Neither--can't use 'em because of allergies. I get very ill when my NEIGHBORS use dryer sheets (just a thought for those of you who do use those things, you may be making a friend very uncomfortable).

Also, I see no need for them, anyway--when you put your clothes in the dryer, they're soft without added chemicals. When you use chemical softeners, you increase the chance that you'll have a dryer fire since they clog the filter. You're cleaning your clothes and depositing crud back on them. So, I don't really get the point. Oh, I forgot another disadvantage--paying money for something unnecessary. (I grew up in the day when there weren't fabric softeners, anyway).

Even in the country, where I often hang my clothes outside, I don't find they're uncomfortable--I even hang towels and find they're fine.

I never have needed either one.

Hate them!!! I don't like scented clothing at all.
The dryer smells of dryer sheets from the neighbours using the, and that smell turns me off.

Vinegar for me in the rinse cycle!

Neither for clothing - I can't stand the smell!

Occasionally I use a dryer sheet piece when drying the pet bedding, because it helps release the dog/cat hair. It's not often, though - the box I have is 3 or 4 years old. I only use a quarter sheet at a time.

Neither....I used to work for a dermatologist and he said they were bad for causing dermatitis.
I use white vinegar in the rinse water.

Neither - we have very soft water - and use the
blue dryer balls (they really do work) :)

I also use white vinegar often...not to soften so much but to remove odors.

Neither, I use the blue dryer balls.

Why spend the money? Everyone wants to pick our pockets and tell you why their product is necessary. Bull roar. Less is more.

Azzalea, I agree with you.

I have lots of allergies that have not been identified. These sheets are just one more example of toxic chemicals going into our bodies and environment. I can't keep up. Your story about your neighbor using those chemicals that you then take in is important information. That is terrible for you.

Fabric softener for loads of laundry with clothing that will be a static cling/shock problem. So that means my nightgown and grandsons' acrylic knit and crochet blankets and sweaters. Dryer sheets are not good for the dryers.

I used dryer sheets for years and years. One time my SO, my mom, and I almost got into an argument over the fact that he said he doesn't use them and didn't see the need. Well, last Fall I ran out; decided not to drive to get some. I haven't used them since. I saw no difference in my clothes, and had to admit Mike was right. He passed away six years ago so he doesn't know he won that argument. lol However, lately I've noticed static cling. Does this occur only in winter months and why?

I think I may use a dryer sheet about 4 maximum times a year. DH will wear some synthetic layers and polar fleece in winter and sometimes, in some weather, a load just gets so static in the dryer, the sheet eliminates the snap-crackle-pop. Spring, summer, Fall, I never find I have use for them or a fabric softener - maybe our water is good?

A box of 25 grocery store generic sheets lasts years :)

1/3 of a dryer sheet

Dryer sheets. For static electricity.

Do not use dryer sheets. I do use the Purex crystals in the blue bottle, it goes right into the wash along with the washing powder.
We love it.

Unscented dryer sheets so there isn't static electricity in the clothes.

Neither, once in awhile I will use white vinegar.

Sue

I haven't used "fabric softener" in years. I also don't use a dryer very often... and so far, since I moved in here (June 2011), not once. I have two free standing clothes drying racks. Drying laundry indoors in the winter increases the moisture, and cuts down on static cling. Win win situation, and all free to boot!

Moni

Unlike their manager, my clothes and linens usually get hung over ...

... a line - outside, through three seasons and, occasionally, in winter. Should be happening this mild day with a load of heavies, as I did much of it last week, hung them out, then it rained ... and snowed ...

... so I unpinned 'em, shook 'em ... piled 'em high in the basket - and re-hung 'em, over an inside line.

Maybe that'll last till about March.

o j

Dryer sheets have the softener suspended in the sheet fabric by a heat activated catalyst that releases the softener when the sheet is heated in the dry...the problem it tha the same heat activated catalyst that breaks down the sheet also breaks down the nylon bearings in your dryer. Although they won't tell you, using dry sheets will shorten the life of your dryer bearings but up to 50%.

Yes, I use 1/3 of a sheet on each load (usually.) I like it and I'll keep using it.

Neither. However if you use dryer sheets please remember to wash your lint filter. The dryer sheets can leave a deposit on the filter that can build up and clog the screen.

My lint filter works fine, collects lots of lint.

And my dryer is very old, at least 30 years old, and I've used dryer sheets all that time and dryer sheets haven't hurt it at all.

Dryer sheets to prevent static. Nothing on linens or undies.

I have used them for ever. No dryer problems. I have only owned 2 dryers in in the last 38 years. Only replaced the first one because of how awful it's outside looked, Was still going strong.

Many plastic/delrin and/or nylon bearings are self lubricating and the process is heat activated. Dryer sheets often have a silicon based surfactant which is also released by heat. The bearing is nowhere near where it can come into actual contact with the surfactant. No way can a dryer sheet have any effect on bearing whether be it metal, nylon or delrin.

Sometimes I use them, sometimes I don't. It depends if I am in the mood for scent. I think the filter clogging may be a hoax. I tried it once and there wasn't a hint of clogging. Right now I have one of those dryer bars in there. It was cheap after the rebate. Its great!

I use the sheets routinely - eliminates static cling. I would never remember to put something in the rinse water - the sheets are much easier. I think there was something on Snopes.com debunking the idea that sheets can clog filters and start fires.

White vinegar for me.

I googled dryer sheets clogging lint screens and apparently it is true. (snopes and other sites)

The test is to run water through the screen. If it doesn't run through, or is very slow, the filter is clogged, and to use a brush to scrub it.

Yeah. I saw that on snopes just now.

My SIL sent an email saying that dryer sheets could cause fires, to be careful of them. So I looked it up on one of the urban legends web sites and they said dryer sheets don't cause fires...I dunno. Maybe I'll check the lint screen and actually *wash* it if necessary. But OTOH, my mother used dryer sheets for decades (large family, lots of laundry), never needed a new dryer, never caused a fire.

I don't buy it - my lint filter collects a lot of lint, just like it's supposed to do. :)

Static cling can be worse in the winter if you heat your house (dry air) and if you use rugs and carpets, and especially with wool in the carpet.

I use dryer sheets for drying clothes, for static. I pretty much live in long skirts and I tried to stop using them for awhile but my skirts were always sticking to themselves while I was wearing them. It was uncomfortable and looked ridiculous. If there is anything else that will prevent static I'm open to hearing it. I don't really like the added smell/chemicals, but I also don't know that I'd be good about adding vinegar to the washer mid-cycle every time I used it.

We only heat our house with fires - never central heating. We do live in a rather damp climate (Seattle area) - so do we have dry air in the house? At any rate, I think I'd rather have *dry* air inside if I have a choice - less mold, etc.

We have laminate floors through most of the house. Very little carpet. We still have a lot of static cling, and I have no problem using the dryer sheets. I get big packages of them, so the cost is minimal. I have asthma, so I am cautious with scents, but the dryer sheet scent doesn't seem that strong.

oldgardener - that's the thing. My lint filter collects a lot of lint; it seems to be working fine, so I'm not really worried about it.

dryer sheets ..never had a problem. I love the smell.
Joann

Softener sheets for me, too. Mainly because the clothes come out with fewer wrinkles and I really, really don't like to iron. And I don't like getting shocked from static cling, either. I like the smell too, Joann.

I used to use dryer sheets, thinking that I needed something to prevent static electricity. Come to find out, when I stopped using the sheets a couple of years ago, it made absolutely NO difference.

I guess I'm the only one here who uses both liquid fabric softener and dryer sheets. A capful in the automatic dispenser in the washer, and a sheet tossed into the dryer. I hate wrinkles AND ironing, and this solves both of these problems. My dryer is 19 years old and has never done a load without these things and the filter works just fine.

Elisabeth

I do not know where I found out about this but some way I found out about this trick. I pour out 1/4 cup fabric softener into a gallon size milk jug, and shake away. Then I will pour that into a container that I can reseal and find an old washcloth that I use over and over like a dryer sheet..I dip my washcloth into the premade fabric softener/water and wring out throughly and toss into dryer. I use this same wash cloth over and over in the dryer...until I feel like it might need another plunge into the fabric softener/water. I probably get about 4 loads out of one plunge. LOL You cut down on the static in winter. I hang out my clothes in the spring and summer. But I don't enjoy froze clothes or static electricity in the winter so I use my concoction. LOL I still have my small bottle (that I paid $1.29) of real unduluted fabric softener that I have had for 3 years and counting. Now if that isn't a savings then I guess I am just fooling myself! And I make my own laundry detergent...I like keeping my money and these are two ways I like doing so!! LOL

I use the sheets but I cut them in half. I clean the lint filter every time and never had a problem. I use my gas dryer all winter (I'm in NY) and in summer I dry mostly everything outside, ecept for jeans and towels. There is one problem with line drying-I brought in a huge spider once! Yuk!

Neither here. I don't like stench. When clothes smell they need to be washed AFAIC.

Dryer sheets do not cause fires. Lack of maintenance causes fires.

I occasionally use vinegar in the rinse cycle if I have to use a lot of detergent and/or additives to clean the clothes. It does help cut the detergent. Many people find vinegar's value as a softener to be dubious.

Static from drying clothes? This is really funny. People are spending more to create a problem, then spending more to try to eliminate the problem they caused! You're overdrying your clothes, simple as that. Overdrying is bad for the clothes anyway, and it costs you more in gas/electricity and then top it off with needless dryer sheets and you have a 3-way saving potential. When you have static in clothes it's caused by lack of moisture. You're overdrying your clothes if you have a lot of moisture problems. If you pull it out and it goes snap, crackle, pop, take a spray bottle, give a mist of water, shake it and you'll eliminate the problem. Misting carpets when they cause static is very effective too. We had carpet in the shop at the store and computers and static are not very compatible. My partners laughed when I took a spray bottle out but it didn't take long before they were misting away!

Now if your clothes are polyester, you'll have far more static issues but again, proper drying will eliminate most all of them. I buy poly mix t-shirts and no problems.

Every place I've heated with wood gets a bucket of water set on or next to the woodburner. It's too dry without. Hard on the body, hard on the wood in the house, hard on furniture, drives pets crazy from the static and more. It's difficult to have too much moisture in a normal cold climate so as to cause mold. Summertime is when the mold/mildew is a much bigger issue.

Same thing with wrinkled clothes. Pull them out when they are just dry or ever so slightly underdry and you won't have wrinkling issues. Also, don't leave the clothes sitting in the dryer for days if it's going to wrinkle.

Way back when, back in the days when jeans were thick material and stiff, I'd wash them immediately (when new) then take fabric softener and use about 2-3 times the recommended amount and it would soften them up. Then maybe once a year I'd use some softener on them if they were unbearably stiff. That's not the case anymore.

I also use the dryer balls but I don't really see a static benefit. I do believe it helps cut the drying time. Grainlady reported that she bought the dryer balls with the anti-static and says they helped for static. I've had no need for it so I haven't bought them.

Wow! I know now why they have so many commercials about the products, no one uses them LOL I use both, but not on everything.

Suavitel liquid. I love the smell.

Neither, years ago we were poor and hung the clothes on a line. I just never started buying them again and I have asthma now so any smelly stuff irritates my lungs. I've been doing better the last few months and Lauren likes smelly clothes so I bought a couple bottles of scented laundry detergent. Until last week at work when I had a family member of one of my patients using aromatherapy in his room. I had to change patients with another nurse and spent the rest of the day coughing, wheezing, etc...so when I bought more laundry detergent this past weekend, I bought unscented again.

QUOTE:
Posted by oldgardener_2009 (My Page) on Wed, Feb 1, 12 at 13:57

I don't buy it - my lint filter collects a lot of lint, just like it's supposed to do. :)

I agree with oldgardener. My first dryer looked ugly, got rid of it, 20 years for the second dryer, on my 3rd dryer and it's a FREE front loading Maytag! :0) YAY CL! :0)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Larry LOVES Snuggle so I use if for his clothes if I dry the laundry inside.. but most of the time I line dry.. so no snuggle.. I just hate the smell of chemicals on my laundry.. ick.

Carolyn