A Use For Dryer Sheets

[tomturbomatic]

From the AccuWeather site, a use that will not mess up your dryer:

With winter's drier conditions, people deal with more static electricity with clothes and hair during the colder months. Instead of being pestered by clingy clothes and hair, there is a cheap, simple solution.

Just like when you use them when doing laundry, dryer sheets will remove the pesky static by rubbing the sheet on your clothing and even on your hair. As a bonus, the sheets will also tame any frizz.

According to AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Elliot Abrams, static occurs because of the difference in charge between two objects.

"The transfer of charge is most effective in very dry air, so the problems are typically most severe in winter," he said. "Dryer sheets interfere with the charge transfer process."

I hope none of us is ever this desperate. I wonder if they would work as a deodorant also? What about underarm shields; they must be waterproof and, as you get warmer, you could smell like dryer exhaust. There are far worse smelling things.

 

[swestoyz]

It's pretty common to use dryer sheets when storing automobiles long term, especially here in the Midwest over the winter season.  Throw a few in cabin of the vehicle (glove box, front and rear foot wells, package shelf), as well as the trunk and under the hood.  Pests don't care for the smell of the sheets and avoid nesting in those areas.

 

[tomturbomatic]

So if you wear them, you won't get pests? Another benefit!

A problem with new cars is that a lot of the insulation for the wiring is soy-based and a friend had something eat the wiring harness insulation in her car when it was parked outside.

 

[danemodsandy]

Uh....

"There are far worse smelling things."

Those of us who hate the smell of Bounce might disagree.

I can see where Bounce would repel pests - it's pretty repellent to many of us humans too.

 

[yogitunes]

surprised manufacturers haven't taken the hint and create just scented sheets, not for drying per say, but along the lines of room fresheners, for trash cans, laundry bins, clothing drawers, car fresheners, etc....

people already use dryer sheets for this already...

did you know rubbing two sheets on your dog after coming in from the rain will eliminate the 'wet dog' odor?....

not everything is a bad idea!

what needs to be changed is that note on the box, "safe for dryers", which we know is not true!...we have seen the build-up

 

[tomturbomatic]

I have some FINAL TOUCH sheets that still faintly smell of the good old softener formula. They once made great drawer sachets.

 

[danemodsandy]

Dryer Sheet Build-Up:

As Maurice Chevalier once sang: "Ah yes - I remember it well."

My first pair of Maytags (A108 washer, DE608 dryer) had belonged to a Bounce fiend.

The dryer had grey, waxy buildup all over the drum and the door's interior; it would not come off with soap and water, nor Windex, nor 409. Mineral spirits followed by straight ammonia was the combination that finally "cut" the crud.

The previous owner had also used the dryer with a huge hole in the lint filter; not only had a tremendous lint buildup occurred, some Bounce sheets had also blown into the dryer's workings. Anyone who thinks that God does not protect fools should have seen that fire waiting to happen!

Anyway, between the waxy buildup, the heavily-scented lint buildup and the stray dryer sheets, that dryer had the most horrific stench of Bounce I have ever smelled. Even after several careful, inside-and-out cleanings, there was still a pronounced whiff of the stuff, and it remained evident until the day I sold the dryer to an AW member.

 

[whirlcool]

And fabric softener will make the lint in the ductwork hard as a rock too. I cleaned out a Kenmore dryer last year that had so much lint in it that it completely blocked the duct from the lint filter to the blower. The lint was hard as a rock. I had to use a hammer and screwdriver to break it apart. Then when I did the lint inside was as sticky as if it had been coated with honey. I had to use hot water and Dawn to clean the duct out. The woman who owned the dryer was a Downy fiend.

 

[danemodsandy]

I Can Vouch for That, Too!

My mom was a Bounce user, and a dryer abuser. For some unaccountable reason, she refused to touch a dryer's lint filter until the buildup resembled grey 30-ounce plush carpet.

Her disdain for the chore, and her use of Bounce, packed many a dryer's duct with lint. One of my little adventures fixing her dryer is recounted in Reply # 20 of the thread linked below. It's a honey:

http://www.automaticwasher.org/cgi-bin/TD/TD-VIEWTHREAD.cgi?26382

 

[twintubdexter]

certainly not a good use...

I remember a program from about 4 years ago on TLC that dealt with unusual food addictions. One lady was addicted to eating dryer sheets. She started by smelling them then progressed to eating. She would make little dryer sheet "sandwiches" and stuff them in her bra, then commence to eat them throughout the day. At first this sounds like something funny but there was no humor in her addiction. Her doctor warned her about the many chemicals she was ingesting, some of them known carcinogens. 

 

Nothing to do with dryer sheets, but the program documented another woman who was totally addicted to the smell of gasoline. She would take gas with her to work, even in restaurants, secreted in those little fruit-shapped apple juice bottles. She couldn't go for more than 15 minutes without a whiff. Like the dryer sheet lady, her doctor told her she was destroying herself.

 

[COLOR=#008000; font-size: 12pt]high octane stuff[/COLOR]