The Best Natural Laundry Scent Booster (So simple!)

What better way to have your clothes smelling great than with a natural laundry scent booster? Being able to make a DIY laundry scent at home will make you love your laundry smell. If you’re wanting to make your clothes smell fresh, you’ll find that obtaining a fresh scent isn’t hard to do at all. And the best part? You can get that fragrance in a natural and easy way! Say goodbye to the chemicals and store-bought detergent and instead try out something natural for your washer machine instead.

You’re going to notice a huge fragrance difference after the very first load!

Why do my clothes not smell fresh after washing them?

Even if you thought your laundry routine was going great, you might notice that you have a toxic scent to your laundry. And if you’re wanting to smell fresh and clean, you need to make some changes to have your laundry smelling fresh.

The biggest reason that your wash has an odor is that more than likely, you’re overstuffing your washer. Most people do this because they’re running low on time or they just don’t know how many clothes are supposed to actually fit into a wash load.

A lot of laundry products out there can help produce a scent but it’s artificial and most times, full of toxic chemicals. This is where it’s important to find recipes that are a natural booster to your laundry soap or dryer sheets.

Another reason that your clothes might not smell well after washing is that your washer needs to be cleaned. It can easily get gunky as well so you might want to peek around on the inside and to see if there are any natural cleaning products that you can use as well.

Why does this work to freshen laundry?

Natural products tend to work really great when it comes to providing great-smelling clothes. This is because they’re free of toxins and usually are made up of 20-30 drops of essential oil as well. Just a few drops of essential oils create an amazing scent for your clothes and your washing machine.

After using essential oils, you may wonder about the smells that have been coming from your laundry detergent all these years. I can assure you that the scent isn’t made up of anything natural!

How do I make it smell so good?

The great thing about making natural laundry detergent, dryer balls, or natural fabric softener is that it’s an easy booster to make!

You’ll probably find a different recipe or options from a plethora of different sources but I can assure you that it doesn’t have to be that hard.

If you want to use your laundry detergent to create a pleasant smell, you can use:

1 cup

1/4 cup of baking soda

20-30 drops of essential oil of your choice. I recommend Plant Therapy Lavender Essential Oil 100% Pure, Undiluted, Therapeutic Grade, Aromatherapy Diffuser for Relaxation and Body Care for Beauty and Healthy Skin Use, 10 mL (1/3 oz)

This makes up 2 cups or so ahead of time to have it stored in a jar for later.

A dryer bar is easier in the fact that you just need to add a few drops of lemon or lavender essential oil and toss it in the dryer with your clothes.

The same thought process goes with a dryer sheet as well.

Any of these options take less than 5 minutes of time but will have your wash or dryer bursting with a wonderful homemade laundry scent.

What is the difference between Epsom salt and Kosher salt?

There are a few differences between the two but the main thing that you’ll find is that Epsom salt doesn’t have any coloring to it and it tends to be bigger in size.

Epsom salt is also used in many recipes for laundry scent boosters in conjunction with essential oil and baking soda. It basically is a carrier for the essential oil and the Epsom salt will dissolve in the laundry once added to the water in the washing machine.

What do you need to make an all-natural laundry scent booster?

You can play with the laundry scent booster some but the main ingredients that you’ll need for this DIY laundry scent booster are going to be Epsom salt, essential oils (my favorite is rocky mountain essential oils), and baking soda, which the baking soda can actually be optional.

This natural laundry scent booster can be added to dryer sheets, a dryer ball, or even directly to the wash.

If you’re using this to add to a dryer sheet or to a dryer ball, keep in mind that all you really need to do at that point is to put a few drops essential oil onto them to create a fresh and clean smelling natural fabric softener.

How do I use laundry scent booster?

Have I mentioned a few times that the recipe is simple and easy to use?! Once you get the hang of it, you’re going to find that making the mix is totally free of stress. There’s a reason that this is one of my favorite recipes and it replaces the need for me to buy soap made with chemicals for my load of wash.

You can also change the strength of this laundry scent booster easily each and every time. For a milder DIY laundry scent, you just need to cut down on the drops of essential oils that you’re using. Typically I’ll add in Epsom salt, baking soda, 20-30 drops of oil but sometimes, I just don’t want that much lavender scent.

And as you well know, a few drops of oil can really go a long way! The smaller the load, the less essential oil you’re going to need. You have to find that balance because you don’t want an overly powerful laundry scent, either!

Can you use this booster in the washing machine and the dryer?

You can! If you’re going to use it both in your wash cycle and also the dryer, I recommend that you think about using the same scent for both. While mixing two different smells might be perfectly fine, I would think that having the same smell for the same cycle of clothing would be much more ideal.

After you get used to the process of adding the ingredients, you can always branch out and see if there are mixtures that you prefer. It’s a simple way to get clothes that smell great while also giving different smells, too.

Will the laundry booster recipe stain my clothes?

You shouldn’t have any issues with it staining your clothes at all. If you’re worried, just add it into the water in your machine and let it dissolve before adding in the clothes. While nothing is ever perfect, I’ve never had an issue with any of our clothes coming out with any types of stains on them at all. (and I’ve been using this simple laundry booster recipe for a really long time!)

You can also try out a super small load of clothing if you’re worried about it as well.

Tips To Keep In Mind When Making Laundry Scent Boosters

Since I’ve been making this natural laundry booster for a while, there are a few things to keep in mind.

First off, this isn’t laundry soap. You do still need some sort of cleaner if you’re wanting to add this to your washing machine. You’re basically using essential oils as a natural booster to get a chemical-free mix for your DIY laundry scent.

It’s also important to research the essential oils that you’re planning on using. You don’t want to use essential oils that aren’t safe for the skin when you’re making your homemade laundry scent. This same thought process goes for DIY fabric softener and any other type of laundry scent boosters as well.

You need to store any leftovers in a jar. I swear, making recipes for this DIY laundry scent booster is like making spaghetti noodles. I either make a ton of natural homemade laundry scent in one sitting that will last me all year, or I make barely enough of the scent booster to do one load of laundry! To keep the scent strong in this recipe, you can store your mix in a jar and have it sitting somewhere in your home at room temp. A mason jar or a glass jar with a lid is going to be the best way to store any leftover laundry scent booster.

Have fun with the essential oils! I know above I said that it’s important to research the essential oils that you can use to make this laundry scent booster – and I stay firm on that. But that doesn’t mean that you can’t have fun and make this with other safe essential oils for a variety of scents! You can try wild orange, lemon lavender, lavender and wild orange combined, or even lemon mixed with just about anything as well.

Share these with family and friends. Since this recipe takes less than 5 minutes to make, it’s super fun and oftentimes a free way to make a DIY gift for family and friends. (and I say “free” in the way that you probably already have the ingredients on hand to make this easy laundry booster recipe) The lemon and wild orange booster recipe would be great for a winter gift idea because it would have everyone thinking about and smelling the fun citrus smell of summer!

Use the scent booster sparingly. The biggest thing to remember about this laundry scent booster is that a little bit is going to go a long way. Your laundry is going to have an amazing scent just by using a small amount of the recipe so don’t feel like you have to go overboard adding in a ton at a time. Using this could be the perfect way to introduce a more natural environment slowly into your home as well. This could then lead to other recipe ideas like laundry soap or cleaning recipes that are natural, too!

Final Thoughts About Natural laundry scent booster

When it’s time to do your laundry, combatting those funky smells naturally is a great way to go. This is true if you have kids or workout clothes that can often hold onto the stench.

You can really put this laundry booster to the test by trying it out on some of your strongest scents. If you have kids in sporting activities, this could take care of those sweaty smells fast!

You’ll be amazed at how a cup can easily turn that laundry into something that will have you wanting to grab it and take in a whiff! There’s a reason that a cup of this recipe goes a long way – because the scent of lemon (or lavender or whatever type of essential oil you want to use) makes the clothes smell really really good!

Have fun making this simple laundry recipe and be proud of the fact that you’re taking a stance of replacing chemicals in your home with more natural ingredients!

Looking for more Laundry Tips? Read these posts:

Everything to know about when to add fabric softener