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Are your household costs increasing by the minute? A dryer sheet can save you a few dollars or maybe a significant amount of money if you use them rightly. Confused?
Don’t worry you, you heard that right. Amazed by the relative ease with which dryer sheets freshens up my clothes in the laundry, I was keen to know what else they can do.
I did extensive research where I found out more than 50 ways to reuse the dryer sheets in the household and garden itself! To be honest, I didn’t expect more than 10 but got surprised to know how useful dryer sheets can be.
Read further to understand the multiple uses of dryer sheets that have helped me cut a lot of cleaning and other costs at home. I am sure you’ll never dispose of dryer sheets instantly after the laundry anymore.
What is a Dryer Sheet?
Dryer sheets are sheets treated in fabric softeners that help the clothes retain their freshness and softness after laundry wash. When you wash different types of clothes together in the laundry, they get stuck together and produce static charges.
The constant rubbing of charges deteriorates the texture of clothes. Dryer sheets counter this by eliminating the current and acting as a barrier to the buildup of electricity.
Are Dryer Sheets Safe?
While dryer sheets have been in public use since the 1960s, some health bloggers are now calling them dangerous. The dryers sheets are made up of non-woven polyester fabric and indeed contain chemicals. But unlike what some health bloggers have accused, these chemicals aren’t toxic.
Most of the chemical contents in dryer sheets are approved by the Food and Drug Administration(FDA) or GRAS. Researchers are still testing the toxicity of fragrances in these dryer sheets and the kind of chemicals they emit, but they haven’t found anything toxic yet.
It’s safe to say that we can use dryer sheets as they have been used for years unless they are proved toxic.
50 Uses of Dryer Sheets
1. Dusting Cloth on Mops
You might be surprised to know that dryer sheets are an effective replacement for dusting pads. They cling on to the dust, dirt, and hair on the floor.
Since dryer sheets are thin, you may need to attach two or three dryer sheets to your swift mop and start cleaning. You can save the cost of a dusting pad, and it also spreads a pleasant fragrance on the floor.
2. Dusting Glass & TV Screens
A dryer sheet retains its conducive properties even after being used in the laundry. You can swiftly clean dust and dirt off your TV screens using these sheets.
It would also cut the cost of using a glass cleaner as it leaves a refreshing fragrance. The display will repel dust particles after you have wiped it off with a dryer sheet.
3. Remove stinky Smell from Shoes
Are you stressing over the odor coming from your shoes which invites an awkward gaze from people once you remove them? Washing your shoes may be a bad idea if they are made up of suede.
Stuffing dryer sheets can solve the problem by eliminating mild odor although it won’t be as effective in excessively bad-smelling shoes.
4. Eliminate Odor from Laundry Bag
If you have the habit of washing clothes once a week, you would know how bad the stuffed clothes smell in the bag. Placing used or new dryer sheets in the laundry bag can significantly reduce the smell.
5. Eliminating Odor from Luggage
You are getting ready to pack your stuff for your much-awaited trip, but a musty smell envelops you as soon as you open the stored luggage. It acts as such a mood spoiler, and perhaps you want to wash it before packing your stuff.
Place a few dryer sheets inside your luggage once you store it and you would find a refreshing fragrance even after along time.
6. Remove Pet Hair from Your House
Having a pet at home comes with its own troubles, and a major one of them is cleaning off pet hair fallen on the furniture, clothes, and everywhere they go.
You can wipe the hair off your clothes, the furniture covers and other places using a dryer sheet. It clings on to the hair quite well and acts as a useful hair remover.
7. Remove Musty Smell from Books
Old books stored on the shelf for a long time develop a musty smell in them. Some people like that smell, but it can be irritating for others.
You can eliminate the smell and make them smell fresh using dryer sheets. Just put your old books in a bag along with a few dryer sheets and pack the bag for a few days to eliminate the odor.
8. Clean Sticky Dirt from Pans
The pile of dirty dishes awaits you after the night of the party. It’s a real struggle to scrub off oily dirt stains from pots and pans. A dryer sheet can make the task much more comfortable.
Just fill the container with liquid soap and hot water, and place a dryer sheet inside the vessel. Let it soak for an hour and drain the water. You would be surprised how easy it has gotten to remove burnt food.
9. Clean Up Glasses
Have you lost your glass cloth or aren’t able to find it? Don’t worry; a dryer sheet can do the job with ease. Just dip the dryer sheet into the water and rub the damp sheet on your lenses to get rid of stains and fingerprint marks.
10. Cleaning the Iron
You might have left your iron on a cloth for a little too long and ended up burning the fabric. The burnt cloth gets stuck on the iron plate in the aftermath, and it’s difficult to remove.
Warm the iron on a low temperature and carefully rub the plate with a dryer sheet. Keep rubbing until the dryer sheet has taken up all the grime and dirt.
11. Remove Deodorant Stains
Deodorants can leave permanent stains on your cloth if you don’t act immediately. Have you noticed an ugly white stain of your favorite shirt?
Out of all the remedies, the dryer sheet is the best one to clean it up quickly. Just softly wipe the dryer sheet onto the white mark, and you will see the stain fading away fast.
12. Cleaning Paintbrushes
Rinsing out the paint from the paintbrush is as tiring a task as painting itself. You may have been rinsing the paintbrush for eternity and watching the paint coming out continuously. Using a dryer sheet is a better alternative.
Just soak the paintbrush and a dryer sheet into a bucket of water and remove the paint with ease.
13. Polishing Chrome Sinks
Chrome surfaces like the kitchen sink or the window frame tend to get dull over time. A dryer sheet can make it look shiny like new as the textured surface clings onto the dirt particles. Wipe the sink off with a dryer sheet in a circular motion and make your sink brighter.
14. Clean Up Stains in the Toilet Pot
If you have been delaying cleaning up the toilet pot, you may notice a nasty dark ring stain near the water level. Place a dryer sheet in the toilet basin and let it soak for an hour. Flush the toilet once you notice the dark ring fading away.
15. Eliminate Diaper Smells
People having babies at home would know the pain of smelling filthy poop smell coming out of the diapers in the dustbin. A dryer sheet can help deodorize the diaper and eliminate the odor. Just place a dryer sheet in the disposable bag before putting in the diaper. The dryer sheet would absorb most of the pungent smell, which will also help repel flies lingering around the dustbin.
16. Keep Clothes Smelling Fresh in a Drawer
Use a dryer sheet before you place washed clothes onto the metal drawer shelf. The dryer sheet will act as a drawer liner and keep the clothes smelling fresh for a long time.
17. Prevent Threads from Tangling During Sewing
The tangling of threads is one of the most frustrating challenges while sewing. You’re sewing smoothly, and suddenly a knotted thread stops you from pulling the needle.
Pierce a dryer sheet with a needle and thread before sewing. The dryer sheet conditions the thread and prevents it from tangling.
18. Use as Embroidery Backing
Embroiders well know the frustration when they run out of backing material. It’s crucial to back up the cloth before decorating. You can use a dryer sheet as a viable substitute for backing the embroidery. Just place the sheet behind the embroidery ring and start stitching.
19. Deodorize Gym Bags
Packed with sweaty clothes, shoes, and sweatbands, gym bags start stinking. Dryer sheets can help eliminate the odor and make it smell fresh.
Place a few dryer sheets in the gym bag after emptying it and zip it close for a few hours. Stuff in more dryer sheets if the smell is exceptionally intense and filthy.
20. Remove Crayon Stains
Crayon stains are a common sight if you have young children at home. Every once in a while, you will find crayon stains on the wall or the furniture. Fortunately, they can be removed using a dryer sheet! Just scrub the stained area gently, so the paint doesn’t get affected and continue until you have completely removed the stain.
21. Remove Soap Scum
Every now and then, you would find a buildup nasty soap scum that can be tough to remove. But nothing is tough for a dryer sheet, perhaps. Just soak the dryer sheet in water and wipe away the scum easily.
22. Clean Up Dry Spills in the Kitchen
Dryer sheets can easily clean dry spills in the kitchen. Flour and powders can be tough to remove due to the fine particles. Whether you spill flour or baking powder in the kitchen, dryer sheets can make cleaning them all quite effortless.
A dryer sheet attracts the fine particles and makes them cleaning them up easier.
23. Clean Up Baseboard
A lot of dust and dirt gather on the baseboard on the edges of your house, and the vacuum cleaner can’t suck them in. Dryer sheets can clean up the baseboards, and it will also repel the dust and dirt gathering around it in the near future.
You can easily use the vacuum cleaner to remove the remaining dust and dirt from the floor.
24. Cleaning Workshop
Struggling to clean up the mess while doing woodwork in your workshop? A dryer sheet can quickly clean up the mess as it attracts sawdust. Although these sheets are reasonably delicate, they can swiftly do the cleanup job. Keep some dryer sheets around while working and clean up the workshop quickly.
25. Clean Up the Mattress
Mattresses start smelling bad when they get old. It can affect your night’s sleep as the stinky smell enters your nose.
Place dryer sheets under the mattress cover to eliminate the musty odor coming out of the mattress. It will provide the mattress with a refreshing fragrance and help you sleep comfortably.
26. Bathroom Freshener
Running out of the bathroom freshener? You may have never to buy one again as dryer sheets are an adequate substitute. Place some dryer sheets inside the toilet paper roll tube and attach it one the dispenser.
The dryer sheet will spread its fragrance every time you roll a toilet paper out, filling the bathroom with its refreshing scent.
27. Repel Rodents
Mice, rats, squirrels, moles as well as some insects hate the scent of dryer sheets. You can use these sheets to prevent such rodents from entering your home through cracks. Stuff the cracks with dryer sheets which acts a rodent repellent and keep them away from your home.
28. Eliminate Odor from Tents
Camping tents develop a musty odor, especially when you have packed them for long. Keep a dryer sheet into your camping tent after you come back from a trek and pack it away. It will smell fresh when you open it on your next camping trip.
29. Make the Pillow Smell Fresh
Have you ever left a dryer sheet inside the pillow cover after bringing them back from the laundry? If, so you must have noticed the fresh fragrance coming out of the pillow while you sleep.
You can intentionally place a dryer sheet inside the pillow and make it smell fresh like it has just come out of the dryer.
30. Eliminating Trash Odor
The trash bin in your kitchen will start smelling bad if you don’t throw it out every once in a while. You can eliminate the trashy food odor by placing a dryer sheet under the bin.
Although it won’t eliminate the scent, it will reduce the fragrance and balance it out for a while. You must throw the garbage out in a short time after that.
31. Clean Up Soft Toys
Your kids drag their soft toys all around the house. They are bound to get extremely dirty but washing them in the laundry might not be a good option as it roughens the fur. You can rather clean them up using a dryer sheet. It will freshen them up and help them to retain their shine.
32. Remove Static Charges from the Hat
Everyone loves to wear caps or hats in the winter. Since the winter hats are made up of wool, they rub off with the hair and produce static electricity messing up the hair when you remove the hat.
Rub the insides of the hat with a dryer sheet before wearing it. This would eliminate the charges from the hat and prevent it from making your hair messy.
33. Freshen Up the Sleeping Bag
Just like the camping tent, the sleeping bag is also used sparingly when going for an adventure trek. Since you store the sleeping bag for a long time, it starts smelling musty when you take it out for your next trip.
Wearing such a bag is not something you would like on your trip. Stuff in some dryer sheets in the sleeping bag before storing it. It would remove the dust from it, and the scent makes it smell fresh.
34. Remove Sand at the Beach
The seawater washing up your feet at the edge of a beach is a blissful experience. But when you come back to the tent, sand sticks on your wet feet making for a disgusting experience.
Pack some dryer sheets to the beach and rub your feet and body off with a dryer sheet. It would easily cling on to the sand and remove it from your body.
35. Hairbrush Cleaner
Nobody wants to use a dirty hairbrush as the dust particles can damage the hair when you brush with it. Instead of throwing away your old brush, you can easily clean it with a dryer sheet.
Put a dryer sheet in lukewarm water and soak the brush for a few hours. Leave it out in the air to dry, and you would find your brush as good as new.
36. Remove Intense Odors
If you have kids at home, you must have experienced the pain of cleaning up their vomit pee on the bedsheet. They will also vomit on the floor at times.
You can clean up these stains and wash up the bedsheet, but the strong odor of vomiting remains for as long as 3-4 days. Placing a dryer sheet on the washed stain can eliminate the odor in just about a day.
37. Soften Your Feet
If you have dry feet, they can be embarrassing when you wear flip flops or sandals as they can make you look older than you are.
Instead of going to a pedicure center frequently, you can soak your feet in warm water and clean them up with dryer sheets. It would soften the feet significantly making for a quick and cost-effective fix.
38. Air Duct Freshener
Air ducts get dusty and the air quality deteriorates over time. While cleaning up the air duct is necessary, you can use dryer sheets to freshen up the air temporarily. It works like a charm as the scent of the dryer sheet spreads throughout your house.
39. Bind Soil in Flower Pots
Flower pots start losing soil as they get old and cracks develop. But you don’t need to throw away your favorite flower pot because of this. You can instead put a dryer sheet on the bottom of the potto hold up the soil and lengthen its life.
40. Removing Gum from the Dryer
Children often forget candies and chewing gums inside their clothes and throw them into the laundry bag. You might often end up with melted gum or candy inside the dryer. A dryer sheet can easily remove them. Just soak the dryer sheet in water and scrub the gums off the dryer.
41. Kill Gnats in the Garden
If you have a garden in your yard, you would know the troubles caused by gnats. They are notorious little insects that eat up the soil’s nutrients and make it porous and loose. You might be surprised to know that you can kill these gnats using a dryer sheet!
Just put some dryer sheets in the soil. The scent would attract the gnats towards it and kill them by preventing them from getting away.
42. Carpet Freshener
I bet you won’t have heard of a cheaper carpet freshener than this. The dryer sheets can make the carpet smell fresh enhancing your living room experience.
Place some dryer sheets in the vacuum bag of your vacuum cleaner and clean the carpet with it. The scent of the dryer sheet would spread along with the rug quickly.
43. Fan Air Freshener
The air coming out of your table fan or room cooler can get more pleasant and fresh using a cheap dryer sheet. You just have to place the dryer sheet on the back of your fan and turn it on to spread scented air across the room.
44. Clean Oven Grill
The oven grill can become nasty with a lot of burnt food, oil, and grease sticking over it. Cleaning it up is a messy task, but a dryer sheet can make it smoother.
Use a dish soap bar along with dryer sheets and elbow grease to clean up the oven rack. Scrub it slowly to remove the sticky stains and make it look new and shiny. Check out dish soap uses.
45. Pack Ornaments
The decorations of your Christmas tree, the artificial diamond ring you got from the local mart and ornaments like these start eroding over time. The polish starts getting faded away. Pack them up with dryer sheets to prevent them from corrosion and dirt.
46. Glitter Nail Polish Remover
As you must have realized coming home from dozens of parties, looking fashionable comes at a cost. If you have ever tried glitter or gel nail polishes, you would know it can take an eternity to remove them using a cotton ball and nail polish remover.
Use dryer sheets instead of cotton to remove the nail polish. The gel sticks into the sheet and rubs off easily.
47. Remove Electric Charges from Dog’s Fur
Your dog’s fur might catch static charges during a thunderstorm. It can spook up your petty little dog’s fur, and it’s natural to get worried about your pet. You can comfort him by rubbing a dryer sheet on his fur. The dryer sheet absorbs the charges and calms his down his spooked up hair.
48. Sharpen Up the Scissors
Scissors get dirty and lose their sharpness over time, especially when you use them sparingly. You don’t need to throw them away and get a new pair though.
Just rub the edges with a dryer sheet to sharpen it up. It will additionally remove the dust and dirt it gathered over time, making it look shinier.
49. Dust Ceiling Fans
Dusting the cleaning fan is an arduous task, but not anymore. A dryer sheet can properly clean all the dust and dirt with relative ease, and you won’t even need to climb a ladder for it. Just roll the dryer sheet over a long-handled paint roller and tighten it with rubber bands.
Scrub off the dust from your fan and don’t forget to cover your mouth with a cloth to prevent dust particles from entering your nose.
50. Bug Repellent
Running out of bug repellent and getting too late to go and buy a new one? You can instead use scented dryer sheets as a bug repellent. Stuff them in your belt’s buckle or collars while going to the park and shoo away bugs.
Bugs don’t like its smell and refrain from attacking you. You can also rub it on your skin in case you don’t want to carry it around.
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