Fabric softener sheets for the dryer: tips for using them and useful alternatives
Your laundry comes out not just dry, but smelling nice and feeling soft when you use fabric softener sheets in the dryer. Yet, they are not the only possible option for getting soft laundry, nor are they the safest for the environment or our skin. There are also other options, some which can be purchased and others you can make yourself.
Let's discover together, then, some advantages and disadvantages in the use of these alternative laundry accessories.
Fabric softener sheets for the dryer: the benefits
Creativo
Fabric softener sheets for the dryer are sheets of polyester, usually small in size like towellettes, that are added to the dryer when you load it with still-wet clothes that have just been washed in the washing machine. They are impregnated with fabric softener, therefore they make the clothes softer by delicately scenting them, and prevent the accumulation of electrostatic energy.
In fact, when rotating inside the appliance's drum, the friction between the fabrics generates electrostatic energy which causes the items to stick together, and therefore these come out of the dryer much more wrinkled than we would like. Using the sheets in question avoids this problem.
Fabric softener sheets: the disadvantages
Santeri Viinamäki/Wikimedia Commons
These sheets, however, also have some negative sides: the softening substances with which they are impregnated, in fact, have a chemical composition that could also cause skin irritation. And those same substances end up in the waste water, therefore ultimately damaging the environment.
Also, they are disposable. So, they involve constant spending and a greater quantity of waste generated. In reality, they can often be used a second time, perhaps by using two or three already-used ones, instead of just one new one, but in any case their lifespan is not very long.
Furthermore, they are not of much use when washing water-repellent or breathable sports clothes, nor for towels: in both cases, in fact, the fabrics become less capable of absorbing humidity.
Alternatives to fabric softener sheets
One of the most valid alternatives are dryer balls: these are made of synthetic materials (rubber and silicone which resists high temperatures), but are also made of wool or other environmentally friendly substances. They can't smell like dryer sheets, but they work to soften garments and above all, discharge electrostatic charges.
You can also get the same effect with some DIY alternatives: one consists of crumpling up some aluminum foil, using them just like the products just described above. Another method involves the use of tennis balls, either used alone or wrapped in tin foil. If you add two or three to each load, the clothes will be soft and no longer creased.
What do you think of fabric softener sheets?
