25 uses for dryer sheets
By glblguy
Welcome again to Money Saving Monday here on Gather Little by Little. Here’s another list of creative uses for dyer sheets courtesy of my wife and her mom’s forums. As with my 15 uses for coffee filters, I don’t have the original source to site. Here’s 25 uses for dryer sheets:
- Dusting: used dryer sheets can knock the dust off nearly any surface, including furniture, blinds, car interiors, baseboards/molding. Also works for on saw dust and drywall compound.
- 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.
- 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.
- Scrub your showers: Lightly wet a used dryer sheet, and scrub to remove soap build-up and mineral deposits.
- 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.
- Reduce static cling: Pat your self with a sheet to combat static on your clothes, stockings, and even long hair!
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- In your shoes: Toss a dryer sheet in the toes of your shoes to minimize odors and prolong the just-purchased smell.
- 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.
- In your crafts: Use dryer sheets to add texture to cards, scrapbooks, etc. Also use for reinforcement in appliqué and quilting work.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Repel rodents: Use dryer sheets to keep out mice, skunks, squirrels, rats, etc from your basement, garages, boats, campers, and clubhouses.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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)
- 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.
Have a creative tip for how to use dry sheets besides in the dryer? Add your tip in a comment below!
This article is part of an ongoing series called Money Saving Monday. Each Monday, I share tips and techniques you can use to start saving money.
February 2nd, 2009 at 7:57 am
Very, very creative ideas– I picked up an idea or two I can use.
Thank you
February 2nd, 2009 at 10:51 am
Great post, I’ll be using some of these as well. This reminded me of that guy who’s on TV sometimes – he wrote books about organizing your household and he uses old nylons for everything from storing old Christmas trees to cleaning your oven – it’s pretty hilarious.
February 2nd, 2009 at 11:34 am
Great tips!
You can also use them to get rid of the static electricity on your tv screen or computer screen – use a used sheet to dust your screens – afterall they were designed to decrease static cling in the dryer.
Also try using them to disolve soap scum in the shower – wet it and use it to clean the shower.
February 2nd, 2009 at 3:28 pm
I can attest to # 2, # 11, # 22 & # 25 do work. For # 22, I just put the sheet under my front seats – that dryer sheet “film” gets all over everything if you put it in your glovebox. Putting it in TP roller is great idea.
# 5 & # 23 worry me a little. Even though dryer sheets are somewhat see through, restricting the air flow into or out of a room is a bad idea for your HVAC system. Not to mention the trouble you will experience if you restrict the airflow around your computer monitor or hard drive.
Excellent tips overall.
February 2nd, 2009 at 3:46 pm
I’m definitely going to have to try rubbing hair and debris off of my suit jackets. Thanks for the tips!
February 2nd, 2009 at 4:15 pm
I never realized there were so many uses for dryer sheets. Using them to dust is one I might actually try out though, sounds like a reasonable way to help clean the room a bit.
February 3rd, 2009 at 1:05 am
You don’t want to destink your pets with it. There are dangerous chemicals that can cause irritation or illness in pets. :) But I love your other ideas.
February 4th, 2009 at 12:42 pm
gym bag- I keep 2 pairs of gym clothes. Keeps the dirty one fresh and keeps the fresh one fresh until I take it home to wash.
February 4th, 2009 at 4:29 pm
Some good ideas. But please keep in mind that there are a lot of people who have strong reactions to scented products. My neighbors overdo it with dryer sheets. When they run their dryer, we have to come inside and shut our windows.
Given how sensitive dogs’ noses are, I would never use a dryer sheet on them.
February 4th, 2009 at 4:33 pm
not really a use for dryer sheets, but another cost saving thing related to them: don’t buy dryer sheets. Take any cotton fabric, cut an 8 by 8 square and zigzag or pinky shears around the edge (you could probably also use cheap handkerchiefs).
Mix 50/50 mix of water and fabric softener in a spray bottle. Squirt your square 6 to 8 times and toss in dryer. Reuse. They should be washed without softener every so often to remove buildup.
If you think about it, buying dryer sheets is just fabric softener on a cheap piece of material. Wish I could take credit for this idea, but I got it out of a craft book. My mom loved it for mother’s day…makes a great gift.
February 4th, 2009 at 8:34 pm
Some good ideas to try, especially cleaning paint brushes and getting dog hair off trousers. For years I’ve been using an old washcloth that I wet with water and then add liquid softener before throwing it into the dryer. One VERY important issue is to wash your lint filter!! There is a coating, from the softener, that forms on it creating a potential fire hazard in addition to increasing the drying time.
February 6th, 2009 at 5:51 pm
caution when using dryer sheets in the dryer: the film from the sheet builds up on the lint screen and when the screen gets clogged up it is known to catch fire. clean your screens once a month in with dishsoap and lightly brush it off. also when there is a storm pets aren’t afraid of the thunder noise it’s the static electricty that irritates their fur so a dryer sheet or use static guard works well.
February 7th, 2009 at 12:50 pm
We use dryer sheets tied to new trees and shrubs, to keep deer from nibbling the ends of branches and new growth. Just one tied anywhere in the branches seems to work.
February 9th, 2009 at 2:43 pm
I love it!!! And all other comments too!! I will go to my loundry room and pick up at least 100 my maid threw behind the dryer, I was waiting to confront her with it but know we will put them to great use…..
February 10th, 2009 at 8:58 pm
Excellent post! I’m sharing this with my readers. Who da thunk there were som many uses, although I agree about not wanting to use the chemicals on our furry friends.
February 20th, 2009 at 4:56 am
Nice creative ideas. Also Used dryer sheets make good dust magnets! Use them on TV screens, computer monitors and other electronic equipment. Thanks for sharing,
Merlyn
April 17th, 2010 at 3:35 pm
number 5 works awesome.
May 13th, 2010 at 8:57 pm
I wash my used dryer sheets by hand to get rid of any remaining chemicals. I then cut them into squares a bit larger than tea bag size. I put two pieces together and sew around three sides. I put a small scoop of lavender buds with a few drops of lavender oil into the pouch and sew up the fourth side. I drop this into a nice hot bath and it smells wonderful. This way, you don’t have anything clogging the drain after your bath. The dryer sheets are very sturdy and do not fall apart. I give these to my girls and they love them. You can also make simmering tea bags with cloves, cinnamon sticks, and other areomatic spices. Just drop it in a pan of hot water and your house smells heavenly.
July 21st, 2010 at 12:52 pm
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August 8th, 2010 at 11:57 pm
You can also use it if a kid pees in their bed. you simply place NEW dryer sheets over the wet area and cover with a sheet then put weight overtop of it. let it sit for a minimum of 4 hours then take it off. the bed will be dry with no scent of pee EVER! you can use it on new and old accidents but with the old accidents the stain will still be there. this can just keep it from getting a stain! I use it all the time with my daughter. plus it also works to soak up any liquids off of furniture from any spillage! :)
March 31st, 2011 at 1:41 pm
For any fellas reading this the ladies will fall in love with you if you do #19. My mother used to do this when I was a kid so I carried it on to my place when I moved out and every woman who has stayed over LOVED IT!
January 28th, 2012 at 7:42 pm
LOVE all these idea…I posted these to my blog along with your link…
July 26th, 2012 at 12:31 pm
Still wondering – do they have to be scented – or will unscented work for pests/insects/mice, etc? I can’t stand the smell myself…..
March 31st, 2013 at 1:22 pm
Nice ideas. I save all my dryer sheets. I mostly use them for cleaning around the kitchen. Saves a few bucks here and there.
July 23rd, 2013 at 9:18 am
I love dryer sheets, but I think it is cheaper to buy fabric softener and mix with water in a spray bottle. I like to mist it on rugs and furniture instead of febreze.
March 23rd, 2014 at 2:49 pm
Use if you have static cling in your hair!