Thak you for posting this! I love FS and was starting to feel like an idiot for liking something so manifestly bad!

Abby, I personally don't believe FS is the horriable evil some others think. I do think it should be used in moderation though. In otherwords if a smaller dose works why use a cup lol.

Using something in moderation probably isn't going to kill your laundry. Don't use fabric softener on items that specifically say not to, though. Bathing suits, sunshade clothing, specialty items. Just because something is machine washable doesn't mean you can bleach it, soften it or even throw it in the dryer. I use both Mrs Meyers fabric softener and a Mrs Meyers dryer sheet on nearly every load :). We live in a hot dry climate and static electricity comes with the territory. Mrs Meyers dryer sheets can be composted, BTW.

When I say I'm going to try it again on sheets, I'm talking like a spoonful, unscented LOL.

I will not name names but I think I know someone that uses FS on LuLuLemon workout gear..it doesn't effect how the bottom...I'd bet you can still bounce a quarter off that. Haha..love ya my kiddo.XOXO

At the moment I'm hung up on the Dreft scent beads... since the new granddaughter entered the picture and all her stuff smells wonderful. I used them with my sheets and oh my, they smell wonderful. My husband loves it so much I've been using them on his laundry and my whole closet smells soooo good...

LOL MiMi..I use Dreft powder detergent on Amiees and my Uhhh..Unmentionables..haha. ok I'm lying, I used to but with a FL I don't think its wise, I no longer have the Dreft box and I don't think its HE.

So what are the comparable evils of dryer sheets?

LOL.....@MamaPinky.....I almost never use softener on Lululemon athletic wear! Sometimes, but rarely!!

How in the world did you ever guess I was talking about you...bet it was that quarter..lol

Sushipup1 - there is, or was, a tendency for the waxy substance on the dryer sheet to gom up the dryer and leave a residue on the lint screen. Over the years, I've noticed that dryer sheets have changed, though. They seem lighter and don't make me have to wash my hands after touching one. I switched over to Mrs Meyers from Downy, from Bounce, from Snuggle. I like the fragrance of the lavender and the fact the Mrs Meyers are made from recycled product and can be composted.

I admit to using a small tablespoon of unscented FS on my largest Rough Linen sheets. It helps with wrinkling and gives a nice hand. This is a big change for me as I've always like FS-free sheets. In fact, on my stone-washed Company Store linen I still go au naturel and only use LeBlanc detergent. Maybe after the Rough Linen has had 100+ washes I won't want it anymore, either.

Are the stone washed put thru a process to Smooth them?

Linen sheets are not smooth, even very old ones. I am so used to percale I can't even use this very old linen sheet. Just the little nubs bother me. Amiee loves them Which surprises me. I just can't .lol

Yep. They are, I believe, literally washed in a drum with stones that stresses the fibers and results in an expedited aging. I don't particularly care for it, as I see this as unnecessary abuse (lol), but K liked them better right out of the box than the Rough Linen. Plus, they are patterned and very pretty.

Larsi- as a side note are you still liking the Costco fabric softener? I bought some but haven't tried it yet. I have come to the conclusion if you or Alex or MamaP compliment something I must run out and try it immediately :)

I am officially part of the club because I am now stocking laundry supplies. I have 10 bottles of fabric softener (various kinds) in my laundry cabinet. Now I hem and haw about what to use when doing laundry. Its quite the dilemma. Causes internal turmoil :)

Chuck...you mean you wernt already officially a member of club cray-cray....LOL...sure you were.

stchuck.....The Costco/Kirkland softener is excellent!! The smell is clean and fresh and mildly reminiscent of old Downy April Fresh.

Target's Up & Up Spring Bloom however is still the closest to old fashioned April Fresh. In my condenser dryer, the Spring Bloom scent is either 100% removed or changed to a (pleasant) herbal scent, but nothing like it smells in the bottle.

I recently picked up a bottle of Downy Sun Blossom (which I normally hate), but P&G must have tweaked it. It smells fresh, clean, soapy and old fashioned!

Larsi Sun Blossom is one Amiee likes. I mix it with Downy Free and add a small amount to bath towels. .but I can see myself getting sick of it. I still prefer Downy Free than a light mist with linen spray.

I bought the Sun Blossom as well and like it. I don't like it as much as the Spring Bloom but I think its better than many of Downy's other hideous scents. The trick that I have is finding the right detergent to use these fabric softeners with. They don't all play nicely. Right now I have Gain HE Turbo, Coldwater Tide, and Original Tide HE Turbo, For instance the Spring Bloom doesn't go with the Gain Detergent. If I buy the actual matching Gain fabric softener its too much scent for me. Right now I am finding Downy's Botanical mist is about the only one that plays nicely with the Gain. Spring Bloom compliments the Tide with a touch of Downy in the April Fresh scent. It also seems to work well with the Original Tide scent but not so good with the Coldwater. I am still liking the Snuggle Blue Sparkle and have been using that with the Original Tide scent. Gosh just typing this has made me go loony!

I can't believe you guys like the Spring Blossom Downy. Unless they have changed the scent within the past few months. Yuck. I will say, the April Fresh scent has changed ever so slightly. It is not as bad. Much less sweet.

Chuck Downy Free ...it will let the fragrance of the detergent come thru..so Gain original will smell like gain original just lighter more delicate.

Today I used Downys Citrus Spice on Amiees nighties..cut with Downy Free. .omg..with the scent toned down it is lovely.

Mama....Downy Citrus Spice is lovely. It's a really great, soft and warm scent!!

stchuck....100% yes. Many liquid fabric softeners do not play nicely with all detergents. I too find Spring Bloom softener from Target goes best with Tide Original scent powder or liquid detergent, Tide with a touch of April Fresh Downy liquid detergent or Tide unscented detergent.

Downy Sun Blossom goes very great with Original Scent Tide liquid or powder, but not great with Tide with a touch of AF Downy detergent.

Yes, O M G....we are all nutso that we even know this!! ha ha ha ha

I also purchased a bottle of Sun Blossom Downy softener a little while back when I was tired of the too sweet smelling April Fresh scent. I don't mind it but I don't love it either. To me, it smells better in the bottle by far, then on the washed laundry. Maybe I need to try it paired with a different detergent the next time I use it. Now come to think of it, I remember using it mostly with Persil proclean original liquid. That probably explains it lol.

I don't like most FS scents. LOL shock shock....but if I mix some scented ones with Downy Free it makes many of them light and nice...this won't work for those that like heavily scented clothes/linens. I'm actually surprised more people don't do this...I've read where some people might like a specific FS scent if it wasn't so strong, yet even they never mention mixing.

Does anybody know where to get this? It is on Purex's website but finding it nowhere. Vaska is not too good, yes towels smell fishy, better on other items. How about Vernel for sensitive skin? Anybody use that? TIA

I've never seen it, it does look interesting. ...oh wait I have used it..Larsi did they change the jug...Sandy isn't this one you used to like?

Derrick...I have found this in independent grocery stores. I've never seen it in Walmart or large chain groceries. Its very light scented, kinda nice.

Where does one get Dreft fabric softener? I'm using up Mrs Olsen now. Nice lemony smell but not super. mama, I have a real problem with edge wrinkles, especially on men's handkerchiefs. Also I had to sew satin binding tape to the top edge of some not too old sheets because they always wrinkled up like an accordion and wore thin on the edges. Wish we had used fabric softener.

Anyone use Vernel? Dosing how much?

Nerdy, sheets always curl up around the edges. I recently tried FS a few times just in the past week on my sheets, I only used a tiny amount but I don't like it, its not the scent I used Downy Free, its how they feel..they don't feel natural, they don't feel like percale.. I love percale sheets, the old good ones, the crisp, smooth, coolness, but FS changes that, it does make them soft but they lose the crisp, cool, and smooth..they lose everything percale is about...may as well be using a 100% cotton non percale. I think its probably hard for people that use FS on percale to understand that there's a major change to percale from FS. I won't be using FS again on my sheets. LOL..Glad I got that off my chest haha.

I don't use liquid fs. I do use dryer sheets but have even cut back on those, only using on loads that have a lot of synthetic material. I just don't care for it, don't feel I need it too much, don't like the feel of the clothes after, and not crazy about the chemicals it leaves behind. We have gone pretty natural on our personal care products as well. I don't use conventional anything , have switched out almost everything.

The only things I can't just give up quite yet are conventional laundry detergents and DW detergents, and bleach cleaners for the bathrooms. Though i will say, was quite impressed by the method dw tablets that Alex Chicago sent to me! It's hard to give up conventional cleaners when you're raised up with bleach and pine sol. Lol

@miami mami, you're in the Sunshine State, and you want to avoid Chlorine? Haha ;) Like every single other house there has a Chlorinated Backyard Pool.

After use in household cleaning or laundry, sodium hypochlorite breaks down into 95-98% salt and water. The remaining 3-5% is easily handled/removed by either sewage treatment or a septic tank where it degrades like starting soil. Further, no liquid bleach enters the environment as it reacts with organic loads in pipes and is consumed long before it reaches sewage treatment.

To be quite honest, I really don't like some of the newer "eco" friendly cleaners. I worry about their disinfection claims, and cleaning ability. We know Chlorine Bleach can completely kill superbugs, but Quats & Alki-Derivatives can struggle with repeated use. I just somewhat worry about long term effects, if everyone stopped using "stronger" stuff.

So when I last tried fabric softener (25 or 30 years ago) the smell almost knocked me out and I had to rewash everything.…

This Downey free sounds very interesting. If you were to try one that was unscented is that the one you would try first?

The Purex sensitive above looked interesting too, was anybody able to find it?

Practigal, I would recommend the Downy Free...in small doses. Theres no scent and it does a fine job softening. If I'm going to use FS this is what I most likely use. Very impressive that you haven't used FS in so many years. I bet your clothes smell great..and I don't mean that sarcastically....FS clogs the fibers and holds in soils so something coated in FS when washed could prevent the garment completely from getting water and detergent deep into the fibers meaning some soils could remain. Eventually they start to have a odor expecially if a really good TOL detergent is used with hot water. It will start breaking the FS and body oils up but may not remove it all and suddenly that shirt that once smelled so good...stinks. I have no documents to back this up..but I believe it.

After going so long without using FS why start now? Are you just in the mood for change or do you have something that needs softened? I'm curious.

Yes Mitch, I agree with you. That's why I said I'm just not quite ready to give up bleach. To me nothing cleans quite like it in areas that need disinfecting, i.e.-bathrooms. The only problem is that I am suffering while breathing bleach fumes. I have to spray and leave the room til the smell dissipates somewhat. Re-pools, you'd be surprised how many ppl are switching to salt water pools, though the old school bleAch person in me still doesn't quite trust them. Lol

You are correct my clothes never have any smell and I think that's pretty wonderful....especially now with my new little compact machine. It only takes one cycle to get the gym smell out of my clothes and towels with the old Maytag I had to let them soak first.

I guess I would just like to try it on a couple of loads and see what its effect on the overall handling of the fabric is-do things to need more or less ironing? If ironed, would they stay nice longer? If there is little difference I would not bother to use it again but it's an interesting idea (especially anything that might make my ultra crisp percale sheets softer). I've often wondered how fabric softener can have any "action" except to remain in the fabric and mamamp you're supporting that theory. It would have a pretty high performance hurdle, because not only would it have to work but it would have to not affect my husband's sensitive skin.

I use a half dose of Downy Free & Sensitive and use vinegar for the remaining half. This dilutes the FS and keeps it from causing buildup in the detergent drawer. It is also enough for my clothes to come out feeling soft and fluffy. I find the reports of the evils of FS to be way overblown. If you follow a good laundering practice, you can use FS without any issues and enjoy its many benefits.

People want magic bullets but there are no such things. The basic rules are simple. Don't wash in cold, ever, even if the garment label says so unless your machine can guarantee specific temperatures. Cold is defined by the garment industry as 85ºF, but most machines deliver tap cold, which, if below this temperature, is unacceptable for proper cleaning. If your machine doesn't guarantee specific temperatures, you should use warm for all cold items. Most of my stuff gets washed on "warm", which is 105ºF on my Miele, and it works great. Whites get "hot" at 140ºF and sometimes I will wash a mixed load on "very warm" which is 120ºF.

As long as you wash at an appropriate temperature, use enough detergent, and don't overdose on the FS, you should be fine. Just use some common sense. Don't overdo it, wash at higher temps, and use enough detergent.

SS: Do you still add a Tablespoon of bleach to each load to help keep the machine clean?

The only people who can pull of Cold are those in TX, CA, AZ and during the summer months of FL. Under no circumstances should it ever be chosen if you aren't in those states ;)

Even than I'd look at it as Luke warm washes..not hot.

It should be noted that not all machines or detergents are created equal. Advising across the board that no one should ever wash in cold water could cause someone to ruin a load of laundry. Phrasing should be adjusted to opinion instead of fact. I would never have purchased my washer if it didn't have cold water washes for synthetics.

Guess I should add a IMO but its a fact that cold water can't eleminate oil from fibers. ...a lot of stains will be removed in cool water, but when I think of clothing that needs washed I'm not thinking of that popsicle stain, I'm thinking oils. LOL.

HOpefully people that don't understand how to properly wash man made fabrics research first. Man made fabrics hold onto soil, it does not easily release soils so they require warmer water, but they also require more tumbling room and a cool down before going into any spin which should always be low to med spin speed.