Coming in at under $10 for hundreds, dryer sheets are an enormously cheap household staple.
But are you aware of the many clever applications for dryer sheets besides softening clothes and adding fragrance?
We searched around online, and sites like Apartment Therapy, Real Simple, All You and Curbly listed a variety of ways to employ dryer sheets outside the dryer. Some are obvious alternatives, while others are neat little tricks.
12 Uses for Dryer Sheets That Aren’t Laundry
Before you toss them, save a few sheets next time you do laundry to experiment with these 12 ideas — or hold onto them after they’ve already been in the dryer. Many of these tips work best with used dryer sheets!
1. Dust
Run a dryer sheet over blinds, tabletops, electronics like your TV or laptop and other surfaces. Curbly recommends using sheets that have already been used for dusting.
2. Freshen Small Spaces
Dryer sheets come scented in many varieties, from fresh linen to lavender and floral blends. Tuck a sheet into odorous spots — such as gym bags, laundry hampers, garbage cans, diaper bags or even your vehicle — to keep them smelling pleasant.
3. Remove Pet Hair
If your cat or dog leaves fur on bedding, clothing or furniture, wipe the surfaces with a dryer sheet to collect loose hairs easily.
4. Cut Static
If you frequently deal with static cling, swipe a dryer sheet over your hair and clothes to tame the static charge. Apartment Therapy suggests a previously used sheet works well for this.
5. Remove Iron Residue
To eliminate gunk on an iron’s soleplate, Real Simple recommends setting the iron to a low heat and rubbing it over a dryer sheet until the buildup comes off.
6. DIY Air Freshener
Forget aerosols, plug-ins and candles. Curbly suggests taping a dryer sheet to air vents or attaching one to ceiling or portable fans so the circulating air smells nice.
7. Shine Chrome
Use a dryer sheet to polish chrome fixtures — like faucets or wheel rims — and restore their shine.
8. Aid Sewing
Rub thread with a dryer sheet to lessen tangling while you sew, a tip recommended by Apartment Therapy.
9. Deter Insects
The scent of dryer sheets can repel some bugs. Apartment Therapy suggests tucking a used sheet in your belt loop. All You recommends placing sheets in room corners or where spider webs form. Curbly even advises putting them beneath patio furniture or gently rubbing them on your skin. For more ideas on repurposing grounds around the house, see uses for coffee grounds.
10. Keep Rodents at Bay
While humans often like the scent of dryer sheets, mice, rats, squirrels and other rodents may avoid attics, basements and garages that contain them. Apartment Therapy suggests stuffing a used sheet into holes where rodents might enter.
11. Help Remove Stuck Food
All You recommends loosening baked-on grime in pans by placing a dryer sheet in the dish, filling with water and letting it soak overnight so the residue wipes away easily the next day.
12. Clean Eyewear
Instead of buying microfiber cloths — this six-pack of microfiber cleaning cloths for glasses is on sale for $8.98 on Amazon — you can use dryer sheets to erase smudges, giving you hundreds of extra wipes for about the same cost.
Jordan Reed is a staff writer at Savinly. He doesn’t always purchase dryer sheets, but when he does, he opts for the unscented variety.
This article offers general information and outlines possible options, but it is not meant to be investment advice or a personal recommendation. We cannot customize articles for individual readers, so your circumstances may differ from those discussed here. Consult a licensed professional for tax, legal, financial planning, or investment guidance.
