So I found this recipe some time ago, but never got around
to posting it. I love it a lot and it actually enhances the cleaning power of
my liquid laundry detergent recipe, as in it helps get rid of the really bad
smells in my husband’s ACU (Army Camouflage Uniform) and PT (Personal Training)
clothes. Many military spouses can tell you some marines, soldiers or sailors can
and do come home stinking to high heaven. My old softener was not really
working that well. It just added clean cotton smell with sweat and wet dog
smell on really bad ones. The detergent was helping and for the most part got
most of the smell out on its own, but sometimes the smell did linger and I had
to wash the clothes twice. Here is how I put this to a real test. During the
week long sitting period you will see in the instructions, I kept two sets of
PT uniforms washed and another one not. When my husband was not doing PT with
the unit, he would wear the dirty ones so the smell kept adding on. When the
one week was up I washed both the uniforms that I washed every day and the one
that was not washed all week. For the test run, I used the liquid detergent
recipe and this recipe. I must say I did not expect much since Downy did not do
a good job before this. I was completely surprised when all three came out not
only not smelly, but they smelled better than the Liquid detergent recipe and
Downy combined. So I am definitely using this again and feel it is a good one
to put up on this blog. I am probably going to make a gallon worth next time so
I do not run out so quickly. If you want to do that as well just quadruple the
recipe.
Materials
Measuring cup
2 Container (I used a large mason jar for the first and an
empty 1-gallon Downy container for the second that had been cleaned out, which
was more than enough)
Mesh Strainer (can use a cloth if you don’t have one)
Scissors
Ingredients
3 cups Vinegar
1 cup Vodka
1 sprig of Rosemary (approx. 4-inch-long stick with green
leaves attached)
First you need to take the scissors and cut up the sprig and
leaves. You want the pieces to be somewhere between ¼ inch to ½ inch long. Put
the pieces into the container. Now pour the vinegar and vodka into the
container. Close the lid and put the first container in a dry area. Let it sit
for one week. As this sits the natural rosemary extract will be coming out of
the leaves, making it smell nice. The vodka actually helps this process. After
the time is up, use the mesh strainer and pour the liquid into the second
container carefully. You do not want to keep the leaves inside the new
container as overtime the green chlorophyll will come out and can stain
clothes. Now it is ready to use.
Usage instructions are as follows
Pour into the softening dispenser. Or as you would normally
do with your softener before.
¼ cup for small load
½ cup for medium loads
¾ cup for large loads
