Wash is done! 
I did 1/2 cup vinegar, two drops lavender, two drops tea tree. The wash has no vinegar smell, no tee tree smell and a mild lavendar smell.
The softness is pretty darn comparable to the Comfort concentrated fabric softener I was using. I tested two loads side-by-side and most of the items were identical in softness. I did notice a slight difference in my tea towels; the Comfort version being softer, but that's probably because I do use more than the recommended amount of Comfort (eye-balling it instead of measuring it).
So, we have a winner! Now, if I can just find those gallon jugs of vinegar.
EXCELLENT! I like the vinegar and lavender oil for my own clothes and my daughter's dressier outfits. She had an allergic reaction to commercial fabric softeners and seems to have inherited sensitive skin from me.
For towels, I use a whole cup of vinegar - 1/2 in pre-wash and 1/2 in fabric softener compartment. Cuz, yeah, they can go mega hard w/o some form of softener, especially if you line dry them.
Try any large Asian foodmarket near you and you may come upon those huge bottles of vinegar - I found mine by surprise!
Pebbles, my gran was a Mayan Indian midwife and healer woman who taught me loads of stuff like this. She had an ultra green thumb and the most amazing garden (and the biggest mortar and pestle I've seen!). Since I've been a teen, I've enjoyed reading about and experimenting with oils, herbs, plants, candles, incense, etc.
