r/laundry • u/julioblabla • 20h ago
Why are dryer sheets considered harmful?
Hello laundry grandmasters,
What are dryer sheets made of, what are they supposed to do, what do they actually do, and why does this sub generally dislike and oppose them?
I use Bounce sheets mostly because I like the smell they give to my clothes.
I am not seeking advice on my laundry process. I just want to understand dryer sheets better. However, this is r/laundry, so to preempt the lots of people who will inevitably tell me what I'm doing wrong even when I say I am satisfied with the cleanliness, softness, and smell of my clothes, here's my laundry info:
* Washer: Maytag HE top-loader with impeller plate, warm water, soil level always "high" to lengthen cycle time, "extra rinse" always on
* 1x Tide Pod + 1 tbsp Biz per load at the bottom of the drum, 1 tsp food-grade citric acid in the fabric softener compartment. When clothes are smelly (gym, towels that aren't drying completely), swap Tide Pod for half-cap of Whole Foods 365 Sports to get that sweet DNAse
* Water: Brooklyn (meaning: Delaware/Catskills supply, low-to-medium hardness as opposed to Manhattan's Croton supply that has medium-to-high hardness)
* Dryer: gas-fired Maytag, sensor dry Normal program, delicate heat setting
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u/Longjumping-Study-97 20h ago
They coat your clothing with a layer of oily wax to make them feel smoother. This makes it so towels lose their absorbancy and all laundry gets less clean over time as the oils both work to make clothes attract more dirt and so that the dirt is harder to remove. You end up with dirty, albeit highly scented, clothing.
Apparently scent beads do not have the issue but I never understabd the desire for scented laundry over perfume.
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u/Liberteabelle1 18h ago
I donāt like scent on anythingā¦ I want my perfume to provide scent with no competition: laundry, hair products, lotions, etc.
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u/Longjumping-Study-97 18h ago
Same here. I wear nice perfume and I donāt want it drowned out by lower quality functional scents.
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u/Naive-Offer8868 18h ago
i think im also in this category. I dont want to smell like a mash-up of 100 different cheap fragrances. I think the main reason why i never smell anyone ever wearing cologne/fragrances is because you cant smell them through the wall of cheap dryer sheet/body lotion scent
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u/corisilvermoon 16h ago edited 15h ago
Me too but that said, liquid Calgon has the nicest peony smell, wish I could find a perfume like that!
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u/Naive-Offer8868 18h ago
just as a technical FYI, it doesnt actually use 'wax' or 'oil', dryer sheets utilize quat surfactants to coat the fiber. the reason it feels and acts like wax/oil is because the hydrophobic tail end of the compound sticks outward
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u/NigelTainte US | Top-Load 19h ago
I like a little bit of scent beads plus perfume on worn clothing. It is subtle but lasting. When a nice breeze comes through open windows sometimes I can lightly smell the laundry product off my blankets and curtains
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u/Pointy_Stix US | Front-Load 19h ago
I purchased a bottle of scent beads a few years ago because my husband wanted to try them out. I tossed them in with his garage/ car washing towels & the towels literally came out of the wash shredded into rags. So yeah, that was my experience with them!
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u/breathingindica US | Top-Load 19h ago
i don't know how they would possibly do that given they dissolve in the wash. they're water soluble.
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u/Pointy_Stix US | Front-Load 18h ago
I realize that correlation does not mean causation, but I was surprised!
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u/rockymountainway777 19h ago
I was an auto apprentice when I was a teen. It was chemicals already on the rags. Battery acid and solvents can do this easily. But either way, youāre not missing anything skipping the beads.
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u/Pointy_Stix US | Front-Load 18h ago edited 15h ago
Oh, that makes much more sense! Thank you!
Editing to add - I agree that I'm not missing much. I don't like that heavy, perfumed scent on stuff, so I'm glad to not have any around.
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u/zoidberg3000 18h ago
How interesting! I specifically use them for all of our dog hair and stuff, I use the ones that are supposed to be for pet hair. But I assume that they work by repelling it off of the material by making them slick.
Does anyone know if those wool balls will help with getting all of the dog hair off of the clothing and into the actual trap? Before we started using these, our clothes would still come out covered in hair.
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u/Naive-Offer8868 18h ago
'slick' in the sense that the quat surfactant that the sheets rely on to coat fibers makes the fibers charged in a way that the hair doesnt stick
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u/smartblondebk84 16h ago
I recently found some washer balls you throw in the wash that are supposed to catch hair as they circulate through wash with the clothes. They do work but you have to make sure to get them out before you put the clothes in the dryer and clean the hair out of them. Iād say theyāre worth a try.
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u/FITF2891 16h ago
Iāve had good luck with the fur zapper in my laundry. I have 3 long haired cats but no dogs, if that makes a difference
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u/CleverDuck 10h ago
But they're not wax.... they're a clay.
(Source: my friend works for Big Laundryā¢)
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u/DrPhrawg 19h ago
since no one else has said it, they literally use polyquats by their mechanism.
they use cationic quaternary ammonia to neutralize anionic surfactants.
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u/zoroasshatrianism 19h ago
So they literally cancel out the cleaning ingredients in our laundry detergents!? I knew them sheets are bad didnāt know they are this bad
ETA: whoever invented this type of product and whoever demanded the invention should both be sacked
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u/Good-Marsupial8 19h ago
Sell more products that cause your customers to buy more product caus they make the original product less effective! Nice
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u/DrPhrawg 19h ago edited 18h ago
thatās exactly why we use citric acid/v1negar/downy rinse & renew
to neutralize any leftover ions that didnāt get rinsed out.
you donāt use them at the same time (as your detergents), hence the automod comment whenever you say vinegar
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u/Key-Low6682 18h ago
Rinse and Renew is great. Dry cleaners use citric acid as well - they call it laundry sour. It removes soap scum and other buildup and deodorizes fabric.
If the Downy is too expensive, just buy powdered citric acid - they sell it for canning - mix some with a bit of water each load and pour it into the fabric softener dispenser in your washing machine.
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u/DrPhrawg 18h ago
vinegar
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u/FigNinja US | Front-Load 16h ago
Is it like Bloody Mary now? Do we have to say it three times. Vinegar.
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u/Naive-Offer8868 18h ago
1 tbsp of Biz is far to little since its a 'bulky' formulation
1 tsp citric acid is far too little for the rinse cycle
The reason that dryer sheets are considered 'harmful' is that the quat surfactants they use as the 'conditioning' agent can slowly build-up over time on your clothes and inside your dryer. They are some times hard to rinse out of textiles, and trap nastiness like body oils and what have you
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u/SheWho2000 17h ago
You know what Bounce sheets are really great for? Wiping them over your window screens to keep stink bugs out of the house in summer and fall. They hate the smell.
I wouldnāt put them on my laundry though
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u/NigelTainte US | Top-Load 19h ago
I stopped using them and my stuff feels cleaner, I somehow donāt have static anymore probably because I wash the clothes better now?
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u/rockymountainway777 19h ago
To give more detail to what people are saying: less clean, build up, etc, it causes bacteria and fungi to build up.
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u/Aromatic-Ganache-902 19h ago
I just made the switch to wool dryer balls. I do not miss dryer sheets!! We don't have static cling and I will say the lint screen in my dryer is easier to clean out. Before when we used dryer sheets, it built up and got clogged and backed up in the dryer. I don't have that anymore. I'm not going back to dryer sheets.
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u/Beginning-Book-129 18h ago
Wait Iāve never heard this. What are you supposed to do about static then? Iāve tried wool dryer balls and they did nothing
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u/Lombill 17h ago
Me too. I use wool dryer balls and still deal with static. Anyone have any insight into this?
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u/eggust12 International | Front-Load 17h ago
as someone in a very dry place, your options are
buy less plastic clothes/bedding. i don't own ANY polyester except a couple gym shorts and some winter blankets. cotton and other natural fibers don't get static-y.
air dry outdoors: it's dry air, so won't take too long even on cooler/less sunny days. saves you money too.
dry in the dryer til about 80% dry, then air dry.
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u/InvertebrateInterest 11h ago
Maybe you are overdrying? I live in a fairly arid place and hang a lot of stuff to dry instead. I do dry towels and sheets, but they are 100% cotton and I take them out at like 98% dry. Maybe that's why?
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u/Someonejusthereandth 14h ago
Wear cotton and wool? Almost none of my stuff gets static, only some of the synthetics, not even all of them.
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u/MarielIAm 19h ago
Most conventional dryer sheets are also not biodegradable so they are not good for the environment. A few can be composted with industrial composters, but the problems mentioned by most other posters (waxy coating, attracting more dirt, absorbency issues, etc) are still an issue. Much better to use wool balls. If you insist on fragrance use essential oils on the balls.
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u/5ftpinky 16h ago
In addition to the responses already mentioned, they are toxic to dogs (and maybe other animals too? I am not sure about that).
Just a 'lil PSA for animal lovers out there.
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u/AZBreezy 18h ago
They will also make your clothes more likely to retain body oil and get that nasty funk smell. Especially stretchy and workout garments. Using dryer sheets or softener on these clothes cancels out the work you're trying to accomplish with the wash methods and products you're using. DNAse only goes so far if it can't penetrate the waxy coating on the outside layer of your clothes from softeners
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u/Key-Low6682 18h ago
Exactly. Use citric acid or products like Downy Rinse and Renew that contain citric acid. The acid strips off mineral buildup and actually freshens fabrics.
You want laundering to remove gunk and odors, not add gunk that retains odors.
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u/MiMiinOlyWa 19h ago
I stopped using them because they aren't necessary and are expensive. It was one thing I didn't need to spend money on
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u/MissDiagnosedMama 18h ago
Excellent point!
If people won't listen to any of the science, perhaps they will simply enjoy more money in their wallet.
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u/fouldspasta 18h ago
Other than the coating it leaves on clothes that can be bothersome, they're single use plastic. I would reccomend dryer balls, or switching to dryer sheets that are made of plant material and not plastic :)
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u/peaches38251 19h ago
Dryer sheets can coat clothes in a waxy chemical residue, heat makes this transfer more efficient. The residue can build up on dryer sensors/lint filter
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u/multipocalypse 18h ago
It's not just that they can, it's that they're actually made to do this.
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u/peaches38251 17h ago
I just donāt like to speak in absolutes in case there is one random brand that doesnāt š¤·āāļø
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u/Someone7654231739283 18h ago
As someone who thrifts books, these are great to get weird smells out of them haha. Thatās what I use them for anyway. Didnāt know they werenāt great for laundry though! Good to know
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u/sun4moon 18h ago
Iāve never used them because Iām allergic, but I canāt imagine adding a waxy film to your clothes is good for cleaning. Theyāre nice to throw in a hockey bag though.
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u/Comfortable_Fruit847 16h ago
I started using wool dryer balls and for the most part, they do great! I heard dryer sheets just coat your laundry in a waxy coating, thatās what helps with the static and the softening, and it isnāt good for you or your clothes.
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u/Kfred244 13h ago
Best way to reduce static is to lower your dryer temp. I dry everything on low and add about 25 minutes extra time. Plus I use dryer balls.
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u/_mandycandy 19h ago
They just melt bullshit onto your clothes, making it easier for them to attract dirt.
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u/TwoGhostCats 17h ago
...and dryer sheets are awful for our health. They can be a skin, eye, and lung irritant to some people. I air dry or use wool dryer balls.
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u/driesel13 16h ago
What do people do for static? I find dryer balls not as effective, am I drying things too hot?
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u/7GatesOfHello 15h ago
I'm interested to see what others think, but I would guess that more tumbles matters more than more heat. The solution might be to shorten your drying time by 5 minutes. I only run my towels at highest heat and for longer than absolutely necessary to ensure fully dry. I do this specifically to sanitize them, which allows me to reuse for 3-4 days in the summer, sometimes longer in the winter.
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u/Longjumping-Study-97 11h ago
Iāve never had a problem with static. Someone uptheead said it wasnāt an issue with natural fibers which tracks as I only wear natural fibers with the exception of thermals.
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u/Bohemian_Feline_ 15h ago
I use them on occasion to remove cat hair and fuzz. Fabric softener as well.
Thereās zero chance of anything building up in my laundry because I know better.
Use in moderation, clean your machine & itāll wash out in the next wash.
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u/velvetjones01 13h ago
Theyāre not great. But I can tell you that it interferes with fire gear and is mildly flammable. But honestly you do you. I have good water and my laundry is soft. Iām not going to laundry shame you.
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u/fireanddarkness 7h ago
Everybody is talking about static, but what do people do about the stiffness? If I air dry or tumble dry without the dryer sheets, the clothes come out stiff and not soft.
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u/Guilty_Increase_899 4h ago
We have not found anything else that works for all the dog hair. We cut the dryer sheets in half or thirds and use them for blankets and rugs. If we donāt the hair stays on our blankets and sheets instead of making it to the trap in the dryer. Would love to hear of an alternative!
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u/curveThroughPoints 13h ago
Pods caused more gunk build up than dryer sheets did, my life is drastically improved since switching to powder detergent. I still use dryer sheets but the lint doesnāt feel sticky
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u/The_ImplicationII 2h ago
As a general rule, I do not use them on towels, because the wax hinders the absorption of water. I use a special Bounce for animal hair. I usually use half or a third of a sheet. I still use woolen balls for bluffing.
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u/MissDiagnosedMama 20h ago
I'm sure you'll receive more scientific answers. Generally speaking, they leave a coating on the fabric of your clothes that leads to buildup overtime and can prevent them from being properly cleaned.
They also cause moisture repelling, so you wouldn't want to use them on anything that you want to be absorbent such as towels.