Dryer sheets in europe

[grwasher_expert]

While dryer sheets are a must where doing laundry in America,here in europe almost all people are completely unfamiliar with this product.The vast majority of supermarkets don't even have them on shelves.Here in Greece,most people don't own clothes dryers because sun is shining most days of the year,so most people hang their clothes outside to dry.But i've travelled to other european countries where dryers are most common,but nowhere did I find any sample of dryer sheets.Why are them so alienated with the european culture?On the other side here, fabric conditioners are added almost in every wash while in america they are optional,because dryer sheets provide all benefits that a fabric conditioner can give to the clothes.

 

[davey7]

I personally don't use them, and since I have shared laundry, would prefer my neighbors didn't use them (and they eventually clog the filters from what I gather).

 

[foraloysius]

Found these on the website of my supermarket, never seen them in the store though. I don't think they are very popular. I would never use them, they make the dryer drum greasy including the sensors.

 

[gorenje]

Here in Slovenia where Dryers are are quite common they are available in two drugstores. In DM and Müller, both German retailers and in the secont largest national Supermarket (Tuš), but only in the big ones.

I once used them, but now no more.

My father still uses dryer sheets because he found them more convenient than liquid fabric softener.
He uses the ones from DM which are Wet fabric softener sheets. Despite the fact I don't like fabric softener sheets I have to say the Wet ones are not so bad, because they are not waxy.

dm Slovenija | dm drogerie markt Slovenija

www.dm-drogeriemarkt.si

 

[gorenje]

Lenor

... and these are the ones on sale in Müller.

 

[logixx]

Yes, Lenor is pretty much the only brand we have here as well. Some drugstores make their own version - but that's about it. I don't use them as I find they leave next to no scent on the laundry.

 

[neptunebob]

I would prefer my neighbors didn't use them (and they ev

Not only clog the filter but they stink up the whole neighborhood. Go to the dorms of any American college campus and you will smell dryer sheets. One neighbor of ours had 4 boys and to keep their clothes smelling "nice" she would use 4 or 5 sheets at a time, everyone knew when she was drying clothes. Europeans live in less space than we do and probably don't want to stink up cities like Venice, where people live almost on top of each other.

 

[launderess]

Cannot speak for all of Europe

But at least in France nearly all laundry products are so highly scented that cannot see how dryer sheets would make any difference. Have yet to find "unscented" products and think it must have something to do with that old canard about French loving strong perfumes because.....

Larger worry regarding market penetration of dryer sheets in Europe might be in relation to how many households routinely use tumble dryers.

Line drying and or hanging washing around an apartment or house for drying is still common enough, thus dryer sheets would be of little use. Liquid fabric softeners OTOH are another matter.

 

[grwasher_expert]

Lenor produces dryer sheets???Despite Lenor is one of the most popular brands of fabric conditioner in greece,I've never ever seen them at any store.Probably they are sold only in Germany.Recently i have seen on shelves a new weird product called "Lenor unstoppables".It is an in-wash laundry scent in granular form that is added directly into the drum and it is supposed to aromatize clothes.I've never tested it,but i think that it is something completely useless and a waste of money,especially if you are using fabric conditioner,as most detergents and fabric conditioners are scented.It would be an exaggeration to add more scent.

 

[ilovewindex]

Those Lenor things look like Downy Unstoppables

 

[liamy1]

We have...

Lenor dryer sheets in the UK (the name was changed from Bounce to Lenor about 10 years back, which is weird as we've had Lenor as a brand since the 60's).

We only have 2 variants (whereas we have at least 25 different versions of Lenor liquid) - Spring Awakening (blue) and Summer Breeze (Yellow). I would assume this is because they are Lenor's 2 most popular scents in liquid FS.

I really, really, really do not like Dryer sheets, they leave a film over everything, gum up your dryer over time, don't smell that nice either. As far as I can gather, they are not massive sellers here in the UK either.

ilovewindex - Downy is Lenor, the exact same product; it's just called Downy in the US and Lenor in Europe.

In fact, they were going to rebrand Lenor to Downy in the UK back in 2002, but P&G reversed their decision (in the link).

We have all those variants of Unstoppables here, just under the Lenor brand.

http://https//www.marketingweek.com/2002/04/25/pg-ditches-uk-lenor-rebranding/

 

[liamy1]

GRWasher -

I know it seems extravagant, but you want to try the Unstoppables, we've had them a couple of years now and they're great. My favourite is Fresh

http://images3.mysupermarket.co.uk/Products_1000/33/438333.jpg?v=3?1474049695743%20=1474049695743

 

[davey7]

While I personally don't like scented clothes, I sometimes like the dryer exhaust smell.

We had a French exchange student in grad school who was the epitome of the French cleanliness stereotype. He had an English girlfriend - when she came to visit we though, ah, oh, she'll sort him out. Turns out she was just as, um, bad. He was a lovely person otherwise. Funny thing is there was a cleanliness obsession at one point in France - I have this one book about it, but have never really read it - much too dry.

I wonder if dryer sheets are available in Sweden - I don't remember ever seeing anyone use them (tumble dryers are pretty much standard, at least in newer houses and apartments). Swedes can be very practical so they might now use them as much.

 

[mrboilwash]

I think dryer sheets never made that much sense in Europe because as soon as liquid FS appeared on the market the following generation of washer models also became equipped with automatic dispensers.

On the other hand if you have to wait for the rinse cycle of a toploader or if you have to deal with a messy softener wheel device which isn`t flushed with water automatically those sheets must be a godsend.

 

[hoover8pulse]

The UK has Lenor dryer sheets, the Summer Breeze being more common than the Spring Awakening variety. Changed to Lenor from Bounce around 2009 ish. Supermarkets do their own versions which are much better and leave a longer lasting scent, Tesco ones in particular are FAR better than the Lenor offering.

ilovewindex - yes, Lenor Unstoppables are the same as the Downy ones. All they do is add more perfume to the wash but they do have a use, especially with clothes you want to store away or for loads where Fabric Conditioner shouldn't be used. They are also good for getting smells out of things like t shirts and underwear.

 

[launderess]

Have stood at Laundromats and watched persons chuck in two, three or more dryer sheets per load. Am quite sure not soon after opening the drums of dryers in such places are coated with grease or whatever from all those fabric softener sheets. This to the point you are going to get some residue on your wash regardless.

 

[grwasher_expert]

Once I've used a laundromat in Cyprus,after removing clothes from the dryer,I found some blackish oily residue on some clothes.It wasn't there before washing of when I removed them from from washing machine to put them in the dryer,so there was something in the dryer that stained my clothes.It was like grease.Could it be caused from dryer sheets abuse?

 

[aquacycle]

I'm going to cause a stir here, apologies.

Dryer sheets, scent beads and heavy-scent fabric softeners (and detergents, for that matter) are the work of the devil! Anything heavily perfurmed is a no-no.

They're packed full of artificial perfumes, chemical scent boosters and preservatives. The biggest culprits are benzyl salicylate (a known human immune system toxicant/allergen - directly linked with contact dermatitis and respitory irritation) and "2-bromo-2-nitropropane-1,3-diol", which is formaldehyde.

If avoidable, neither of these will get past my front door and I will actively look at ingreidents in cleaning products and cosmetics to avoid them, Both are incredibly dangerous, the latter being a recognised carcinogen.

Many of the chemicals used in such products are actually hormone-effecting, releasing certain hormones in the brain when you inhale the chemical. It could smell like crap but you'd still love it because your brain is releasing alsorts into your body. Not entirely disimilar to the effect snorting class A drugs!

I have noticed P&G are the worst for using many of the well recognised chemicals that have known health implications. Whilst not dangerous in the small quantities found in these products, if every single product you're bringing into your house is packed full of these, you're in trouble. Cleaning sprays and air fresheners are even worse, as many react with oxygen to release other harmful chemicals into the air.

 

[richardc1983]

I've moved from air fresheners and artificial smells to essential oils and a diffuser.