Some say that dryer balls help as well as vinegar.

I use the dryer balls and the vinegar. We get a lot of static in our winter clothes because they have so much polyester in them. The dryer balls really seem to help. There are some all natural dryer sheets out there and that would help with the static. I think Shaklee makes them and I also saw some at Whole Foods. My static is manageable so I haven't tried them yet.

You can also hang items that create the most static on hangers, a drying rack or line to air-dry, if you are bothered by the static. If a load is primarily natural fabrics - no static. I hang all our clothes to dry either indoors or out, but the rare times I use the dryer I make sure I rinse with vinegar and also use dryer balls. I've also misted the dried clothes with plain water before pulling them out of the dryer if there was something that would encourage static, and that has work fairly well. It's not enough water to make them damp, just reduce the static. -Grainlady

Hi Grainlady,
I saw on another post that you had a FP top loader and dryer. Are you happy with them. I have the washer and dryer on order and I am being just a little neurotic about my decision. Thank you for your reply. I also am planning on using Charlies soap, after reading all the wonderful reviews.

I use Distilled White Vinegar in the rinse don't use any liquid fabric softener and I occasionally have problems with static, especially with synthetics: fleece, nylon tricot, etc. -- less so with natural fabrics.

I notice static the most when I over dry the clothes. You may be wondering how a person can OVER dry clothes, but I've done it and that is the one factor that will consistently produce static, even in loads that are all cottons.

When I over dry, either the dryer temperature is too hot or the clothes are in the dryer under heat too long (they were dry long before the end of the cycle), or both.

I end up with a load that is now dry, but continues to tumble, sometimes under heat, for 10, 20, or even 30 minutes, building up a static charge.

For fleece items, I often just hang them up. If I am going to dry them, I pick the absolute lowest dryer temperature and for a VERY short time. If I select "damp dry" as the automatic dry setting, fleece items are usually completely dry at the end of the cycle. The other option with fleece is to dry the items until they are just barely damp (regardless of what setting you have to use to achieve that), then hang them to finish drying.

In general, I have found that I have better success (no static, no wrinkles) by choosing lower dryer temperatures, and selecting an "auto dry" setting that doesn't bake the clothes. I rarely use the highest auto dry setting.

CMC

mado -

I love my F/P top loader (GWL 10 Ecosmart - they don't make this model anymore). When I got it 11/2001, they were touted for being "America's Most Energy Efficient Washer" (by the Consortium of Energy Efficiency - 12/1999). I don't think there were many machines out there at that time with 1,000-rpm spin speeds and a precise auto water level sensing system, but that's changed now and there are many machines that offer similar or better spin speeds - but not in a TL. They averaged 26-gallons of water while typical TL at that time were using 39-47-gallons. FL are using what, 16-25-gallons now??? I'm not real sure about that statistic. I doubt I ever use 26-gallons for a load of laundry.

This was about this time there were rumors that ALL washers were going to go to front-loading for energy efficiency reasons. The service people I knew were bemoaning this move. They hated front loaders to a person because they didn't clean well and "gunked up" (that's a technical term - LOL). I researched everything and everyone I could about F/P and Asko (my second choice) before choosing the F/P. I also purchased it from a hometown shop that also services what they sell. Another hometown shop (a friend I went to school with) sold/serviced Asko - didn't think I'd be happy with the Asko and he didn't like repairing them.

Since I line-dry, and only rarely dry clothes in the dryer, I've been glad the F/P has a SPIN HOLD cycle (designed for hand washables or when you line dry so that your clothes don't get super wrinkled from the high-speed spin cycle.

Less moving parts: no belts, pulleys, gears, transmission or clutches mean there were less potential problems to begin with.

They also had a great warranty - 2 complete years parts and labor and when I returned the warranty registation card I got 3 more years parts. That lengthy warranty is no longer available. BTW - I've never had a repair of any kind. I average 7 loads of laundry per week.

I also took the washer apart at the store (with the aid of the sales clerk), so I felt comfortable with the fact I could probably make a simple repair myself, if necessary.

If I had it to do over, I wouldn't bother with the extra expense for the matching F/P dryer. I rarely use it, and the "bells and whistles" difference between the inexpensive and the expensive, when it comes to dryers, don't justify the difference in price for me.

-Grainlady

Thanks, folks, for the advice. I'm off to buy white vinegar and find dryer balls.

I really appreciate your help.

-Noah

Getting shocked practically unhinges me. When I forget to put an anti-static dryer sheet (unscented) in the one load that is likely to need it (the one with the socks), I unload the dryer very carefully (or have DH do it), take the basket to my bathroom, and wait until the next shower to separate the items after the room is filled with steam--no problem with static cling or getting shocked. Individual items that might generate static, like blouses, get 5 minutes in the dryer to eliminate wrinkles and then go on hangers to finish drying.

Since starting to read these posts several months ago, we've tried some products that many have raved about. As for static, we've found that the only things that really work are the liquid and sheet fabric softeners. We tried the dryer balls and found them to do absolutely nothing for static. We are using much less liquid FS in the washer and more sheets in the dryer. We only recently started using vinegar on some loads, so we cannot yet draw any conclusions regarding its effectiveness on static. We don't have the time to hang all our clothes or spritz them separately, but if you have the time, that might be worth a try. Good luck!

This is really just a W.A.G. But it could be that the Charlie's is making the little fibers stand up and thus giving them more chance to rub together and forming static. But it's just a guess. Try tossing in a damp towel for another 2 minutes of drying after the cycle has ended. You'll get moisture back into the environment without getting wet. That should kill the static long enough to get things hung up.