Dryer Sheets: Some Lame, and Not-so-Lame Uses
I accidentally ordered dryer sheets in my monthly Melaleuca order last month rather than the intended liquid softener, but I thought I’d keep them and give them another shot.
My daughter normally takes the lead in doing our laundry, so I wasn’t totally surprised when I went down stairs to check on something and found several of the sheets scattered on the floor and on top of the machines, obviously overlooked when they fell away from the laundry as it was pulled from the dryer.
I began picking up the sheets, and as I did so I recalled an era long ago when I did buy dryer sheets regularly. I recalled that there were a few good practical uses you could make out of the used sheets.
I started wiping down the machines with the sheets I picked up and recalled that they were pretty good to dust with and was supposed to reduce static on the television. Other than that I couldn’t think of anything else.
I decided to do a search online to see what other uses there might be for dryer sheets.
Over and over again I saw the same list of uses, sometimes listed in the same order even!
I wondered how many of these people thought they were being really clever or original in establishing their list.
1. Freshen smelly shoes. – Okay, that’s a given. Dryer sheets are made to freshen clothes, or fabric and material and duh, what are shoes made of? The same goes for any other ‘freshen idea’ I’ve seen, such as lining your dresser drawers, gym locker, duffle bag, closet, storage, etc. But, it doesn’t make much sense to me to buy dryer sheets to deodorize things when there are deodorizers made to do so. Also, I prefer to use baking powder or cornstarch to get odors out or absorb moisture.
Most of the list also included using dryer sheets to prevent old books from smelling musty. The only time I’ve encountered that problem is when they’ve been left in the basement too long and I haven’t found anything that totally gets that smell out!
2. Eliminate static electricity from venetian blinds by wiping with a dryer sheet. – Hmm, I’ve never had a problem with static electricity on my blinds but apparently it must be fairly common for others. Still, I think I’ll pass on this one.
3. Clean baked-on food from cooking pans – Lame! Okay, you are supposed to do this by laying a dryer sheet in a pan and either boiling it or letting it soak over night after filling the pan with lukewarm water. The antistatic agent is supposed to weaken the bond between stuck-on food and the surface of the pan. Likewise, the softening agent is supposed to soften the baked on food, making clean up a lot easier in the morning. – No, I haven’t tried it but it just sounds lame. Soaking overnight in water alone will leave baked on food softer in the morning, but again, I would use baking soda.
4. Clean pet hair from carpeting or furniture. – Lame! Lint rollers, brooms, and vacuum cleaners work wonders. Besides, wouldn’t a dryer sheet leave a stain on your furniture?
5. While we’re on the subjects of pet hair…several people suggested using dryer sheets to freshen your dog in between baths or for getting the dust off of him every time he comes in from outside, and for drying him off when he comes in from the rain – Personally I think doing any of those could be grounds for animal abuse. A couple of dogs I’ve owned have had sensitive skin, my guess would be that the chemicals on the dryer sheets could be harmful. I hate using tick and flea products harmful warning labels on them, much less the idea of using some chemical not even meant for that purpose. I’d also hate to think of what could happen to your pet when he licks himself and ingests the chemicals that rubbed off from the dryer sheets. Another lame suggestion!
6. Wipe up sawdust from the garage floor. – Huh? Rubbing a dryer sheet over the wood particles is supposed to magnetically attract them to the dryer sheet. How often do you get sawdust on your garage floor, and, uh, can you say ‘shop vac’?
7. Ease needle threading and prevent thread from tangling when sewing. – The spit from your tongue has always helped me and is readily available, but if you really need some extra help, beeswax can’t be beat!
8. Dissolve soap scum from shower doors by wiping with dryer sheet. – Okay that might work, I don’t know because I don’t have shower doors. Never-the-less, I can’t see going all of the way downstairs to get a dryer sheet when I’ve got a sponge and cleaner already handy in the bathroom.
9. Repel mosquitoes, yellow jackets and mice by wearing a dryer sheet in your pocket or lining the entryways of your home with them in the case of mice. – Nope. I can’t vouch for the mosquitoes but it’s hard to imagine anything being carried inside your pocket as being effective. As for mice, do they use entryways? I’ve put steel wool in the space around my dryer and ac hoses where they enter the house and that didn’t even keep them out!
To be fair, I also read that it is good to keep a dryer sheet in your pocket during wintertime to discharge the static electricity you get when getting in and out of the car. That sounds reasonable to me, but I wouldn’t use it to control flyaway hair, which was also suggested.
10. Place a dryer sheet in a toilet paper roll so that each time it spins it will freshen the air in your bathroom. – Well, if it is inside the toilet paper roll, which is covered in toilet paper and also placed, on a holder with a rod going through it, how easily can the scent be released?
There were some uses for dryer sheets that I did find and thought just might be helpful, they were:
– Use Dryer sheets to eliminate static cling from pantyhose when storing them in your drawers by rubbing a damp, used sheet over them. – This is supposed to keep the legs from sticking together as well as keeping socks or other pairs of hoses from clinging to them as well.
– Use as interfacing in sewing projects. – The material is similar to interfacing so this may work well for small areas you need to use it in when sewing. (http://www.quiltbus.com/dryer.htm)
– An especially good tip I found by Aaron on www.thatdamnpc.com was to use a dryer to sheet to keep your printer from jamming. -He explains that a common cause of printer jams is that the paper is being sucked through the tray wrong sometimes due to static electricity making the pages stick together. Putting a couple of dryer sheets in the bottom of the tray can reduce the static between the paper pages.
Some cautionary information I found on the use of dryer sheets were that even when used as intended, which is to control static and soften clothes in your dryer, they can cause problems such as clogging the lint filter, coating the heat thermostats, and gumming up the venting system. Also, used dryer sheets can be flammable, as can the lint in the dryer trap that goes outside. So regular cleaning of these areas is a must.
Don’t forget that dryer sheets contain chemicals, so the safety label on the packaging should be followed and the product should be used only as stated.
There are many products we Americans purchase simply to ‘throw-away’ so-to-speak, but the added expense of dryer sheets hardly seems worth it. They are excellent for their intended use in softening fabric and alleviating static buildup, but conversely, they seem to promote extra work in maintaining your machine and having to pick up and pull the dryer sheets from everything else they stick to. Hardly seems worth it to me. I still hate dryer sheets!
