Easy Laundry Scent Booster Recipe: Create Your Own Signature Fragrance

by Texas Homesteader ~

I’m sharing the secret to fresh laundry with a homemade scent booster recipe. Say goodbye to store-bought products and hello to natural freshness using only TWO simple ingredients with customizable fragrance!

Fresh Clean Laundry Scent

My homemade laundry detergent smells great but sometimes you want a stronger scent. Although I love the scent of sunshine on our clean line-dried laundry, sometimes you want a little sumpin’ more.

So I use a simple laundry scent booster that contains only 2 simple ingredients – Epsom salt & essential oil. Come see!

Homemade Laundry Products An Eco-Friendly Choice

I have been making my own homemade laundry powder for several years now. I love that it’s so inexpensive. And that it’s even effective enough for tough laundry problems here on the Homestead, such as mud or manure on heavy denim fabric.

I also love that making it is environmentally friendly and that it uses simple and easy-to-obtain ingredients.

But there is one thing I did miss about my days using the commercial stuff:

The scent.

Now my laundry powder smells good, don’t get me wrong. It smells like, well SOAP. Clean and lightly scented. But sometimes you want a little more fragrance.

Making a scent booster for your laundry detergent is inexpensive and super easy.

Laundry Scent Booster Uses

Those commercial laundry scents are overpowering to me so I shun them. I don’t want to add heavier scents directly to my homemade detergent because I really enjoy the scent of the SUNSHINE on my line-dried laundry most of the time.

But sometimes you want your towels, cloth napkins or sheets to have just a little more scent.

This simple laundry scent booster recipe only calls for two simple ingredients – Epsom salt and a few drops of essential oil.

You can use whatever essential oil scent you like, I prefer to use my favorite essential oil: Lavender!

But I’ve also made other fragrances as well. Oh the possibilities are endless!

So here’s how I make it: (but remember it’s very customizable. You can use whatever EO or FO scent you like, or even a combination of 2 or 3!):

Homemade Laundry Scent Booster Recipe

Here are the two ingredients for my homemade laundry scent booster.

- - 2 cups Epsom salts
  - 30 – 40 drops of your favorite essential oil (I used lavender)

DIRECTIONS:

Measure 2 cups Epsom salts into a large bowl.
Add approximately 30 – 40 drops of your favorite essential oil, (either one scent or a blend of two or more scents).
With a whisk stir the Epsom salts to assure the essential oil is completely distributed throughout the salt.
Store your laundry scent booster in a pint canning jar – be sure to label the contents!

TO USE:

Add about 1-2 tablespoons along with your laundry detergent, wash as usual.

Ta-daaaa!! Really, that’s it!

Caution: Don’t Add Too Much Essential Oil

Be careful not to add more than 40 drops of essential oil. I mean, essential oil is OIL, after all. You sure don’t want to add lots of oil to your clean laundry, do ya??

When I place a load of sheets into the washing machine I add my standard tablespoon of homemade laundry detergent.

Then I add a tablespoon of my lavender scent booster right in with my laundry detergent.

After my sheets were washed I hung them on the line beneath that big NE Texas sky.

(breathes deeply) Ummmm… smells wonderful!

It’s not overpowering in its scent. Just a light, delightful waft of aroma. And the subtle scent of lavender remained on my sheets when I made the bed with them later in the day.

Reader Comments On Laundry Scent Booster Recipe

Cold Water Wash – A reader wondered if this laundry scent booster would work in cold-water washes too. I wash my laundry only in cold water and I’ve never had a problem with the scent booster dissolving. (just like I’ve never had a problem with my homemade laundry soap dissolving.) It always works fine for me.

Washing Dark Clothing – Another reader commented that sometimes there were small white spots left on their dark clothing after washing, but I’ve never experienced that using this laundry-scent booster. This same reader further commented that there was something going on with their water to make clothes smell like wet dog. So I assume the issue was with their water. But you might experiment with your own clothing.

Does Scent Stay Using A Hot Drier? One reader wondered if the scent would remain for clothing dried in a dryer. I couldn’t answer because our clothing is 100% dried on the line outside. But another reader replied that the heat from a dryer reduces or eliminates the essential oil aroma. So it’s best to air-dry your clothing if you want the scent to remain.

Bath Soak Recipe? Yet another reader commented that they use this scent booster recipe as a lovely lavender-scented bath soak. What a great idea! (and a fun, unique and inexpensive homemade gift idea too!)

So there ya go. This laundry booster was very inexpensive to make and took mere minutes to make. Give it a try.

~TxH~

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45 thoughts on “Easy Laundry Scent Booster Recipe: Create Your Own Signature Fragrance”

Joanne Sweetman at

Love reading all your ideas, and use all of your ideas, thank you!!

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Carol Limme at

Does anyone know how to make a liquid form laundry scent booster, the powder form leaves a white looking residue on darks. I use powder form on whites & lights but I need a liquid form for blacks & dark clothing. In Texas especially in the DFW area for some reason the last 5+ years the city water leaves an after smell that the clothes start to smell like wet dog.

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1. Texas Homesteader Post author at
  
  Hummm… I’ve never noticed that in our laundry Carol, so I’m not sure how to advise. But laundry that smells like wet dog? Ugh, I can see you wanting a solution! Hopefully one of our other readers has a suggestion for you. Can anyone offer this information to Carol? ~TxH~
  
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L Johnson at

I found something non-DIY…dollar tree in their bath aisle sells BATH SALTS in a jar. They have Vanilla Lavender and a couple of other scents. Or you go to the drug aisle and the have scented epsom salts. I have been using them both for 3 years with my DIY laundry detergent. Adding during washing reduces the sudsing and cleans your clothes much better and scents it delicately.

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1. Texas Homesteader Post author at
  
  I’ve never looked at the ingredient list on bath salts but I can’t imagine it’s much more than Epsom & scent. Good for you for finding them! ~TxH~
  
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Brenda at

Lavender and vanilla make a lovely combination! Can’t wait to try this–thanks, Tammy!

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1. Texas Homesteader Post author at
  
  I do love vanilla too Brenda. Nice! ~TxH~
  
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Evelyn Edgett at

I wil be trying this soon. And yes, it will make a wonderful bath salt too. I am a massage therapist, and my teacher showed me how to make our own theraputic bath salts, using epsom salt, essential oil, and some baking soda. I make one with lavender, myrhh and frankenscence. Two cups of that in a nice warm tub for about 45 minutes, and I am like a boneless chicken!

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1. Texas Homesteader Post author at
  
  “…like a boneless chicken” LOL Evelyn!! ~TxH~
  
  Reply ↓
Carol at

Thanks for this recipe!

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Katy SkipTheBag at

Thanks for sharing on the Waste Less Wednesday Blog Hop! This will be featured next week as most visited! 🙂

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1. Texas Homesteader Post author at
  
  Thanks Katy – how awesome! ~TxH~
  
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Lynley Kroft at

Great idea! I will have to try it and pass it onto everyone I see. May I share your idea on my blog? Twentyfoursevenmarriage.wordpress.com.
I use my dryer because I love soft clothes, towels, etc. Therefore, I tried a soaking wet to damp lite lint towel with a few drops (or a squirt) of DoTerra’s OnGuard Cleaner Concentrate. (NOTE: I am not a DoTerra distributor just a new customer). Then put my laundry in the dryer on low at the energy saving mode. I love the fresh scent. Thanks for your environmentally safe ideas.

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1. Texas Homesteader Post author at
  
  Bloggers love their ideas to be shared on other sites Lynley, provided there’s proper credit & a link back. Thanks for sharing! And thanks for your sweet comment. ~TxH~
  
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Mary-the boondocks blog at

We all want nice smelling laundry and this would be the perfect solution.And it’s easy so you can’t go wrong with that. Pinning for future use.

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1. Texas Homesteader Post author at
  
  Awesome, thanks for the pin Mary. ~TxH~
  
  Reply ↓
Jennifer S. at

I’ve never heard of this before, but I love this idea and am going to try it. Thanks for sharing.

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1. Texas Homesteader Post author at
  
  I don’t use it on every load Jennifer since I really love the smell of sunshine, but I often use it on my towels & cloth napkins. ~TxH~
  
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Michelle at

This would make fun little Christmas gifts!
Thanks for the inspiration!
Michelle

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1. Texas Homesteader Post author at
  
  I agree Michelle, packaged in a little glass jar with a raffia ribbon. CUTE and practical too. ~TxH~
  
  Reply ↓
Danielle @DIYDanielle at

Great recipe! Thanks for linking up at #SustainableSundays!

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Stephanie at

Have you used it with a dryer? Wondering if the scent stays if it’s used in a dryer…..

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1. Texas Homesteader Post author at
  
  I haven’t, Stephanie. I have a dryer but I haven’t turned it on in years – I much prefer hanging my laundry even during the winter months. If you decide to give it a go maybe you can make a 1/4 batch or something so you won’t have much invested. But even if it doesn’t turn out for you in the laundry room, I’m hearing it’s a great foot soak or bath salt as well so it won’t be wasted one way or the other! ~TxH~
  
  Reply ↓
  1. JILL at
    
    I’ve tried this in the drier and it doesn’t work. After further research I’ve learned that the heat from the drier kills the scent of the essential oils. Sorry 🙁
    
    Reply ↓
    1. Texas Homesteader Post author at
      
      Thanks for letting us know Jill – our clothes are always line dried so I’ve never experimented using it in the dryer. ~TxH~
      
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Sherry Legan at

Oh I want to try this. Thanks for sharing!

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1. Texas Homesteader Post author at
  
  Give it a try Sherry, I love it. ~TxH~
  
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Lady Locust at

I’m probably a little ADHD so I can get side-tracked, but don’t you love those old square-ish canning jars? They don’t move around on the shelf as much & seem to fit better:)

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1. Texas Homesteader Post author at
  
  OMGosh YES Lady Locust, I’m like you and love the square-ish canning jars. I have several that I’ve dug up from where the previous homeowner on this property (whose home burned down sometime in the 1950’s) used to dump their household trash. I mark the bottom of those jars so I know that they’re for storage only since I don’t know how strong they would be to hold up to canning. But I make sure to use every one of them in some way and I love it. ~TxH~
  
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SallyAnn at

This sounds great! I just have one question…..will the epsom salts dissolve in the laundry if you wash in cold water? Thanks and have a blessed day!

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1. Texas Homesteader Post author at
  
  I only wash in cold water SallyAnn & I’ve never had a problem with it. ~TxH~
  
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Gina at

I have actually been looking for something like this! I’ve made my own detergent for years and you are so right. It smells like soap. I missed the smell of commercial items. This is fantastic! I’m looking forward to giving it a try! Thank you! Pinned for later.

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1. Texas Homesteader Post author at
  
  Thanks for the pin Gina. ~TxH~
  
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Katy SkipTheBag at

I wouldn’t have thought about making something like this. What a great idea. and lavendar is amazing smelling! Thanks for sharing on the #wastelesswednesday blog hop!

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1. Texas Homesteader Post author at
  
  I don’t use it on every load Katy because I love the fresh smell of sunshine. But I often use it on our cloth napkins and sometimes our towels. ~TxH~
  
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Martie at

Wow…what a simple way to make your laundry smell amazing! I love lavender, and it’s an oil that i know won’t irritate my skin…it actually helps with eczema, which I have! I’m definitely giving this a try! Found this on Sweet Inspirations, thanks for sharing! I’m pinning! 🙂

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1. Texas Homesteader Post author at
  
  Awesome Martie, thanks for the pin! ~TxH~
  
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Gina at

Hi! Great to know you may use this mixture in the laundry. I mix this up and use it in my bath water now I will also add to my washer. It also makes a lovely hand-made gift when packaged in a pretty jar.

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1. Texas Homesteader Post author at
  
  Several people have said they use this same thing for bath water or foot soak too. Gotta love it for it’s multi-purpose use, eh Gina?? ~TxH~
  
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Cindy at

I saw this online and am planning on trying it. Thanks for passing it along. Good to know someone else tried it and like it!

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1. Texas Homesteader Post author at
  
  I do like it Cindy, and I like that I can change up the scents or even the intensity of the scent with each batch. ~TxH~
  
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Cheryl L. McClure at

That’s a great idea!! That’s pretty much how I make my bath soak so I can use it in the washer too!! Love it, Tammy!

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1. Texas Homesteader Post author at
  
  That’s awesome Cheryl, one product, TWO uses! ~TxH~
  
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Beth C at

Thanks, I’m going to try this. It may be the solution to better sleep, as well!

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1. Texas Homesteader Post author at
  
  Lavender scent is well-known for relaxation, Beth. Sweet dreams! ~TxH~
  
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