10 Household Tricks that Call for Used Dryer Sheets
Take your dryer sheets beyond the laundry room. You already know that a couple of these clean-smelling sheets can spruce up the olfactory appeal of the gym bag. Yet did you know that it is also possible to use dryer sheets for cleaning? Before you envision a sudden spike in the laundry budget, rest assured that this type of cleaning is done with old used-up dryer sheets. These are the sheets that are en route to the trash bin. So what do dryer sheets do for you around the house?
- Clean baseboards with dryer sheets. Citing the sheets’ ability to “banish static,” Adams Homes experts recognize that they not only banish today’s dust but also prevent tomorrow’s dust from settling down.
- Wipe the TV. One of the most dust-friendly appliances in the room, get a used dryer sheet and gently wipe off the front of the TV. What do dryer sheets do but prevent static cling? Not surprisingly, the dust comes off and stays off.
- Use as a car freshener. No, you do not have to hang a dryer sheet from the rearview mirror. Rather, place one under each of the front seats. The fresh scent remains in place for a long time.
- Tackle the Venetian blinds. Cleaning these blinds is usually a lesson in futility. As soon as you are done, the dust is already settling down again. When you use dryer sheets for cleaning, the dust does not come back quite as quickly.
- Clean latex paint off brushes. Saving Advice mavens were surprised to learn that placing used paintbrushes into a container with warm water alone did not yield much of a result. Add a used dryer sheet and removal of the latex paint “becomes amazingly simple.”
- Clean the sticky iron. If you have applied just a bit too much spray-on starch to the shirt or blouse and the iron is now sticky, you can get it clean with the help of an old dryer sheet. Let the iron cool down and moisten a corner of the dryer sheet. Gently rub away at the sticky residue.
- Mop of dry spills. The loose flour, the cup of sugar, the salt from the shaker or the baking powder you spilled on the floor during your latest culinary exploits all clean up nicely with a used dryer sheet.
- Dust the furniture. Think of the used dryer sheet as your answer to the advertised high-tech specialty doodads that claim to attract dust. Dusting with these used up sheets is economical since you simply discard them when finished.
- Scrape off the price tag residue. I do not know why department stores insist on putting price tags on every single mug and plate they sell, but they do. Getting off the tags is not always easy and sometimes there is a sticky residue left behind. Daily Finance experts have found out that the humble dryer sheet quickly and easily removes the residue from dishware.
- Remove nail polish. Rather than burning through the cotton balls, reach for a more durable used dryer sheet. It is abrasive enough to get the polish off quickly — with the help of nail polish remover, of course — but not abrasive that it would damage your nails.
More Homemaking Articles by Sylvia Cochran
