Essential oils in washing

[PsychoSyd]

I want to stop using fabric softener, and have thought about putting a drop of essential oil in the drawer instead for fragrance. My concern is that the oil would gum the machine up. Anybody with any advice about this please?

I put vinegar in the softener drawer, and then add 10-12 drops of essential oil. The vinegar works as a softener, and I can choose different smells for my washing depending on what I’m washing.

I’ve done it for years and it’s never caused a problem (though I’ve seen people insist that you mustn’t use vinegar because it will degrade the seals).

Unless you have an amazing sense of smell, I think you’d be hard pushed to smell the essential oil on your washing if you only put in one drop. Remember it’s being used as a rinse, so is being rinsed away.