I have been told this before, but I tried this last weekend. I was not happy with my dryer sheets; I would rather not use them. Our sons use them so we have lots of them. Our clothes and towels were not coming out very soft and had a bad smell. So I tried wetting a washcloth with vinegar and putting it in the dryer with the towels.
Wow, when I took them out of the dryer they were soft and smelled so good. From now on I will use vinegar on a cloth.
Source: I read this from a book also called "Jerry Bakers Old-Time Vinegar, Garlic, Baking Soda, and 101 More Problem Solvers".
By Pati Mishler
This page contains the following solutions.
If you don't have fabric sheets or just don't want to buy them, try using aluminum foil instead! Crumple up a sheet of aluminum foil into a ball and toss it into the dryer.
Toss 1/4 cup of vinegar in your washer. It's a natural softening agent and helps remove soap residue. Then toss clean clothes in the dryer with a large wadded up ball of aluminum foil.
No need for those expensive tumble dryer sheets, just use a ball of tin foil. It works just the same but without the chemicals.
Avoid using fabric softening sheets in your dryer, because the build up on your lint catcher becomes dangerous and keeps air from flowing properly.
In a pail mix 1 gallon water and 1 cup concentrated fabric softener. dip a sponge or dry washcloth in the liquid, squeeze out the excess and toss in the dryer with your laundry.
He changed the sensor in the dryer and told us those "dryer sheets" had coated it, causing a false signal that turned off the dryer. He told us to stop using them. Now we only use liquid with our wash and no more trouble.
Didn't get the liquid softener into the washer with the clothes? Easy fix is to grab one of those orphaned socks from the pile and squirt a couple drops of liquid softener on it.
Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
What can I use in place of dryer sheets?
Deb from NE
Get a clean small rag or washcloth and place a few drops of peppermint oil on it and put it in the dryer with your clean clothes. They smell great and no chemicals.
You can even dampen an old washcloth with some liquid fabric softener and throw it in with your clothes. It's works the same and you don't have to buy the dryer sheets.
I first washed my lint filter from my dryer using hot soapy water and dried it well then put it back. I then cleaned the inside of my dryer. This got rid of any dryer sheet residue. Then I started using white cider vinegar in the final rinse of my laundry. No, it doesn't leave any vinegar smell on your clothes when they're completely dried.
Shaklee makes a product called softer than soft. It's allergen free and you can use it in the washer, or dilute (I think 10 to 1) and spray it on your wet wash in the dryer. Works great!
You can purchase inexpensive "dryer balls" that go in the dryer with your clothes. They prevent static build-up and fluff the towels. I use fabric softener in the washer, but you could omit that if you liked. I got my dryer balls at a Books are Fun fundraiser, but I am sure they are available at other places.
Is there really such a thing as white cider vinegar, keeper60 or is that white OR cider vinegar? I am a big fan of using vinegar in the final rinse since I first tried it a month ago. But since I couldn't leave well enough alone, I tried the following. If you like a nice,clean smell, you can put lavender buds into your white vinegar and leave them for about a week, shaking often. Then strain out and use the lavender scented vinegar in the final rinse. It gives a light scent without being overwhelming.
Somewhere on a Thrifty Fun post a long time ago was the suggestion to take a arms length, or maybe it was two, of aluminum foil, and ball it up. Toss that in the dryer, and it is reusable for just about forever.
This came from the Duggar Family recipes. Buy a large container of fabric softner and 4 or so inexpensive sponges. Use a 5 gallon bucket with a lid. Pour the fabric softner into the bucket. Fill the original fabric softner container twice with water, pour both into the bucket. Cut the sponges in half and put into the bucket. When you fabric softener, squeeze one of the sponge halves out and throw it into the dryer. Works better than a dryer sheet and is much less expensive! I'm sure it works with the more green fabric softners also.
using dryer sheets is like putting a repellent on your clothes.. repellellents stop water from touching your towels like an umbrella so if you try to dry off the water repells and goes somewhere else..when you stop using fabric sheets your towels actually dry you off
One alternative to buying fabric softener sheets is using diluted liquid softener sprayed on a cloth or piece of interfacing that is added to the clothing in your dryer. This is a page about using liquid fabric softener instead of dryer sheets.
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Should I use dryer sheets in my new Kenmore washer and dryer? I seem to remember hearing, some years ago, that dryer sheets caused some kind of dryer damage.
