15 Genius Ways to Use Dryer Sheets That Have Nothing to Do With Laundry
Many people use dryer sheets in their tumble dryers to reduce static cling and cut down on creases on their laundry. With the added bonus that your clothes come out of the dryer smelling fresh and full of a sweet and pleasant fragrance.
Once the drying session is finished, the used dryer sheet gets thrown away. This is a waste because those used dryer sheets could be put to a secondary use around the home.
In this article, we’ll be showing you exactly what can be done with dryer sheets that has absolutely nothing to do with laundry. Keep reading for the full story.
What Are Dryer Sheets?
Dryer sheets are made from lengths of fibre woven together. They are typically 22 x 16 centimetres in size and have been treated with fabric softeners and lubricants.
Most have a pleasant scent that gets transferred to your drying laundry. Although fragrance free dryer sheets are also available. Once the dryer has been started, the coating on the dryer sheets turns to liquid and transfers onto your laundry as they spin together in the drum.
The effect they have on clothes is to make them more supple and static free as well as smelling fresh with a pleasant fragrance.
15 Surprising Ways To Use Dryer Sheets Around Your Home
Instead of throwing the used dryer sheets away once the drying session has finished, collect them up and keep them in a container in the laundry room. They can then be repurposed in a number of ways, which include;
1. Remove Lint From The Dryer
If your lint tray is full of lint after drying your laundry, it can be dangerous. A build up of lint can cause a fire if the lint heats up too much.
You should always empty your dryer’s lint tray after every use. If some of the lint has stuck fast and is difficult to remove, use a dryer sheet to attract it and remove it.
2. Clearing Pet Hair From Fabrics
If you have a dog or a cat that sheds hair regularly, it can be annoying. You’re constantly covered in your pet’s hair whether you’re standing or sitting down in your favourite armchair.
You probably spend hours trying to brush all of that hair from your clothes and the fabric of your furniture. Using a lint roller can help, but it will soon get clogged especially if your pet moults excessively.
One of the easiest ways to remove unwanted pet hair is to rub a dryer sheet over the fabric. The sheet will attract the hair leaving your fabrics free from pet (or human) hair.
3. Get Windows Dust Free
Sometimes windows don’t need washing, just dusting. Dust and lint can easily be removed from windows and blinds just by rubbing with a dryer sheet.
You’ll find the dust stays away for longer too!
4. Get Skirting Boards Dust Free
Whenever we clean our homes, we often forget about the skirting boards. We wash the floors regularly but ignore the area directly above the floor.
When we do get around to doing the skirting boards, they are coated in dust and dirt. Which makes it more difficult to clean due to the sheer quantity of dust.
Once you have successfully removed all of the dirt and dust from your skirting boards, you can keep them dust free by rubbing them with a dryer sheet once a week.
5. Dust The Ceiling Fan
If you have a ceiling fan, you’ll know just how dusty it can get. Removing that dust can be an epic task because it usually ends with a floor full of dust as well.
Instead of dusting with a duster or washing with a damp cloth (which only attracts more dust) use dryer sheets to attract and remove all of the dust.
6. Clean The Iron
If your iron has dirty stains on the sole plate, it can cause anything you iron to get dirty marks. Those stains can easily be removed using a dryer sheet.
Simply rub the sheet across the sole plate to remove dirty marks and stains.
7. Remove Foot Odour From Shoes
If you sweat a lot or your shoes have got wet recently, you’ll start to notice a bad odour coming from them. However, just placing a dryer sheet in each shoe overnight will help to eliminate any bad smells and leave your shoes smelling fresh.
8. Freshen Up Drawers
Any drawer in your home, used for almost any purpose can be freshened up using dryer sheets. Simply place one or two dryer sheets in each drawer to eliminate any musty or unpleasant smells and leave the drawer (and its contents) smelling fresh.
9. Clean Screens
TV and computer screens tend to attract dust which builds up over time. To remove this dust and slow down its return, wipe the screen with a dryer sheet.
The anti static properties of the dryer sheet help to prevent any dust or lint build up.
10. Eliminate Musty Smells From Books
If you have any old books, they can often get a musty smell about them. This can be eliminated by placing a dryer sheet between the pages of the book.
If you’re concerned about the sheet damaging the pages, you could place the book in a large plastic bag and add a dryer sheet to the bag instead of placing it between the pages.
11. Clean Bathroom Surfaces
To remove soap scum and other residue from bathroom surfaces like the tap, shower doors and other surfaces, make an old dryer sheet wet with a few drops of water. Then wipe all of the affected surfaces.
You’ll find all of those stains and residue will wipe away easily.
12. Sharpen Scissors
Sometimes when scissor blades become dull, all you need to do is wipe them carefully using an old dryer sheet to restore the scissors to their former glory. You need to be extremely careful that you don’t cut yourself when using this hack.
13. Remove Deodorant Stains
If your shirts or blouses have unsightly stains under the arms where deodorant has built up, it can often be removed using dryer sheets. Simply rub the affected area with an old dryer sheet then wash in the usual way.
14. Remove Soot From Candlesticks
If your candlesticks have dark sooty stains on them, use a dryer sheet to scrub away the soot marks. This might take some effort but the end result is definitely worth it.
15. Remove Old Nail Polish
If you add a few drops of nail polish remover onto an old dryer sheet then rub your nails with the sheet, you’ll easily remove any old nail polish.
Bonus Tips
If you found those 15 uses for dryer sheets interesting, keep reading because we’ve found a few more. They include;
16. Clean Your Reading Glasses
If your reading glasses are smudged or generally dirty, simply polish the lenses using an old dryer sheet. Please note this is only advisable if your glasses are made from glass and should not be used on plastic lenses.
17. Calm Down Frizzy Hair
If you suffer from flyaway hair you can take control by rubbing your hair with a dryer sheet. Be sure to cover every inch of your hair to eliminate the static that causes flyaway hair.
18. Remove Powder Spills
If you accidentally spill any powder or dry goods in your kitchen or out in the yard, you can wipe it up more effectively using a dryer sheet. The fine particles will attach to the dryer sheet more readily than they would to a rag or cloth.
19. Eliminate Smelly Bins
Rubbish bins can start to get a bad odour especially during hot spells. To help combat these bad smells, throw in a few dryer sheets.
The fresh fragrance from the dryer sheets will help to mask the bad bin smell.
20. Stop Dirt Escaping Plant Pots
Whenever you fill a plant pot with soil, you get some spillage from the drainage holes in the bottom of the pot. To prevent this, all you need to do is line the bottom of the pot with a dryer sheet before filling with soil.
21. Remove Sticky Mess From Cookware
If one of your pots or pans has a sticky or burnt on patch that doesn’t seem to want to clear, just wipe it with a damp dryer sheet. You might need to use a little elbow grease but that sticky mess will disappear.
For really stubborn stains place a dryer sheet in the bottom of the pan, add a squirt of washing up liquid and fill with hot water. Allow it to soak overnight and simply wipe away the stain the following morning.
22. Clean The Dashboard Of Your Car
The dashboard and centre console in cars often gets dirty and dusty and can be difficult to clean. The easiest and most effective way to clean it is by wiping with a used dryer sheet.
The dirt and dust will be attracted to the sheet making it a quick and easy task.
23. Camp Fire Starter
To make an easy fire starter for your campfires all you need is toilet roll middles and old dryer sheets. Simply stuff the dryer sheets inside the cardboard toilet roll middles and place under the wood or coals.
24. Take Away Bad Smells From Sports Bags
If you always use the same bag to carry your sportswear, it will very soon develop a bad smell. You can combat this by placing a couple of old dryer sheets in the bag.
This will eliminate the bad smells and leave a pleasant aroma in its place.
25. Give Kitchen Appliances A Clean
If you have an air fryer or instant pot you can use old dryer sheets to clean up oils and grease from oven vents and canisters. Simply wipe the affected area with an old dryer sheet and watch the grease and grime wipe away.
26. Make Your Home Smell Fresh
This ones a little unorthodox but it can be quite effective. If your home has an unpleasant smell, remove the grate from your air conditioning and place a dryer sheet between the slats.
Every time air is passed through the grate it will be infused with the fresh scented aroma of the dryer sheet.
27. Replace Cleaning Pads
If you have a refillable push duster and the pad needs replacing, you can place two or three used dryer sheets in the spot where the cleaning pad goes. They will work in the same way as the cleaning pads without the extra cost of replacing the pads.
28. Dusting Glassware
If your glasses get covered in dust as they’re stored in your cabinet, a really quick and effective way to dust them is by using a dryer sheet. The sheets attract dust and leave the glasses clean and streak free.
29. Protect Fragile Items
If you need to pack any easily breakable items like glasses, china or seasonal decorations, wrap each item in an old dryer sheet for protection. The sheets not only protect these fragile items from damage, but also leave the container smelling fresh and fragrant.
30. Repel Rodents
Rats. mice, squirrels and other pests will be deterred from entering your home if you place old dryer sheets around windows, vents or anywhere rodents have been seen in the past.
31. Repel Insects
Biting insects like mosquitoes can be annoying especially if you’re one of the unfortunate types that they’re attracted to. It has been noted that these pests can’t stand dryer sheets.
So if you know you’re going to be outside in an area where biting insects are present, try stuffing a few old dryer sheets in your pockets to ward them off.
32. Remove Crayon Marks From Walls
If your children thought it would be fun to draw all over the walls in their room, you can remove it with the aid of old dryer sheets. Simply wipe the affected area with a dryer sheet to remove all of your childs art work from your freshly painted walls.
It might be time to buy a few colouring or drawing books to prevent this from happening again!
33. Stop Shoes From Squeaking
We already told you how to eliminate smells from damp or sweaty shoes, but did you know dryer sheets can prevent squeaky shoes as well? All you need to do is rub the bottom of the shoe with an old dryer sheet to reduce friction which will also reduce any squeaks.
34. Clean Window Blinds
WIndow blinds pick up lots of dust even when the windows are closed. To easily remove this dust and help prevent it from returning, simply wipe each slat with an old dryer sheet.
35. Keep Camping Equipment Fresh
After you’ve been camping throw a few dryer sheets in with the tent and sleeping bags before packing them away. This will prevent that musty smell often associated with camping gear.
36. Clear Sand From Feet
After a day on the beach, we often end up with sand stuck to our feet. This means we’re going to be uncomfortable going home because that sand is now in our shoes.
As you leave the beach, wipe your feet with a dryer sheet to get all of that sand off.
37. Keep Pets Calm During A Storm
If your pets get stressed during storms, you can calm them down by rubbing their coats with an unscented dryer sheet. The storm produces static electricity which can cause the hair on your pet to stand up.
Rubbing their fur with a dryer sheet removes that static and calms your pet down. It’s important to stress that this should only be done with a fragrance free dryer sheet. This is because pets tend to lick their fur and some scented dryer sheets could contain toxic ingredients.
38. Clean Paint Brushes
To remove paint from paint brushes soak a dryer sheet in warm water along with paint brushes that have fresh or dried on paint. Allow 30 to 40 minutes to pass and then rinse and wash the brushes as normal.
Make The Most Of Every Dryer Sheet
Who knew a simple dryer sheet could be such a versatile household helper? From cleaning and deodorising to pest control and even calming pets, these humble sheets prove they’re far more than just a laundry accessory.
Instead of throwing them out after one use, give them a second life and discover how they can make your home cleaner, fresher, and more efficient in surprising ways. So next time you empty the dryer, think twice, those sheets still have a lot of life left in them.
SEE ALSO: Tumble Dryer Leaving Black Marks On Clothes? Here’s why & what to do
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes you can reuse dryer sheets after using them in the dryer. Used dryer sheets still have enough texture and anti-static properties to be useful for many cleaning and deodorising tasks around the home.
Only unscented dryer sheets should be used on pet fur, and even then, only sparingly. They can help reduce static during storms but may contain chemicals unsafe for pets if ingested.
Yes, they work well on both, but use caution on plastic lenses (like on glasses), as some coatings might be sensitive. Always test on a small area first.
No, gently wiping screens with a used dryer sheet is safe and effective. The anti-static properties help repel dust without scratching the surface.
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