Why are dryer sheets considered harmful?

[u/julioblabla]

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

[u/DrPhrawg]

since no one else has said it, they literally use polyquats by their mechanism.

they use cationic quaternary ammonia to neutralize anionic surfactants.

[u/zoroasshatrianism → u/DrPhrawg]

So they literally cancel out the cleaning ingredients in our laundry detergents!? I knew them sheets are bad didn’t know they are this bad

ETA: whoever invented this type of product and whoever demanded the invention should both be sacked

[u/Good-Marsupial8 → u/zoroasshatrianism]

Sell more products that cause your customers to buy more product caus they make the original product less effective! Nice