25 Alternative Uses for Fabric-Softener Dryer Sheets

By: Chrisjob May 17, 2007

1. Dusting: used dryer sheets can knock the dust off nearly any surface, including furniture, blinds, car interiors, baseboards/molding. Also works for sawdust and drywall compound.

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2. Keep bugs away: Tuck some in your picnic basket or under lawn furniture to repel bees from your juicy flesh and encourage them back to the flowers, where they belong. You can also rub a sheet directly on your bare skin to discourage would- be buggers from leaving their mark.

 

3. Keep your clothes fresh: tuck a few fabric-sheets in your drawers to keep that ‘just-washed’ smell happening for weeks. Throw one in your dirty clothes hamper to prevent any rampant, residual odors from escaping into your bedroom.

 

4. Scrub your showers: Lightly wet a used dryer sheet, and scrub to remove soap build-up and mineral deposits.

 

5. Freshen your home: Place (or tape) a dryer sheet on your HVAC vents to scent the air circulating through your home. You can even place one alongside your filter in your central heating unit to distribute the scent. Also works on ceiling fans, and on the back of box/portable fans.

 

6. Reduce static cling: Pat your self with a sheet to combat static on your clothes, stockings, and even long hair!

 

7. De-stink your pets: Scrub incoming dogs or cats (especially wet ones) with a dryer sheet before the come back into your home. You can also place one in your litter box to cut down on odors.

8. Clean your laundry room: When you finish drying a load, hold on to the dryer sheet, and wipe down the inside of your dryer’s drum, your lint trap, the outside of your washing machine and dryer, and scrub away any excess or spilt laundry detergent.

 

9. Scrub the bugs from your car: Summer drives often equal insect gut polka dots all over your auto’s body and windshield. Simply wet your car down, and use a dryer sheet to scrub away carnage with ease.

 

10. Wipe up hair: The cling of a dryer sheet is perfect to wipe up pet hair from your furniture, or even your own hair from your bathroom.

 

11. In your shoes: Toss a dryer sheet in the toes of your shoes to minimize odors and prolong the just-purchased smell.

 

12. While traveling: Place a few dryer sheets in between items in your suitcase to keep both your clothes fresh and to prevent your items from picking up any mustiness from old luggage.

 

13. In your crafts: Use dryer sheets to add texture to cards, scrapbooks, etc. Also use for reinforcement in appliqué and quilting work.

 

14. For diapers: Keep your used dryer sheets in your diaper bag, and roll one up in the diaper to prevent odors before you have to chance to throw it away.

 

15. In the kitchen: Soak cookware with burnt or baked-on food in warm water, with a dryer sheet or two. Makes clean-up easier than you’d expect. Also works on cook tops and dingy cabinet doors.

 16. Clean paint brushes: Soak your used paintbrushes in warm water with a dryer sheet, and that pesky latex paint will come off in under a minute. 

 

 

17. In books: placing a dryer sheet in new books or photo albums will keep them smelling fresh, and can combat the musty paper smell of used or old books. Also works as a killer bookmark.

  

18. In toilet paper: Roll up a dryer sheet in your toilet paper roll. Each time you spin, it releases a little freshness into your bathroom.

 

19. As you sleep: keep a fabric-softener sheet in your pillow case and under your mattress or mattress pad for sweet dreams of summer all year ‘round.

 

20. While sewing: use a dryer sheet to store your needles while threaded to keep them from tangling, for paper piecing whilst you quilt, and for backing for embroidery.

 

21. Repel rodents: Use dryer sheets to keep out mice, skunks, squirrels, rats, etc from your basement, garages, boats, campers, and clubhouses.

 

22. In your car: stash dryer sheets under your car seats and floor mats, and in your glove box and trunk for fresh scents as you travel.

 

23. At work: Hide dryer sheets in drawers, behind computers, and in cabinetry to keep your workspace fresh, and combat your co-workers awful perfume or stale cigarette scent.

 

 

24. In you vacuum cleaner: Place a dryer sheet in your vacuum bag or dust containment unit. As the hot air moves as you vacuum, you’ll bulk up your cleaning efforts. (Make sure this is in NO WAY a fire hazard)

 

25. In storage: tuck dryer sheets in your rarely used items such as luggage, camping gear, sports equipment, or specialty craft or kitchen items to prevent the inevitable smells of basements, attics, and garages.

 

[Dryer sheets are chemical products, so read the safety label on all your packaging. Using an ecologically alert product such as Method will guarantee safer results]

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Comments

They also remove hard-water spots on glass shower door beautifully.

I have some old liquid fabric softner and hate to throw it out but I don't like the smell.  If I pour it around the house, will it keep the sugar ants out?

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Do not sleep with dryer sheets under your pillow! They are filled with toxic chemicals!

They work wonderful to clean the bottom of a sticky iron.  When iron is cold, put just a little water on the dryer sheet to make it damp, and use it to clean the bottom of the iron.  I could not believe how well this works!!

Pretty pretty please DO NOT USE THESE ON PETS!  I used to use dryer sheets on my dog to keep mosquitoes at bay (or so I thought) and after several uses he was somewhat lethargic and had some hair fall out.  After doing more research, I found that others had the same problem!  So beware what you use on your pets!

i love dryer sheets! but did you see the piece on the TV program "Strange Addictions" where a woman was addicted to chewing them? yuck!

Brenda;  Thanks for the excellent "Swiffer" tip!

I save my used dryer sheets in a mason jar on top of my dryer.  I use them on my dry swiffer mop.  It's unbelievable how well they attract pet hair!  Now I don't have to buy expensive swiffers and I get double use out of my dryer sheets.  Love it!

I read a tip the other day that recommended using a dryer sheet to wipe baseboards and door trim, shines it up and repels dust so you don't have to clean them so often. 

Love all these ideas.  I take my used fabric softner sheets and put them in the closet with my linens.  It helps keep them from getting that "closet" smell.

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Tennis balls in the dryer with clothes also remove static from clothing AND fluff pillows.

wow

nice and interesting blog thanks

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I've always enjoyed the smell of dryer sheets too, but I've been reading a lot lately about the toxicity of the chemicals found in common dryer sheets. The EPA has stated that the chemicals are known to be toxic, but they haven't banned dryer sheets because they are unable to determine how much of those chemicals are able to be passed from the dryer sheets, to the clothes, and to the skin of humans.

http://www.immuneweb.org/articles/fabricsoftener.html

I saw the tip to use softener sheets to remove bug guts from your car, but I also read a tip on another site to use on tree sap/pitch.  It has been dried on from July '10 to now March '11 and worked like a charm.  Greatest tip EVER!!!  My car had a lot of sap on it, now it looks AWESOME!!!

Nicky, I've been doing that for three decades now.

Buy:

  1. A bottle of all natural  liquid fabric softener
  2. A garden type spray bottle. 
  3. A few odd colored (so they'll stand out when unloading the dryer) washcloths. 


Fill garden sprayer with softener.
Spray washcloths with softener and toss in dryer on top of laundry.

Eventually you'll be able to feel the residue of softener on the washcloths.
You'll not need to respray them until they start to feel dry again.
Sometimes dozens of loads later.
I try to keep half a dozen cloths on hand incase some "disappear" with the clean clothes.

I don't like spending the money on dryer sheets but I did read one comment about making your own.   Soak old wash cloths in liquid fabric softener, then use as suggested in the various "tips".   

Interesting ideas, since I don't use them on laundry at all.  But why would I want the chemical scent of dryer sheets on clothes, skin, pets or in the air via furnace vents?

I've used dryer sheets on pets with no adverse effects. I made little hammock beds for my ferrets with a pocket on the underside of them and put dryer sheets inside to deoderize the ferrets and they napped. There was a layer of fabric between the ferrets and the sheets, so they were never in direct contact with it.

I've also used dryer sheets to de-static my poor cats. They were getting shocked everytime I petted them, and the dryer sheets put a stop to that. I've been doing this for years and no problem at all.

Different people told me about using them on their cats, and had never had a problem, either. Those cats are now over 12 years old and in excellent health. Doesn't sound like a big risk to me.

At work we have cement floors, all the latest shoes have rubber type soles so we all squelch as we walk down the hallway. Very annoying.  If you take a dryer sheet and rub the bottom of your shoes there is no more squelching sound. Lasts for hours. It is great! These things are amazing!!

Um, We buy the fragrance-free kind.  So that doesn't help with all the lovely-smelly-type tips.  But I do use them for stuffing cross-stich ornaments I make at Christmastime.

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