Still tossing in a dryer sheet every time you do your laundry? It might be time to leave that old habit behind.
You may have been using dryer sheets to soften, add fragrance or remove static from your clothing. But what you probably don’t realize is that those sheets are doing more harm than good to your clothes, your dryer and, most important, the environment.
First, dryer sheets don’t actually make your clothes any softer, although it might feel that way, said Patric Richardson of The Laundry Evangelist. The sheets are coated with a chemical solution that transfers to your garments when heated up during the dry cycle.
“It’s the coating that goes on fabric that feels soft,” said Richardson, the author of “Laundry Love.” “It’s the equivalent of putting a thick layer of lotion on your hand. Your skin isn’t actually softer, it just feels softer.”
Over time, that residue accumulates on your clothes. As lingerie expert Cora Harrington said in a Twitter thread in 2021, dryer sheets are “at best, absolutely useless” and, at most, “do actual damage to your clothes.”
“They work by putting a film of lipids and fragrances on your garments, which builds up over time and can contribute to clothing and towels smelling ‘musty’ or ‘stale’ even after they’ve been washed and dried,” Harrington, author of ″In Intimate Detail: How to Choose, Wear, and Love Lingerie,” told HuffPost via email.
“And if you share a machine, such as by using a laundromat — which I do — those lipids and fragrances can affect everyone else’s garments well.” (Plus, the scents and other ingredients in dryer sheets can be irritating to some people with asthma, allergies, migraines or sensitive skin.)
This chemical coating can affect the properties of certain fabrics, too, said Sumit Mandal, an Oklahoma State University assistant professor who specializes in textile science. For example, it can make towels less absorbent, make your athletic gear less moisture-wicking and reduce the flame resistance of some children’s sleepwear.
That film also builds up in your dryer, which will can affect the appliance’s effectiveness over time, Richardson said. One example: The residue may prevent the electronic moisture sensor in the drum from working correctly. This can lead to over-drying and increase your utility bill, according to The Spruce. And be warned that the buildup can also coat the mesh of the lint catcher, making it a potential safety concern down the road.
Dryer sheets aren’t just a waste of money, they’re wasteful, too.
“They’re litter,” said Harrington, noting they can’t be reused and don’t decompose easily. “When you consider that many people use at least one dryer sheet — and sometimes much more — that’s a lot of trash.”
What To Use Instead
Ariel Skelley via Getty Images
The most popular alternative to dryer sheets are wool dryer balls. They bounce off of your clothes and linens, softening the fibers, and are considered a more sustainable option because they can be reused many times — up to a few years, depending on how often you do laundry.
“You just toss them in the dryer with your damp laundry and let them get to work,” Harrington said. “People often find their clothes dry faster with wool balls, and, of course, unlike dryer sheets, they’re reusable and biodegradable.”
Because wool balls cut down on drying time, your clothes aren’t being subjected to high temperatures for as long. This — in addition to the fact that they don’t leave a chemical residue — also makes them a better choice to preserve the longevity of your garments.
However, if you’re allergic to wool or avoid it because you’re vegan, there are also reusable plastic versions.
Another thing to be mindful of: People tend to use far more laundry detergent than they need to. Using too much can make clothes feel “crunchy,” Richardson said, which can leave you reaching for the fabric softeners and dryer sheets. If you use less detergent to begin with, then your clothes will stay softer without needing to introduce additional products.
And while wool dryer balls may help some with static cling, Mandal and Richardson said you can also try using a ball of aluminum foil. Take a few feet of foil, crumple it up until it’s roughly the size of a tennis ball and toss it in your dryer with your clothes. You can reuse the same ball dozens of times, and you’ll know it’s time to replace it when it’s been reduced to the size of a walnut, Richardson said.
Harrington prefers to keep her laundry routine as simple as possible. She recommends using nothing in place of dryer sheets (but wool balls “if you must”). She believes clothes don’t need to be “highly fragranced” — they can “just be clean.” These small tweaks to the way you do and think about laundry can have a big effect in the long run.
“Something like avoiding dryer sheets is easy to do yet makes a significant difference in the quality and longevity of your clothing,” Harrington said. “I don’t think sustainability or making better fashion choices has to be some complicated, onerous thing. You can begin with very accessible steps.”
If you hate doing the laundry, here are a few products to make the experience way more pleasant.
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A Box Legend folding board
This baby has over 5,000 five-star reviews and people especially love how the folding board gives shirts a tidy store-like presentation in their closets and dressers.
Promising review: “I dread folding laundry. But this folder makes it so easy to fold shirts, pants and basically any kind of clothing easy and neat.” — Ash
Wad-Free bed sheet detanglers
Promising review: “My sheets would always burrito up in the dryer so I’d always have to run a second or even third drying session and they still would come out with some wet areas. These take a little time to put on your sheets before you throw them in the wash. You also have to watch [to ensure] a corner didn’t come undone when you move them to the dryer. The little extra time these take is well worth it though. They keep my sheets from bundling up and everything dried with just one run. I bought a second pair of these because I use them on my sheets, blankets, duvet [and] comforter. I might have to buy a third pack so I don’t have to wait for the first round of items to dry before I can do my second load. The comforter sometimes is a little difficult to put one in and they are more likely to slip off, but I still try.” — Niferv
A laundry pre-sorting basket
Promising review: “This is a wonderful laundry hamper for my small bedroom. Sorting my clothes into lights and darks saves me time later. The bags are easy to remove and dumping the laundry into the washing machine is easy. An extra bonus is the pocket in the front where I can put things like lingerie that I want to wash separately. I also love the shelf. All around great product, and I would buy it again.” —Michael Massie
OxiClean Max Force laundry stain remover
Get it in full size or in a travel pack of two smaller-sized bottles. I recommend the travel sizes if you’ve never used the product before or only need to bully stains occasionally.
Promising review: “These are a handy product to have at home on top of the washer or in your purse for on the go with little ones. No strong scent, the packaging is practically leakproof so [it] won’t ruin your purse. And it got stains out of my daughter’s shirt from a few months ago that I thought was there forever. One use and it was gone. I sprayed the spots and let [it sit] two days then threw in the washer. I highly recommend this product.” — Love This
A Dryel at-home dry cleaning kit
This kit can gently clean your higher-maintenance clothing items in 15 to 30 minutes. It’ll come with one stain pen, one odor and wrinkle releaser spray bottle, and cleaning cloths. Just spray the clothes, apply the stain pen if and where you need to and then toss them into the dryer on medium heat. You’ll need 15 minutes for a quick refresh and 30 for a deeper clean. When the cycle ends, hang them up to let wrinkles fall out. Among the 100+ five-star reviews, people seem to appreciate the variety of garments and linens this kit can effectively clean.
Promising review: “I used this to dry clean two wool jackets and they turned out clean and fresh! Loved the freshener spray/ wrinkle releases; still have enough for 5 more uses, plus it contains a stain remover pen. Def worth the price!” — Mary
Helping Hand Sock Locks
That said, the Helping Hand Sock Locks might be the game changer to end my decades-long streak of sock drawer chaos. They have over 1,000 5-star reviews with several reviewers noting that they’ve used these for decades. Stick the sock matches into each stretchable yet compressible loop so they survive both laundry cycles together. Finally, our machines will no longer be where matches go missing indefinitely.
Promising review: “We have used Sock Locks for over 30 years. Was so glad to find them on Amazon. Couldn’t wait to snap them up. When we take our paired socks out of the dryer we just put them as is in our sock drawers. Take them off the rings to put socks on in the morning and slip the socks back on the ring and into the laundry basket at night, Haven’t lost a sock in years and I never have to sort them either.” — Ronald C. Baldwin
Ballcap Buddy dishwasher or washing machine holder
Promising review: “Had a Kansas State Wildcats hat that was probably 10 years old and filthy. Sweat stains and an unfortunate bird ‘strike’ at the zoo. Wasn’t sure the hat would survive cleanup, but it did, and looks great. Product is well worth the price! Need to run some other old favorites through the dishwasher as well.” — W
Affresh washing machine tablets
Promising review: “I’ve been using Affresh washer cleaner in our front-loading washing machine ever since we bought it. I don’t really count how many loads of laundry we do, I just usually do it about once a month or so and that usually does the trick.
Our washing machine has a washer setting for the tablet, so it does a special wash just for the washer cleaner. I like this because it agitates the tablet until it completely dissolves it, and then it spins the sudsy water for quite some time until the washer is nice and clean.
I am really quite happy with the results of this washing machine cleaner. I can always tell when it needs to be cleaned either from the look of the drum or the glass, or sometimes from the way that clothes smell if they are left in the washing machine for a little too long. There are three of us in this household, all adults, and we use the laundry about 3-4 loads per week, so that can give you a gauge at about how often we need to Affresh the washer…” — Noelle