DIY Laundry Scent Booster | Using Essential Oils

If you are looking for a natural laundry scent booster recipe, you have come to the right place. This DIY laundry scent booster is made with two simple ingredients: salt and essential oils. Unlike store-bought versions, this recipe does not contain vague “fragrance” ingredients, colorants, or dyes.

 

I have been a faithful user of DIY Laundry Detergent or Dropps Laundry Pods for years. But I am noticing a new trend: laundry detergent sheets. I love trying new products; especially ones that use natural ingredients, so I decided to give them a try. After my first run-through I noticed there was literally no scent to my laundry; if anything, it smelled a bit dingy. I know scent has nothing to do with cleaning power, but I like a little scent to my laundry. Instead of tossing the laundry sheets, I decided to try a DIY laundry scent booster to see if it would, indeed, add a bit a scent to my loads of laundry.

What You Need to Make DIY Laundry Scent Booster

 

Ingredients Needed for Homemade Laundry Scent Booster

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• Table Salt or Kosher Salt*- The difference between table salt and kosher salt is the addition of iodine and other ingredients. I didn’t have Kosher salt on hand, so I used table salt.
• Essential Oils– The fun part about making your own laundry scent booster is that you can create your own scent. I went with lavender for my first go-round, but I will definitely experiment with other scents in the future.

*I was surprised to see many laundry scent booster recipes use Epsom salt, so I did a little experiment (which you can find below). After seeing the results, I strongly advise against using Epsom salt. Go with table salt or Kosher salt instead.

Supplies Needed for Laundry Scent Booster Recipe

• Small Mixing Bowl & Spoon
• Airtight Glass Container
• Scoop

Why You Should Not Use Epsom Salt for DIY Laundry Scent Booster

If you do a quick Google search for DIY Laundry Scent Booster, most recipes call for Epsom salt; stating it softens water. However, if you look at what Epsom salt actually is, Magnesium Sulfate, you’ll find that magnesium actually makes water harder. I was a bit confused by the mixed messages, so I decided to run a little experiment of my own. I have pool test strips that test the hardness of water, so I dipped a test strip into our regular tap water.

 

You will notice that our total hardness is “very low”. This makes sense because we have a water softener (which uses sodium chloride) to soften our water and remove the elements that create hard water.

I then poured the tap water into two separate containers and added 1/4 teaspoon of table salt to one of the jars. I gave it a little stir and then checked the water hardness level again.

 

As you can see, not much changed. The water hardness remained “very low”.

Then, I added 1/4 teaspoon of Epsom salt to the other container of water, stirred and tested the water hardness level…

 

The level was off-the-charts high. I was so shocked by this shade of pink (that’s not even on the chart) that I redid the test two more times… and I got the same result each time.

Granted, I’m not a scientist, but this was enough reason for me to skip using Epsom salt in this scent booster recipe and go with regular table salt.

Soft water actually helps laundry detergent clean better; so adding Epsom salt (which increases the hardness level) is going to lessen the cleaning effectiveness.

How to Make Your Own Laundry Scent Booster Using Essential Oils

The following natural laundry scent booster recipe makes enough for 8 loads of laundry. Feel free to make more or less by adjusting the amounts.

Start by pouring 2 cups of Table salt or Kosher salt into a small mixing bowl.

 

Then add 40 drops of essential oil to the salt.

 

Thoroughly stir the essential oil into the salt to evenly distribute the essential oil into the mixture.

 

Once combined, scoop the laundry scent booster into a glass airtight container. Some essential oils can break down plastic, so be sure to use glass or ceramic for storage.

 

When ready to use, add 1/4 cup of the DIY laundry scent booster directly into the drum of your washer, then wash the load as you typically would.

 

Does Homemade Laundry Scent Booster Work?

I tried this recipe with three different types of laundry detergent and here is what I found…

Fragrance-Free Laundry Sheets– I definitely noticed the scent of lavender after washing a load of towels with fragrance-free laundry sheets and the scent booster. However, after drying the load, I didn’t notice any scent. I will say, however, the load smelled fresher than when I used the laundry sheets on their own. Remember above, when I said I was about to toss out the sheets because my laundry didn’t smell great? This scent booster saved the day. I will definitely finish off the detergent sheets with the addition of this laundry scent booster.

Laundry Pod– I reviewed Dropps Laundry Pods several years ago, and I loved them so much I now use them almost exclusively. For the second load, I washed my teen’s bedding with one pod in the Clean & Crisp scent along with the DIY laundry scent booster. Again, after washing, I could definitely smell the lavender. After drying, I can’t say I smelled lavender, but the bedding smelled so good… better than the pod alone. And this was the bedding of a teenage boy that probably hadn’t been washed his sheets in months! Perhaps this is why it’s called a scent booster… it boosts the detergent’s natural scent.

DIY Laundry Detergent– I started making my own laundry detergent back in 2015 and I used it for years. The only scent is from the grated soap and it never came through in the wash, so it was almost like using a fragrance-free detergent. For this last round I grabbed my other teen-boy’s bedding (which also probably hadn’t been washed in months) and added 2 Tablespoons of DIY detergent to the dispenser and added the scent booster straight into the drum. Like the last two loads, I definitely smelled lavender when opening the washer door. Even pulling the bedding out of the dryer, I could smell a hint of lavender!

In the end, I would say the scent booster definitely freshened the laundry, making it smell better than detergent alone. Did it have a strong scent of lavender? No.

For someone that doesn’t like strong scents, this mild freshening “boost” was perfect.

If you are looking for a stronger scent, try adding a couple drops of essential oil to your dryer balls when drying.

A Few More Laundry Room Recipes to Try!

DIY Laundry Detergent | DIY Stain Remover | DIY Dryer Balls

Common Questions About Homemade Laundry Scent Booster

Can I Add Baking Soda to This Laundry Scent Recipe?

I love to use baking soda in my cleaning recipes, but there’s a reason I didn’t add it to this laundry scent booster. Many years ago I made DIY Bath Salts and added baking soda to the recipe. Within a few days, the bath salts had hardened, making them unusable. I tried the recipe again, omitting the baking soda, and it worked fine. I don’t know if it was the combination of the baking soda and Epsom salt that didn’t work well together, but I choose to eliminate baking soda from this recipe to avoid this issue. If you want to add a bit of baking soda alongside the laundry scent booster, you can certainly do that by adding a tablespoon of baking soda into the drum along with the scent booster. Baking soda works to absorb odors, so it’s a perfect sidekick to the scent booster.

Is Making Your Own Laundry Scent Booster Better Than Buying From the Store?

I always consider three factors when weighing out DIY vs. store-bought:

1. Does the DIY version work as well (or better) than store-bought?
2. Are the ingredients in the DIY version “better”?
3. Is the DIY version cost-effective?

Does DIY Scent Booster Work?

I have only used laundry scent booster from the store once… when I was staying with a friend and she added scent beads to a load that included some of our clothes. I remember the scent being quite forward. This DIY version doesn’t give you that strong punch of scent like the store-bought version. I happen to prefer a milder “fresh” scent, but that may not be true for everyone.

Are the Ingredients in DIY Laundry Scent Booster “Better”?

Many store-bought scent boosters contain vague ingredients like “fragrance” and dyes. The Environmental Working Group actually gives store-bought scent boosters an F rating (at least for one popular brand). When making your own scent booster, you know exactly what’s in it. In this case, I would take salt and essential oil over “fragrance” and dye any day.

Is DIY Laundry Scent Booster Cheaper?

I analyzed the cost of store-bought laundry scent booster vs. this DIY recipe and here are the results:

*Prices are subject to change. The prices listed below are current at the time of posting: 4/23/24 (6:50PM)

Store Bought: Downy Calm Scent Beads cost $9.99 at Target. According to the label, this product is good for 27 loads of laundry, making it $0.37/load.

DIY: 2 1/2 cups of salt from Target costs $0.69 and a 30 ml bottle of lavender essential oil (containing approximately 500 drops) costs $17.15 from Plant Therapy (on Amazon). Being that we are using 2 cups of salt and 40 drops of essential oil, the total cost of our DIY laundry scent booster is $1.92 for 8 loads, or $0.24/load.

 

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