Washing Laundry

We got a HE washing machine 2 years ago. At first it worked great, but now? not so well I have notice that the socks do not come clean nor small hand towel and dish cloths.  So I started washing them by hand, went and got a wash board and clean those item that way.  Now the sock are super clean and they are not hard.  That is due to the soap that is being left on by washing machine.
So for the past few months I have have been doing research trying to find a better way to get my cloths clean and soft with out ruining the washer.  The first thing I looked into washing the laundry soap, using homemade soap is good for the machine due to the low to no suds, it doesn't gum up the pipes like normal soap.

http://www.onegoodthingbyjillee.com/2012/08/make-a-years-worth-of-laundry-soap.html

Next I looked into a new way of cleaning the washing machine, the thought of paying 10.00 for three of those washing pucks was killing me. I found that you can use vinegar to do the same thing! Use 1/2 cup in 1 gallon of water in the rinse/drain works great, also will clean the pipes out.
Another thing I do to clean dish towels is to boil (in water with vinegar) them, that helps remove any grease and soap being behind. I do this about once every two months.

http://www.onegoodthingbyjillee.com/2012/10/a-simple-solution-for-better-smelling-more-absorbent-towels.html

Next I looked into the fabric softer I was using. There are many different home made ones you can use. Below I will post a few of them that I have used in the past, but I have just finished reading about using Epsom salt to freshen cloths, it helps removes any soap being left behind, also helps fabrics from bleeding. So this is something I will be trying, for every cup of Epsom salt you add 10 drops of essential oil or you can leave it with no smell. Then add 1 tbsp to each load. I have not tried this yet so I can not how it works yet.

http://thefrugalgirls.com/2010/10/homemade-fabric-softener.html

http://www.onegoodthingbyjillee.com/2013/01/make-your-own-fabric-softener-crystals.html