what are dryer sheets for?
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In short, dryer sheets are used to create a guard against the buildup of static electricity during machine drying in most fabrics. They also work as fabric softeners, help in the resistance of future stains, prevent clothes from gathering lint and make ironing easier.
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Most textiles and fabrics shrink when exposed to high heat, and tumble dryers use heat to remove moisture and dry your clothes. The other way tumble dryers work to dry your clothes is to rotate them. The tossing motion can cause fibres to constrict, thus shrinking your clothes.
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Dryer balls are baseball-sized balls that are typically made of rubber, plastic or fabric. The promotional material for them says when you put several in a clothes dryer they'll hasten drying; they'll also soften clothes and reduce static, serving as a substitute for chemical-based fabric sofeners.
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The balls continually agitate against the fibers in clothes and linens. So, after a (shorter) drying cycle, your clothes would also be soft to the touch. When used properly, dryer balls can even take care of static cling. ... Dryer balls are believed by many to be the best replacement for dryer sheets and fabric softeners.
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To use Downy Dryer Sheets, simply drop a new dryer sheet on top of your clothes in the dryer. (For large loads or for extra softness and fragrance, use two sheets.)
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Most dryer sheets are made from a nonwoven polyester material coated with a softening agent that has a long hydrophobic chain. ... During tumble drying, the coating containing the softener melts and the compounds get transferred onto the fabrics being dried.
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Making a fire starter: Dryer sheets combined with dryer lint make excellent fire starters. The easiest way is to put them in an old toilet paper roll and fold the ends inward so the contents are trapped inside. It's an instant fire starter. Use it in your fireplace or save it for your next camping trip!
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From an environmental standpoint, dryer sheets aren't needed to keep clothes clean. As single-use products, they produce needless amounts of waste and emit potentially harmful chemicals into the air. ... American Cleaning Institute.
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Tumble dryer sheets are meant to go in with your wet washing to help your washing smell good when it comes out. The sheets are coated with stearic acid, which melts when heated. This helps to reduce static, and increase the softness of fabric in the tumble dryer.
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Most dryer sheets are made from a nonwoven polyester material coated with a softening agent that has a long hydrophobic chain. Fatty acids, fatty alcohols, and alcohol ethoxylates are all possible softening agents.
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3. Towels. While everyone loves to dry off with a soft towel, liquid fabric softener and dryer sheets can reduce the absorbency of terry cloth and other fluffy fabrics. If you feel like your towels aren't drying as well as they did when they were new, skip the softener every few washes.
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To be precise, no, you do not need both fabric softener and dryer sheets to get soft, static-free clothing. Each works differently and can help or harm in different ways. You can make your own fabric softener from household staples instead of putting health at risk or risking damage to fabrics.
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As clothes tumble around and rub against one another in the dryer, they exchange electrons. ... Throwing a few balls of aluminum in the dryer will fight this. The foil balls both discharge any static buildup that the clothes may experience and help keep the clothes separated, which should speed up the drying process.
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Chemicals from dryer sheets can build up and clog your dryer's lint screen, making your dryer a lot less efficient. And, dryer sheets are totally unnecessary for actually making our clothes cleaner—we don't really need them, and so they're an easily-preventable source of exposure to toxic chemicals.
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The takeaway From an environmental standpoint, dryer sheets aren't needed to keep clothes clean. As single-use products, they produce needless amounts of waste and emit potentially harmful chemicals into the air.
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Rubbing a fresh sheet against your clothes and upholstered furniture does the trick every time. Since television and computer screens are electrically charged, they tend to attract dust particles. Lucky for us, dryer sheets are designed to reduce static cling—meaning they remove the dust and prevent it from resettling.
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Can I use dryer sheets with all dryers, including HE (high-efficiency) dryers? Yes, dryer sheets are safe for all dryers and washer/dryers made in North America. However, it won't last as long when used in steam dryers.