Fabric softeners — liquid added to the final rinse in the washing machine or softening sheets that go with the clothes into the dryer — are designed to reduce the amount of static in synthetic fibers.

Dear Mary: I used to buy a packet of “blue jeans softener” in a store that has since gone out of business. Added to the first washing, it would make a pair of new jeans feel like they had been ...

Consumer Reports offers tips on how to make your clothes soft and nice-smelling from your washing machine (without the gross ...