natural alternative to dryer sheets?

January 14, 2005 4:18 PM

I'm looking for a natural alternative to dryer sheets. Does anyone have experience with this? [+]

I switched over to a non-petroleum laundry soap, and now I'm looking for something to replace the Bounce dryer sheets I usually use. So far, I've found some things like Static Eliminator and Hand Maid Static X, but do these things really work? If you've found something that works, please post.

posted by vorfeed to Home & Garden (25 answers total)

These are available at Target:

http://www.methodhome.com/dryer.html

I don't know their exact content, but they are marketed as:

"method dryer sheets are non-toxic, contain biodegradable ingredients and are never tested on animals"
posted by seymour.skinner at 4:40 PM on January 14, 2005

I've heard you can stick a wet face towel in there and since it will stay wet longer than other things (not sure why it would), the water controls static.

I stopped using dryer sheets altogether (just cause I'm cheap) without substituting anything and I haven't had any problems.
posted by duck at 4:41 PM on January 14, 2005

Dryer sheets (reportedly) use the same stuff that's in Pam non-stick spray.
So (reportedly), you can spray your old sheets with Pam and toss it in the dryer.

I don't know where I heard this.
Nor can I figure out why I smell like butter.
posted by metaculpa at 4:45 PM on January 14, 2005

What do you mean by "works?" I never use these so I'm not sure what features you are trying to replace.
posted by scarabic at 5:01 PM on January 14, 2005

I Can't Believe It's Not metaculpa

This will sound like a flip comment, but I'm serious: have you tried hanging them on the clothesline outside? In some areas, it can be just as quick as the dryer.
posted by Doohickie at 5:04 PM on January 14, 2005

Vinegar in the washer is a fabric softener and static cling reducer.
posted by pedantic at 5:19 PM on January 14, 2005 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: scarabic: they remove static cling, and make your clothes a bit softer. Depending on the brand, some of them also have perfume and such added, but I hate those.

doohickie: I've been pretty unhappy with how rough and stiff the clothes feel using that method. Also, during the winter things don't dry very well around here.

I'm going to try duck's suggestion (which, I am embarrassed to report, I didn't even consider! It goes to show how many years I've been using dryer sheets, I guess.) If it doesn't come out well, I'll give one of these other suggestions a shot. Anyone else have any ideas?
posted by vorfeed at 5:33 PM on January 14, 2005

I prefer using a liquid fabric softener, rather than dryer sheets. Perhaps there's an organic/natural one out there?
posted by Faint of Butt at 6:19 PM on January 14, 2005

I live in an apartment and use shared laundry facilities with many others. Unfortunately, the dryers are rather old and to prevent my clothes becoming a little stinky from the dryer, I use extra dryer sheets, pretty much works.

There should be an alternative... spray cologne into the dryer with my clothes? Cleaning the dryers, drying the clothes outside, or using alternative dryers are too inconvenient.
posted by quam at 6:57 PM on January 14, 2005

Interesting question.
posted by orange clock at 7:04 PM on January 14, 2005

You can wash a pair of socks in five minutes of dryer time!
posted by orange clock at 7:05 PM on January 14, 2005

Even in winter, I dry towels and jeans outside on a covered porch. They freeze and take a couple days, but they get mostly dry. I finish them in the dryer for softness. I rarely use fabric softener or dryer sheets, and never miss it. You could try using 1/2 sheet per load.
posted by theora55 at 7:05 PM on January 14, 2005

Response by poster: I tried going without, and it worked perfectly well for the shirts, but the whites/towels load was so full of static that I could probably power a small village with the output. I think I'll try pedantic's vinegar suggestion on the whites, next time.
posted by vorfeed at 8:02 PM on January 14, 2005

I never use them and disrecommend them to everyone. Static cling is ever present but not a problem. Where's the harm? Is there a real chance you're going to go to work with a sock stuck to your back? The harm, to me, is in the chemicals left behind by the softeners: I've just washed my clothes to rid them of everything unnatural so why would I want to add any crap back into the load?
posted by Mo Nickels at 8:38 PM on January 14, 2005

Dry things at the lower heat setting for a longer period of time. Take them out before they are bone dry, it's that last 5 minutes of high heat/no moisture that causes static buildup.

Alternately, get a large drying rack that you can stick in an out of the way corner and leave for a few days. I put mine at the top of the stairs to catch the heat updraft from downstairs.
If you take the clothes immediately out of the washer, and hang them, they won't wrinkle.

Note, this method doesn't work very well for towels, which definitely do get hard and stiff when air-dried.
But then, if your towels are big and fluffy enough, static is rarely a problem.
posted by madajb at 10:43 PM on January 14, 2005 [1 favorite]

We stopped using laundry detergents with names like "Attack!" and started using 100% plain laundry soap flakes and now we don't need softener, not even for towels.
posted by planetkyoto at 11:06 PM on January 14, 2005 [1 favorite]

Also remember that dryer sheets (contrary to what the package might say) can be reused. I've heard they're good for about 10 loads, but I always lose them after about three times. If you find some environmentally friendly ones, try reusing them to be extra friendly.
posted by katieinshoes at 11:13 PM on January 14, 2005

dryer sheets? I don't even have a dryer. If the goal is to be environmentally friendly, that is the way to go.
posted by dabitch at 3:41 AM on January 15, 2005

Interesting question.
posted by orange clock at 7:04 PM PST on January 14

Oh, thanks. Glad you approve.

I second the wet towel method- and when I've not had a wet towel handy, I've sometimes just taken out the clothes when they were not quite dry... Of course, some things dry faster than others, so it's not entirely effective.
posted by fake at 4:11 AM on January 15, 2005

you could also look at some way to hang clothes to dry rather than using a (horribly enery consuming) tumble dryer. i've been in some old places in teh states which have ceilings high enough to have a drying rack on a pulley from the kitchen ceiling, for example (not trying to snark - i'm assuming that you're motivated to do this for environmental reasons and this would be along the same lines).
posted by andrew cooke at 4:21 AM on January 15, 2005

ps - I wasn't trying to snark either but it might have read that way. I hang everything (indoors) to dry, on a drying rack that is in my kitchen/main (big) room. For fluffier towels I use a fabric softener that is environmentally friendly, and I hang my bathrobe on the heater so it's nice and warm when I want to wear it. :) It's great.
posted by dabitch at 6:00 AM on January 15, 2005

Keep in mind that fabric softener, of any sort, reduces the absorbency of fabric over time, so it is not a good thing to use on your towels (especially). Also, I never have static problem with natural fibers, so you might just want to cut down on the poly.
posted by anapestic at 6:40 AM on January 15, 2005

oh, I didn't know that. Thanks.
posted by dabitch at 11:38 AM on January 15, 2005

Trader Joe's sells little sachets of lavender for your dryer. They reduce static and make the clothes smell nice and have the added bonus of making you unattractive-smelling to mosquitos, fleas etc.
posted by tinamonster at 6:10 PM on January 15, 2005 [1 favorite]

A good friend ran into the same argument and found out that a combination of vinegar in the washer and a piece of aluminum foil in the dryer works to reduce static.
posted by myopicman at 8:06 PM on January 15, 2005 [1 favorite]