I wouldn't think it would have much affect on the softener or your laundry. Vinegar is an acid and Downy is slightly acid so it would seem it would be ok in small amounts to break up lumps. I, personally, have never had Downy do any strange things. It's true, it doesn't like temperature change too much. Downy tends to like rooms temps between 68-72. If it gets too cool in the house it can get thick and lumpy and if it gets too warm, it's as thin as water and can separate. These are just things I've read in other articles elsewhere.

I don’t believe my bottle of downy was exposed to hash temperature. It’s kept in my laundry room. I have tried diluting it with water but that doesn’t seem to work. I have been just dumping it in hoping the rinse water will dilute it.

How old is your Downy?

I contacted P&G and they will refund/replace. It happens in the store or during transport if the product gets too hot or too cold. https://downy.com/en-us/contact-us

Extreme temp changes are no good for laundry products. Good your being compensated.

Put it in the washer after it has filled and you have added detergent. Make a small space in the water at the top and pour it in the water. Do not pour directly on clothes. Do this last before you close lid to wash. I have put fabric softener that is almost solid in, and they have come out perfect and smelling great every time! Vinegar didn't work, watering it down didn't work. Heating didn't work. This has worked! I started thinking of the scent beads you put in with the wash..and that's what led me to this.

"Annice Wojcik: Put it in the washer after it has filled and you have added detergent."

DO NOT mix liquid fabric softener with detergent. The oils in the softener are contrary to detergent and cause a waxy "scrud" residue.

There was a liquid softener on the market YEARS ago (in the 1970s) called Rain Barrel that was specially formulated to work with detergent ... but it didn't soften very well and was discontinued soon-enough.

Dadoes is right. Only do that Incase if an emergency like major oversudsing in a front loader. Been there... done that. It kills the suds in a jiffy

I just purchased a bottle of Downy fabric softener in a silver bottle with a black top. So thick that it won’t even come out of the bottle. I have to scoop it out with a knife This BRAND NEW BOTTLE, has a much thicker composition than all of the Downy I have purchased for the last 40 years. This is as thick as wet cement and would surely damage my washing machine. Oh well, it would be my loss alone.

Surely reimbursement would be coming down the line right? You all know I am not serious don’t you?

Watch your back.

⚡️WWG1WGA⚡️

Mine too had gotten "sludgy" even though it stays in the house. I placed the amount of softener in the cap and added 1 T of vinegar and it did thin out! I then contacted Downy and they apologized and are sending me a refund for much higher than purchase price.

I’ve used Downy for many years but in the past five or six I have experience lumps. This bottle will be my last! Does the new crystal companies are using have something to do with it?

Crystal?

I called P&G Customer Service 1-800-688-7638. The product has a shelf life. If you look at the top of the cap, there are a series of numbers. The first number indicates the year, mine was an eight which means the bottle is from 2018. They said only buy the most current product so look for a zero for 2020 or nine for 2019. They took my information and are sending me a six dollar money card to replace the product. They stated the product is biodegradable so it can be poured down the drain, but I will not be doing this.

Hello, my friends. It was said "Downy likes temps between 68-72"

This explains the problem but 70 degrees +/- 2 degrees in each direction is far from "EXTREME" or "HARSH" circumstances. Many basement laundry rooms in homes will easily be lower than 68 as that might be higher than the temp in your living rooms. (65 is not unheard of in this day and age)

I majored in laundry technology with a minor in softening, and that range is very narrow to be reasonable so glad they offer product replacement. Downy does not mention ingredients other than mention plastics. It does have to be biodegradable but it does not mean it can't still clog a drain under circumstances like the cold temp of the room.

Vinegar is indeed an acid and it could damage or "stain" some types of fabrics so not high on my list of safe ideas.

We wash in water, so we do KNOW the thick or thin product has to be dissolvable in water too. The microparticles that do coat fabrics are held in a suspension of water so while it is tough to make it non-lumpy IT CAN BE DONE. I do it to some degree so that it won't blotch clothes if mixed in the machine to avoid them. It is more work than we should need to do especially if you did not want to make it your life's work. :-)

My explanation does not solve any problems other than adding some accuracy to our discussion.

Footnote, Downy is by far my favorite softener, and have used it for over 30 years, even when it was called "Ye Olde Downy" and I now use the Free & Gentle version, even if not free.

This is what Downy suggested to do if your downy is clumpy.

I think it was Dadoes who on another thread talked about the fact that Downey has compounds in it that makes it thicker and more gummy. I switched to Snuggle after having used Downey for decades and it has made a huge difference. I routinely clean the dispenser and there is a lot less residue.

@armjim...Downy still does make the original watery formula (not concentrated).

Armjim how do you clean the dispenser. My Downy has done this and there are clumps in the dispenser that are not going away despite having done at least 5 or 6 loads of laundry since and I've been putting just plain water in the dispenser to try and thin out the clumps. Its not working.

K.L.,

The details for how to clean a softener dispenser depends on what kind of washer is involved (brand/model), what is the design of the dispenser.

Honestly, I stopped using fabric softener years ago. Not only do I save money, but our clothes are no longer coated in chemicals and I don't get build-up in my washer. We use dryer balls to help with static.

dadoes the washer is a Samsung top loader. It has a drawer inside the wash drum area that I slide out and one section for detergent and another for the fabric softener. It's like a little tray that just slides in and out but it doesn't come out far enough for me to clean the clumps of fabric softener that I can see stuck in the back part of the tray.

You didn't cite the model number so I can't check the details but those drawers typically are removable.

Softener should *always* be diluted with water (preferably hot) either by mixing water in a cup with the softener dose before pouring into the dispenser, or by adding water to the dispenser with the softener up to the indicated Full or Max line.

I purchased a large bottle of Snuggle softener months ago, and just now opened it. The contents ae SOLID WHITE. Not liquid. All laundry items are kept on my indoor laundry room, so no chance of freezing or cooking (Vegas gets hot). It smells like Snuggle, but I'm not sure how to deal with this. Please advise.

Call the 1-800 number on the back of the bottle. Companies actually want to know when this stuff happens so they can do something about it. Just like the people who called about Downy, you will likely get a refund

I wonder if adding a different medium to dilute the softener would help without having any drastic effects on clothing, washer machine or quality of the softener..something.such as aloe vera, glycerin, witch hazel or propylene glycol..????

Thanks Devan. My original post was from 6 years ago. I haven't had the fabric softener get lumpy in a long time so maybe Downey fixed the problem. I know none of mine was "outdated". Plus I have always kept the fabric softener in my laundry room so I don't think it's a temperature fluctuation issue.

I experienced very thick downy for the first time today. It would hardly come out of the bottle. I just "poured" a small amount into the cap, added water, and stirred until it was the proper consistency. However, I may also try vinegar as was suggested six years ago.

@Linda Dragon, vinegar is a completely different thing than fabric softener. Softener has oils or fats to lubricate fabric fibers. Vinegar is mildly acidic which counters detergents (alkaline), so functions as a laundry sour to balance pH but does nothing to lubricate fabric.

just an update.. I had found this thread while searching for fixes because I had myself found I was in possession of lumpy impressions that smelled too good to toss.. one thing that came to mind was adding aloe vera.. I was out of aloe vera but I did have a bottle of aloe vera juice which I purchased at walmart about a year ago…it is quite thin so I thought I’d try diluting with this since its natural and it worked pretty well.. I actually used an empty softener jug to mix half and half and so far, no bad reactions and I almost feel like the scent is stronger on the clean clothes coming out but that could just be the impressions🤪

KL I just saw your question (which dadoes pretty much answered). My washer is a SQ which has the dispenser on the top of the agitator, using centrifugal force and a sudden stop to release the softener into the tub. For mine I have to take the top off which gives me the ability to wash out and wipe off any residue. I switched to Snuggle so there is much less residue than with Downey, but I also just saw george's response so I may try and hunt down that formula of Downey.

I had half a bottle that had gone clumpy to almost solid. Took the cap off. Microwaved on high for 30 seconds. It became liquid again.

Btw, put the cap back on and shake for a few seconds after microwaving.

I have been using straight white vinegar for years and have never had a problem with lack of softness or static cling. It is great for rising the detergent residue away (which causes static cling). All fabric softeners like Downey do is impart more residue.

I ran across this thread and have read the comments. We are n the process of moving. Last week I cleared out the old laundry room and moved a lot of "stuff" to the new house. We buy Downy from Amazon and have it delivered on a schedule. I always have several bags of Downy in stock in the laundry room so I don't run out when we have heavy or more than usual amount of laundry. Earlier this year we experienced a massive freeze in Texas. Luckily I shut off the water to the new house so we only lost the pipe coming into the house but the house we were living in wasn't so lucky. It's a mobile home and all of the pipes that froze were underneath so we didn't have any water damage inside, just had to have it re-plumbed. Everything in our house froze, including all of the liquids in the laundry room. We stayed warm for three days by using a generator (outside) and two space heaters in a small room where we all bunked out to keep warm. I never thought to check the liquids in the kitchen, bathrooms and laundry room. Yesterday while trying to catch up on the laundry from the old house, I transferred a bag of the old Downy to my container I use in the laundry. The Downy cam out of the bag slowly and had the consistency of stirred yogurt. It wasn't lumpy, just really thick. I remedied the situation by mixing another full and of new Downy with the old and adding water until it was thin enough to use in the washer. I've already washed several loads with this mix and it hasn't made a difference in how the clothes feel or how the Downy comes out of the softener tray. I'm 54 years old and I can never remember using any other fabric softener than Downy. I have always been happy with the product and how it performs.

Downy doesn't smell as good as it used to and occasionally I get a bottle like the last one where it came out like sludge. I just opened it. I am concerned it will hurt my clothes and am disappointed at the lack of good smell. I may change.

I would contact the Downy people. Especially since it doesn't smell good. It may be contaminated. They will probably want some info from the bottle but I would think that they would make good and send you a coupon for a new bottle.

If fabric softener gets clumpy, imagine what it's doing to your plumbing.

Interesting thought although it's greatly diluted by the time it goes through your pipes.

Had a bottle just opened, kept at room temp since purchased moths ago. Like glue in container, read several posts here & saw the one from Downey; 1/2 cup warm water with capful & enough for 3 washes. Did that and shook the container, all dissolved. Made a few batches & put in an empty bottle of Downey. Will try a few washes and if ok, I'll dilute the rest of the clumpy bottle. I will be checking bottles before I purchase in the future. I too like others have used Downey free & gentle for many years,

Liquid softener in a dispenser should always be diluted with water. I mix a little hot water into the amount of softener in the product cap. Note the measurement lines, I rarely use more than line 1. Swirl the cap or stir with a spoon or table knife, pour it into the dispenser, then add more hot water to top-off to the full capacity of the dispenser. Don't overfill the dispenser or the liquid level will overtop the siphon tube and it'll flow out immediately.

Beyond diluting with water, dispensers are supposed to be cleaned of residue on a regular basis / as needed. That includes agitator-mounted dispensers on toploaders. Majority of them disassemble for cleaning, check the machine's user instructions.

I always dilute it but with cold water from the washer. I do know how to remove it and clean it I will definitely try the warm water. Thx for

I have tried everything but this im willing to try bc i dont want my money of downy washed down the drain ill keep u updated on my end

Downey

The warm water worked wonderfully