Bounce - is there any real point?

[aquacycle]

Hey folks,

I was discussing this with a friend yesterday and thought I'd ask on here about it.

I understand Bounce dryer sheets became popular in the 1980's with the "dry electric" tumble dryer boom. I remember my Mum using it in our old Philips dryer, but she hasn't used it in years. Nowadays, the only thing it gets used for is dusting the screen of her LCD TV.

Aside from making your clothes smell nice, does it have any real point? It was advertised as a fabric softener, but having not used it since I was about 5, I can't comment on it's softening ability. I also understand it can cause a lot of problems for sensor dryers?

To me, Bounce seems to fall into the same catagory as Shake & Vac - a pretty pointless gimicky product, but one that smells nice lol.

Thanks,
Chris

 

[danemodsandy]

They're Really Good....

....For making sure the inside of your dryer isn't too clean.

If you like a lovely gray buildup on the inside of your dryer's door and drum, they cannot be beat.

Even better, the smell lasts and lasts and lasts, long after you've stopped using them and sold the dryer on to a collector. Why, you can still enjoy that scent even if you're crazy enough to remove the protective coating they leave on your dryer drum!

(Doesn't duck, doesn't run)

 

[lordkenmore]

Bounce is also pushed for control/reduction of static cling....

It's a product I've seldom (very seldom) used. I'm cheap, and it never seemed like it did anything necessary. Despite the horrors of static cling, I find that life somehow manages continue staggering on.

It seems to me I've heard that dryer sheets in general are hard on dryers, but I can't remember for sure.

 

[mrb627]

100+ uses for Bounce

There was an article floating around our office that described the 100's of uses for Bounce. Not just a dryer sheet.

Malcolm

 

[paulc]

I put a dryer sheet behind the radiator in the sitting room, makes a great air freshener.

 

[cleanteamofny]

Years ago, Bounce was able to be used in the final rinse as well as the dryer and I loved the scent, but now I occasionally buy the dryer bar that lasts for 4 months.
Just make sure that the bar is in the middle of the drum and not towards the closest area of the lint filter or it will last less than 4 months.

 

[maytagbear]

The few times a year

when I go to a coin-op laundry, I do not use the dryers, because they are all gunked up with Bounce and similar. This was true even in the late 1980s, when the dryers at college (Uni for those reading on BBC) were coated in the stuff.

Liquid fabric softeners are different now.

Lawrence/Maytagbear

 

[wringer]

I

was told by my service man that Bounce is a bad idea for a lot of reasons when you use it as directed. It builds up a scum on the inside of the dryer as stated above and it also puts a coating on your clothing that is hard to remove even tho it may be invisible. I have never used it but know a lot of people who do. Give me the good old pink liquid fabric softener that comes in a gallon bottle. It does it all safely with no toxins.

Jim

 

[fido]

Quote Maytagbear:
"Liquid fabric softeners are different now."

Are they? I stopped using them because they made the towels less absorbent. Have they overcome this problem?

 

[dustin92]

I switch between liquid and sheets (bounce, etc.) and have never had a problem with buildup on the dryer drum. I have gotten in the habit of regularly washing the lint filter with a degreaser, because it can get a bit gummy. I think if you use softener properly (liquid, sheets, whatever) and wash properly, it is fine. I actually like the bounce dryer bar, basically a solid dryer sheet that you stick inside the dryer. Never had an issue with buildup there either, however, some friends that only wash in cold water and cant be told any different, use the dryer bar and have a layer on the inside of the dryer. Not to mention waterproof towels.

 

[jmurray01]

Very interesting, thanks for your input guys!

I think I'll keep using the sheets though...

 

[DirectDriveDave]

I have used them for as long as I can remember, I cannot say I have had any problems.

 

[petek]

Can't stand the smell. There's usually no need to use a full sheet either all the time, you can cut them in half or 1/3's etc

 

[launderess]

Dryer Sheets

At least from what one recalls were invented for the American laundry product market to solve the problem of "missing" the final rinse.

At that time and still pretty much today the American laundry market was/is dominated by top loading washing machines. Many then and today do not have dispensers for adding liquid fabric softeners automatically. This presents a problem in that Madame (or whomever is doing the wash) must stay close to the washer in order to "catch" the rinse cycle, or go back and reset the machine after it has finished for another rinse and add softener.

Bounce and Cling Free dryer sheets were for use in both gas and electric dryers and in theory absolved one from having to wait around for rinse cycles. You just bunged a sheet into the dryer with the load and that was that.

These sheets were nothing more than cloths impregnated with mainly "fabric softening"/anti -static agents (oils, fats, etc..)and fragrance (or not in the case of unscented versions). As the load was tumbled about heat from the dryer released these chemicals and in theory they would be carried by air currents to deposit on the load. Problem is as noted above the stuff also leaves deposits on internal dryer surfaces such as the drum, sensors and air exhaust vents/hoses.

Dryer bars (basically a big solid mass of fabric softener) were long available to commercial laundries as a more economical than using individual dryer sheets.

When it comes to comparing results between liquid fabric softeners versus dryer sheets most independent sources state the former is good for all around softness,and the latter best at preventing static cling. Indeed much of the effects of dryer sheets will depend upon the size of the load in question and tumble air patterns. Downy used to take a poke at dryer sheets in vintage television commercials/adverts saying they only "softened here and there" ,but their liquid sofener went everywhere water did during the rinse cycle totally treated a load.

Being as all his palaver may, some persons have gone totally overboard with dryer sheets. I've seen people bung two, three, or more of the things in each dryer at laundromats, even for the smallest of loads. Then there is the matter of chemical air pollution.

All over Manhattan and one assumes elsewhere you can "tell" when someone is using tumble dryers with those darn fabric softener sheets. The air is filled with the heavy stench of fragrance and one can only imagine what we all are breathing in as a consequence.

Fabric Softeners & Textile Absorbency:

Consumer Reports stated as far back as the 1980's that most brands of liquid fabric softener had licked the absorbency issue. Formulas had changed from the original fat/tallow laden gunk to various complex ones that were removed at the next washing, and or left a lighter coating than previous. To test if one's wash has become "waterproof" by the use of FS, simply place a drop of water on the surface of an item. If it takes longer than three seconds for the bead of water to become absorbed, you've got problems.

 

[MrX]

While dryer sheets reportedly gunk up vented dryers, I wonder how European condensers and heat-pump dryers would handle them. There's a closed loop of air which is recirculated and dehumidified in a condenser.

I wonder would the wax condense back out on those fins ?

 

[revvinkevin]

dryer sheets reportedly gunk up vented dryers

 

 

I've seen that on my "in house" Frigidaire dryer (and others) over the years.    The lint screen gradually became "restricted" causing drying times to increase.  

 

Once I realized what it was I placed the lint screen in the kitchen sink, get it wet, use any type of soap and a small scrub brush or old tooth brush.   After about 20 - 30 seconds of scrubbing, rinse and it's clean and ready to go back in service, good as new!

 

Kevin

 

[daveamkrayoguy]

We're sounding like a Bounce F/S "commercial" he

Naturally "Fabric Softener Sheets" is too hard to regularly repeatedly say...

But sometimes "Bounce" is another brand (maybe Generic) that you can't tell when you randomly see one of those floating around that were stuck to someone's clothes & break off, causing litter...

Anyway, I wonder how I have that gray pattern around the outgoing air duct (leading to the lint filter) in my dryer; thought it was just wearing & chipping of the finish from hard objects that just didn't happen to chafe away at the drum...

I use the sheets when I don't want static cling which is mostly when drying my daughter's clothes (they are the only things that really stick & pretty bad!) and right now have a half-empty box of Wal Mart Great Value lavender fragrance, while somehow my dad has a couple near-new & brand new huge boxes of his nearby retailer's (I think Aldi brand) of sheets w/ a better BOUNCE-like scent, I would like to get one off of (& had no idea he even used them)...

-- Dave

 

[danemodsandy]

Total.....

....Liquid softener fan here.

First off, I have a Maytag 806, which means I have a reliable, easy-to-use, easy-to-clean softener dispenser. Other brands sometimes have dispensers that aren't easy to clean, I know, but mine is.

Second, it's so cheap you can't believe it. I use Sun's (Huish Detergents) Cuddle Soft in the Mountain Fresh scent. A 32-load refill for the plastic bottle comes in an eco-friendly cardboard milk-type carton, and costs all of a buck.

No residues anywhere, except the softener cup needs an occasional cleaning, which is super-easy. No buildup on towels to interfere with absorbency. And best of all, no Kim-Kardashian-on-a-hot-day mega-smell, just a clean scent.

 

[retropia]

Cuddle Soft

X2 for Sun Cuddle Soft. As Sandy mentioned, the 32 oz. refill cartons are $1 (I only see those at the dollar store), or the 64 oz. jug is around $2.50 at the grocery store.

It's not a thick liquid like Downy, thus it washes well out of the dispenser drawer in our front loader. It does the job, which for my purposes is mainly to eliminate static cling on synthetic fabrics or blends. That is a more serious problem during the winter months, when the air is especially dry.

We do keep fabric softener sheets around for the rare occasion when I've forgotten to add the liquid fabric softener, or the static cling in the dryer is really bad.