Fabric softener is a scam

Vinegar is also great at getting smells out of stuff. It's excellent for animal smells. I use a little in each load of laundry because my fave hobby is doing stuff with horses and I also have a beagle with a natural hound stink. It gets out all the animal stank and a 2 gallon jug costs $3 at the local dollar store.

I also used the stuff to deep clean my carpets to help out a disabled cat I owned. He had trouble determining where the litter box was because he was blind and brain damaged and the person who was in my house before me didn't clean up after their cats. Most of the smell was gone, but just enough was there to confuse my boi.

10/10 recommend vinegar.

Ordinary white vinegar is good for a lot of things, but it's too dilute to use as a fabric softener or limescale prevention.

I've used acetic acid (32%) for decades, 30ml or so per wash. It's even listed right on the bottle that it works as a fabric softener, keeps colors from fading and prevents limescale buildup.

And it goes in the fabric softener compartment of course, if you mix it with the detergent the acidity will reduce its washing power(detergent is alkaline).