I understand that dryer sheets clog the lint filter screens and have read suggestions to scrub the filter screens to remove the clogs.

I remember reading an article in Consumer Reports many years ago that dryer sheets aren't necessary. Now if I remember correctly the cons were that they reduced the absorbency of towels, they interfere with the fire retardant on children's pajamas, it leaves a nearly invisible film on your dryer vent screen which reduces the venting capacity and increases the amount of lint.....

There were probably more reasons listed but that's all I remember. I haven't used them in years.

Since the lint is not in the dryer filter, where is it?

Not having thought in depth about lint before I looked it up. Some of the stuff in lint makes me glad that my dryer does screen it out.

Lint

What did you find out Lucille? I did a little research as well...and found nothing harmful. I rather suspected that some of the lint came from the debris/chemical coating on the dryer sheet itself.

Yes...Sheila and Maire...I was aware of that and used to clean my lint screen with an old tooth brush and Simple Green mixed with water after every laundry day use. I don't think the screen was blocked. [I'm really not as fanatically pristine as I sound. LOL I'm just too allergic for life on this planet lately so I take pains to eliminate any suspected allergens.]

I'm very glad that I've discontinued the use of them. I'm seeing all sorts of benefits to their removal.

Many years ago when I worked in an appliance and hardware store, the in-store appliance service man taught all of us - Nothing goes into the dryer but the clothes.

I only very rarely use a dryer sheet and then only half sheet. Maybe a couple of times a year, when I'm washing polar fleece outer shirts for DH and the winter weather has been such that they are snapping and crackling, giving little shocks....

I don't use fabric softeners in the wash either, must be our water because I've never seen the need. We have very few synthetic fabrics, when I stop and think about it all our bedding, towels, most of our daily wear is all cotton with sometimes a bit of lycra included (my tops and jeans/pants, not his)

I haven't used fabric softener for decades, nor ever used dryer sheets. I detest the smell of all of them. Fabric sheets do coat stuff. No fake scent even comes close to the smell of a real flower.

If I use a fabric softener at all, it's vinegar in the rinse water. And that's once in a while. I line-dry the clothes and the towels come in soft and our t-shirts are so soft. I showed my sister-in-law when she was here, as she didn't believe that line-dried clothes can be soft. I also use a home-made detergent (powder for whites and liquid for everything else.) There are nay-sayers on the net about the home-made but we're believers.

I've never used a fabric softener in my wash. I put white vinegar into the washer's 'softener' compartment.

I do use half of an unscented dryer sheet in the dryer. I remove the lint from the dryer's lint catcher after every load. The amount varies from nothing when drying sheets to 'some' when washing DH's underwear to 'lots' when washing something new.

If there is NO lint being caught by the lint screen when you used to always find 'some'...might the lint be going *through* the screen and into the vent? Or staying somewhere in the machine?

I'm puzzled by the idea about "the mold that builds up in our dryers". Mold needs moisture. How could a hot dryer grow mold?

I've never used a liquid fabric softener either, Jasdip...and the sheets I used were unscented. I can't tolerate the aroma at all...so we agree on that. And I've often used vinegar just as you do.

I wish I could hang my clothes out in the fresh air. Unfortunately...this type of living [i.e. townhouse] forbids it. And...at my current age...moving is not an option unless it's in a pine box. :-) Actually...I wish it were. Not in the pine box...but back to a more open, free access area. There's nothing more delightful...IMO...than sheets hung out to dry. Just thinking about them blowing in the breeze I can almost smell the freshness.

Sue...when you start your dryer your clothes are wet [moisture] and even though the circulating dryer air is warm/hot...it takes time for it to remove all the moisture from your clothes. I, personally, don't use a hot dryer setting for anything. It's too damaging to the fabrics and a warm setting doesn't take that much longer. Plus it's more energy efficient.

I think the reduction in lint is due more to the fact that my clothes are older and the fabric exfoliated long ago. Plus...most of my clothing fabric is what I would call "hard" fabric. Flannel shirts are "soft" and they still shed to some extent. My towels/sheets still produce minimal lint. It's just not as much as it was when I used the dryer sheets. I clean my lint filter between each drying session just as you do, so there's not much chance of it building up. It's not that there's no lint. It's just not as much as it used to be. Mind you...I'm not complaining. I was just very curious that this seemed to coincide with my ceasing to use the dryer sheets.

I've never had a mold problem in my dryer. When I do use dryer sheets I cut them in half...use them mainly in the winter months to avoid static. I grew up in so cal and we did not have a dryer growing up. Towels came off the clothesline as stiff as a board.....ugh! And when I was about 10 I got stung in a very unfriendly place when a bee decided to hide out in my clean underpants......ouch! I'll take the dyer hands down. And living where summer is hot and humid I can't imagine how gross line- dried clothes would smell.

I recently read....maybe on GW....that dryer sheets are good for cleaning wood blinds.

Anne -- OK, got it. I DO thoroughly dry clothes and towels -- no mold likely.

Joanie -- Times my wash was 'stiff' it was because all the soap had not been rinsed out. That's how I learned to use white vinegar in the rinse -- and less soap.

Not to mention the fire risk they pose.

Only thing dryer sheets are good for are keeping bugs away. Stick a scented on in your hat or bra strap or wherever, and bugs will stay away from you.

I've never heard of using white vinegar in laundry. I'm interested...

I'd be leery of my clothes smelling like vinegar. How much do you use in a full load? Just add it to the rinse water? Same amount of detergent?

Thanks!

I stopped using dryer sheets, but I'm having trouble with static in some clothing after they come out of the dryer. Does anyone else deal with this?

DH used to use the dryer sheets (unscented) but I thought they made clothes feel greasy. I use 1/2 cup of white vinegar in the rinse water, too. I have very hard water, so I'm down to using 1 tablespoon of laundry detergent and about 1/4 cup of Borax or washing soda. Even my dirty gardening jeans get clean. The small amount of detergent plus the vinegar has really helped avoid soap scum buildup and mineral deposits both on my clothes and in the washer itself.

I have a couple of fleece shirt jackets that get full of static in the dryer, so I tumble them in the dryer with no heat just long enough to get the dog hair off (about 5 minutes) and hang them up to dry fully. In the summer and fall, everything goes out on the clothesline. Spring, no - far too much pollen.

I don't know about the lint or mold problem but I do know, those sheets will put white marks on dark clothes....I found this out years ago but I do use liquid softener in my wash......

Haven't used any type of commercial fabric softener in decades. Occasionally I use vinegar to help remove smells. No need to worry about your clothes smelling like vinegar. They don't. I occasionally use vinegar to wipe down the cutting board, counter or wipe out the microwave. It's actually a disinfectant. And once dry, there's no smell. My sister uses vinegar to wash her floors. The cats won't walk on it while damp (they don't like the vinegar smell) but she knows when the floors are dry. The cats are in the kitchen. o vinegar smell.

I fill the fabric softener dispenser in my current machine with white vinegar. The old one I used a Downey Ball and some would dilute the vinegar in the ball but I wouldn't. I'd fill the ball with white vinegar and toss it in. Worked great. And as I said, no vinegar smell. Think about it for a minute, it's diluted down so much there really isn't anything left to smell. And of course you're rinsing after too, most likely.

I don't like smelly clothes which is why I hated commercial softeners and most detergents. Why do people think clothes have to stink before they can be clean? Amazes me. When clothes smell, it's time to wash them IMO.

And for those who have static problems, you're issue is not caused by not using softener or not using enough, the problem is that you're over-drying your clothes. Cut back the drying time, save yourself money in two ways, less electricity (and possibly gas) and no softener. I use dryer balls to assist in drying (which they do). Supposedly they help with static which they might, but I can't prove it one way or the other. Grainlady bought some of the anti-static version and she says they help a lot. Since I don't have static issues since I quit over-drying the clothes, I really don't have need to try them.

And FWIW my towels and jeans are as soft as anyone's. The occasional time they're a little stiff, I know I didn't rinse them well enough as already mentioned. So when I wash them again, I use less or no detergent depending on the amount in them.

And some say dryer sheets are good for cleaning shower doors. I can't confirm.

I have never used fabric softener or sheets either. I don't feel like I'm missing anything. I should try some vinegar one day, just to see.
I was shopping at Costco a couple of months ago and a man and women were in front of me chatting and the woman mentioned to him that he should try Bounce for men. LOL, I had to google that when I got home to see if such a thing existed. It does.

Chi, I don't use a dryer at all, but I know that people swear by not letting the clothes dry completely but let them air-dry until they're fully dry.

I use liquid fabric softener, the dryer sheets I had left over I use to line drawers, or put them in other places to freshen an area.

Haven't used fabric softener of any kind in years; ever since my doctor told me about all the chemicals in the sheets. NOT good for the skin, especially in "tender" areas!!!

amj0517 -- I've used white vinegar and water in a spray bottle on throw pillows that smelled stale. I saturated the covers. When they dried they smelled like 'nothing at all', which is what I wanted!

One of the first things I do when we get out to our vacation rental condo on Maui is put all the towels in the washer with half a cup of white vinegar -- no soap. Guests (and cleaners) use way too much detergent, leaving the towels like boards. Those 'boards' come out nice and fluffy.

I use about a quarter cup of white vinegar in my front load at home. I have never used 'softener'. Why put goop back into your freshly washed laundry? I don't even want liquid laundry detergent in my front load. It creates a build-up inside the washer.

If you put a load of laundry in the washer with no detergent and see suds...you've been using too much soap.