Softener Is Bad for Your Laundry—and What to Use Instead
Consumer Reports offers tips on how to make your clothes soft and nice-smelling from your washing machine (without the gross residue)
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Fabric softener is notoriously divisive. In fact, when we interviewed Rich Handel, a test project leader at Consumer Reports who specializes in laundry, about the things he would never do as a laundry expert, his No. 1 tip was ditching fabric softener. “Not only can it irritate sensitive skin, but it can also leave a layer of residue on your clothes and reduce the absorption of your towels,” he told us.
How Can You Make Your Laundry Smell Nice?
Rather than scenting your clothes with fabric softener, consider a scented laundry detergent.
Mary Beth Quirk, CR’s shopping editor, loves Persil and says people have commented on her clothes smelling good in the past. “I once gave my friend a freshly washed fabric mask and she was like, ‘Oh, wow, what is this detergent? This smells so good,’” she says. “And if something is right on your face and isn’t too overpowering, that’s a good sign, right?” She says she’ll never switch to anything else.
If you’re concerned about odor in your synthetic workout clothes or sweaty, smelly summertime garb, there are a few things you can do to keep your gym gear fresh. Store your sweatiest, stinkiest clothes away from other laundry in the hamper, and wash them separately to keep the odor from transferring and building up. Wash your clothes inside out, where much of the smell accumulates.
Mold in your machine may be causing your linens to retain a smell after the wash, but compensating with fabric softener won’t help matters. Using too much detergent and—yes—fabric softener can actually cause buildup in your machine and leave behind a residue that can result in mold, thereby causing a problem you may feel compelled to fix with even more laundry detergent and scented fabric softener. Tissues left in pockets, lint, and other organic materials can lead to washer mold, too. Cleaning out your pockets before washing your clothes and using the minimum amount of detergent necessary can reduce smelly buildup.
But don’t fall for tips that recommend deodorizing your washing machine with vinegar. Vinegar can damage the rubber hoses and seals in your machine and even cause leaks. Front-load washers are particularly vulnerable. Removing your laundry from the machine immediately will help prevent mildew from growing in the machine, which is a significant contributor to gross washing machine smells.
How Can You Prevent Static in Your Laundry?
If static is a concern, you can occasionally use a dryer sheet. Dryer sheets contain chemicals that melt at high temperatures and transfer onto your clothes. This residue makes your clothes slippery, which makes them feel soft to consumers. It can also decrease static. But that residue isn’t only on your clothes—it builds up in your dryer, too. As such, Rich advises against relying on dryer sheets. “Dryer sheets may be better than liquid softener, but they can leave a residue on the dryer moisture sensor, reducing its effectiveness,” he says.
Instead of a dryer sheet or fabric softener, you can try a piece of aluminum foil compressed into a ball. Take a 3- to 4-foot piece of aluminum foil, tightly scrunch it into a smooth ball with no hard edges (you don’t want it to snag on any of your clothes), and toss it into the dryer with your laundry. The aluminum is supposed to discharge static buildup and help prevent clothes from sticking together.
If all else fails, Rich recommends hanging clothes to dry. It’s easy, eco-friendly, and won’t cause static.
How Can You Make Your Clothes Soft?
If your clothes are coming out of the wash a bit crunchy or stiff, the problem could be hard water. Hard water has a high amount of dissolved calcium and magnesium, which can deposit on your clothes in the wash. “The ideal solution is to install a water softening system to your water supply. That should help with the softness,” says Rich.
If that’s not an option, Rich says you can try wool dryer balls. They are reusable and purported to be cost-effective alternatives that soften clothes by lightly beating up against them in the dryer, working out any stiffness or lumps. You can also try using them when drying your pillows because the balls are claimed to smooth out any clumps of filling.
After a year or two of regular use, your wool dryer ball may become scratchy and hard, which is when you know it’s time to replace it. Just a heads up: We haven’t tested the effectiveness of wool dryer balls.
@consumerreports 🗣️ Step away from the fabric softener 📢. See five things our laundry expert, Rich Handel, always does: @Consumer Reports And discover other laundry tips through the link in our bio. #laundrytok #laundrytips #cleantok
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