There are a few tools around the home that are amazingly convenient but very underused. Most of the time these uses are unexplored. Let’s explore some unexpected ways to use dryer sheets.

Dryer sheets are thin almost fabric squares with a chemical compound made to reduce static electricity and soften our clothes in the dryer. We often use these once before disposal.

There are ways to get maximum use out of our dryer sheets to save cash and make things easier around the home and in general. Here are 30 of these ways that have been tested and proven.

1. Remove Soap Scum

If you use bar soap, it’s a given that soap scum will accumulate in the corners and crevices if your shower and bathtub. Due to this fact, the latest and greatest cleaning products are constantly being marketed for a small fortune.

You’ll be happy to know that a solution is already at your fingertips. The next time you come across grungy soap scum, use a dryer sheet or two to remove it. Simply, dampen your dryer sheet and rub it across the surface you’re trying to clean.

2. Lint Remover

The hard but porous exterior layer of a dryer sheet makes it ideal to pick up lint and pet hairs from your clothes. There will be times when you misplace your lint brush or run out of layers on your lint roller.

Should this occur, just reach for a used dryer sheet. Gently and consistently rub the dryer sheet over the fabric being careful not to rub it too long or it may redistribute the lint. As soon as the dander is gone, it’s safe to stop.

3. Keep Suitcases Fresh

In the off-seasons when we don’t travel we end up storing suitcases away in basements, on closet tops or in that chest in the attic. It could be that we only travel for end of year holidays or New year’s or a few weeks in the summer.

If that is the case, then suitcases become musty over time, to avoid this, pop a dryer sheet into the empty suitcase before tucking it away into storage. This will keep it fresh and smelling like new.

4. Clean up Dry Spills

If you’re in the kitchen and end up spilling flour, baby formula or any ingredient that is heavily powdery. Simply avoid the step by step clean up with a dish towel or sponge; rinse and repeat.

Instead, reach for a dryer sheet. Due to the sticky nature of the sheet, it will grab a hold of powdery substances easily. This hack makes clean up a one-and-done.

5. Dusting Ceiling Fans and More

When dusting it can be a daunting task to clean up all the dust without leaving some behind or spreading it into the air. It can also be difficult to reach areas that are higher up, cleaning equipment that solves this problem are often expensive, high maintenance and difficult to store.

In this case, reach for a dryer sheet to easily dust your surfaces. When you get to the ceiling fan or on top of that shelf, attach the dryer sheet to a paint roller or your already existing Swiffer duster and get to wiping.

The angle of the paint roller will allow you to reach the entirety of the fan and blades.

6. Clean your Iron

Over the course of use, the metal base of your iron builds up residue from spray starch or rust. This can be difficult to clean and can damage your iron if not cleaned; you can damage your iron while trying to clean this stubborn mess if you don’t use the right tools.

Negate this by using a dryer sheet, lay the sheet flat and on the lowest setting iron it repeatedly until the base of the iron is all clean.

7. Erase Deodorant Marks

It’s a constant battle trying to keep your deodorant from leaving those tacky white marks on your clothing, especially blacks and beautiful deep colors.

Instead of changing your outfit all together, brushing the mark away on wash day risking damage to the fabric, clean away these marks immediately by rubbing the area with a dryer sheet.

The friction will lift these chalky stains away and restore your outfit. It works quickly too!

8. Clean your glasses

If you have glasses that are made with glass lenses then this hack is for you. When your lens gets foggy or dirty, making it difficult for you to see, clean it right up with a dryer sheet, the same way you would with a microfiber cloth.

The difference is, a dryer sheet is a lot larger, harder to lose and less expensive. This doesn’t work as well on plastic lenses.

9. Freshen Old Books

If you are a book worm, or just have a large collection of books, they can be difficult to maintain or keep fresh. Also, the smell of books are usually fantastic, if they’re new.

Books bought at a thrift shop, consignment shop or borrowed from an old library can be quite musty. Simply pop the book along with a dryer sheet inside a plastic bag, seal and let sit for at least an hour.

The dryer sheet will absorb the odors, restoring that new book smell.

10. Freshen up an entire room

There’s a new way to freshen up your room quickly. In the wake of surprise guests or no time to clean, one has to wonder if there’s any way to make a room pleasant again.

Instead of using harmful chemicals and sprays that trigger sinuses and damage the environment, lay a dryer sheet on the back of your fan and let it spin.

The suction from the fan will help the dryer sheet stay in place while it spreads the smell around the room. This will create a fresher bedroom, living room or den. The best part is, as this is in play, you can move on to something else.

11. Mosquito Repellent

In the warmer seasons or warmer climate mosquitos run rampant. You often find that you run out of mosquito repellent and buy spray rather quickly.

If you find yourself in this predicament, the solution is available in your washroom. Reach for a dryer sheet and place it in your pocket or attach it to the inside of your clothing.

The chemical compound of a dryer sheet keeps mosquitos away. This also repels mites and small bugs.

12. Static Cling

Television and computer screens are electronically charged which means that static electricity is present, allowing dust to stick rather quickly to these surfaces.

Combat and prevent this by using a dryer sheet. The material provides a conductor to electricity which helps reduce the electric charge and get rid of static cling.

You will find that less dust is able to stick to your screens

13. Static Hair

In the colder seasons, static electricity causes hair to frizz and fly away, especially when wearing a hat, dryer sheets can play a role to fix this and prevent it.

To fix fly away hairs simply rub a dryer sheet over your hair or press the sheet to the base of your hairbrush and brush hair as usual.

To prevent frizzing from static electricity, rub the dryer sheet inside the hat before wearing it. For optimum results use both methods.

14. Freshen Stuffed Animals

If you have children with a lot of stuffed animals, it can be hectic to wash them all and the washing methods we employ may damage them over time.

To reduce the number of times these delicate toys are washed and to help them last longer, freshen them up at intervals by rubbing them over with a dryer sheet.

Sometimes all we need is to get rid of the odor they develop over time.

15. Tangle Detergent

When sewing by hand, it can be difficult to prevent the thread from tangling. It is also quite unnerving to detangle or discard the tangled thread only to start the process of stringing the needle all over.

Prevent tangles in the thread by rubbing it with a dryer sheet. This will make sewing much easier and much more enjoyable if that is your thing.

16. Cleaning Car Chassis

At times we may look at our cars and cringe at the sight of bug guts and dirt. We may think it needs an all-round wash, but this may not be the case.

Also, if it’s the rainy season, washing may be fruitless. In these times, use a dryer sheet or 2 to clean the bonnet and hood. Simply dampen and wipe away all the dirt that may be dried on.

Everything will lift right off, saving you time and possibly money.

17. Sharpening Scissors

When we use scissors, over time it becomes dull and hard to use. This may make those fun DIY projects a drag.

One surprisingly quick and efficient way to sharpen your scissors is to rub the blades with a dryer sheet, this will be a quick temporary fix to get back to your project in a timely fashion.

Another way to do this if you fear cutting yourself by rubbing is to use the scissors to cut against the grain of the dryer sheet, it works just as well.

18. Clean a burnt Pot

If you’re looking for a passive way to clean and restore a burnt pot. There’s one at your disposal right now.

When we make those ooey-gooey, high sugar dinners, we risk getting stuck on food and burning the base of our pots. This may sometimes seem impossible to clean.

In this case, fill the pot with just enough warm water to cover the burn or gunk and place a dryer sheet in the water. Let sit, covered overnight. In the morning it would have lifted from the surface allowing you to wash it clean.

If this doesn’t lift the scorches completely, simply scrub it clean with the same dryer sheet, it will be lifted in no time.

19. Clean Oven Racks

Instead of destroying our kitchen sponges trying to clean the sticky food and build up from your oven rack. Get to cleaning in a much more efficient fashion. Use dryer sheets to clean your racks rather quickly.

To do this, fill your bathtub halfway with warm water, add half a cup of dish soap and eight dryer sheets.

Immerse your oven racks completely and leave overnight. All the unwanted build-up will lift away and the remaining few deposits can be rinsed off quite easily.

20. Freshen up a Vacuum

Over time, your vacuum develops an odor from being used to steam clean and pick up all kinds of dust. There’s no disputing the fact that a vacuum makes cleaning floors much easier and more efficient.

That is why keeping it fresh from the inside is so important. To do this, place a dryer sheet or 2 into the vacuum bag and use it as you do.

Not only will this freshen up your vacuum, but it will also add a bout of freshness to the carpet, floor, and room.

21. Start a Fire

Add a nice scent to your camping trip or home by making a fire starter for your campfire or fireplace using dryer sheets. This is especially wonderful as it can be any size you desire and it’s highly cost-effective.

Start by placing a collective of used dryer sheets inside a paper towel or toilet paper tube, twist the ends to seal. To use, light one end and toss it onto your pile of wood to start the fire and keep it going.

22. Remove Glitter Nail Polish

Glitter nail polish is a cute and stylish seasonal accessory. It can also be difficult to completely remove, even after the nail polish is gone, we may find remnants of glitter across our hands.

Completely remove glitter using dryer sheets by soaking the dryer sheet in acetone or nail polish remover and rubbing intently. In a few seconds, both the nail polish and glitter will be lifted.

23. Deodorize Used Diapers

When babies are around, diapers and dirty diapers become a big source of odor around the home. The reason for this is, babies are constantly being changed and there isn’t always time to go the distance to discard a dirty diaper.

So we keep diaper pails close by but these seep odor throughout the house over time. To prevent this slip a dryer sheet into the dirty diaper before disposal. It also helps to leave one laying in the diaper pail to keep it fresh.

This also helps if you’re in public and have no way to dispose of diapers immediately and discretely.

24. Clean Paint Brushes

For artists and art enthusiasts, it may be difficult to clean paint brushes of various types of paint such as oil and acrylic. If the painting is for the children you may not want to expose them to acetone or paint thinner.

If this is the case, teach them this simple hack. Add a dryer sheet to a canister of water, when the painting is complete, immerse the brush in the water, bristle first. In only a few minutes you will be able to shake the paint from the brush and into the water and rinse the excess away.

25. No More Squeaky Shoes

Sometimes, new shoes are made of a type of rubber that squeaks against varnish and tiles. This is most common in sneakers, track shoes and basketball shoes.

This can be quite uncomfortable to hear and to bare. When your shoes come up squeaky, mute it, using dryer sheets. Simply rub a dryer sheet against the bottom of the shoes and just like that, your shoes will squeak no more.

26. Textured Card

A nice touch to your DIY holiday card can be a textured effect, similar to frosted glass or textured paper. This effect can be created with a dryer sheet. After you’ve inked your design by hand or by a printer.

Paint a thin layer of glue over the top and lay the dryer sheet flat over it. For a nice touch, before the glue dries, sprinkle some glitter and use a book or another sheet of paper to apply pressure. Knock off the excess glitter and you’re done!

27. Line Plant Pots

Potted plants need drainage, for that reason, plant pots come with drainage holes at the bottom. The trouble with that is, soil often trickles out and makes a mess. To avoid this, line the base of the pot with dryer sheets.

This will allow the water to drain but keep the dirt inside the pot. This makes clean up much easier when attending to your potted plants.

28. Freshen Bathroom

Add another layer of freshness to your bathroom by stashing dryer sheets. My favorite place to hide a dryer sheet is inside the toilet paper roll. Before you mount your toilet paper, lay a dryer sheet like a lining on the inside of the roll.

This works every time you pull toilet paper and the roll rotates, a burst of freshness comes rushing. I’m sure you can think of situations where this will definitely come in handy.

29. Car Freshener

It’s easy to neglect when we run out of car fresheners. As it just sits there without maintenance and airs out, over time it runs out and we barely notice because we have become so accustomed to the smell of our car.

Create back up freshness by stashing dryer sheets into the dead space in the car. These will outlast traditional fresheners and smell extraordinary.

30. Protect Holiday Ornaments

Holiday ornaments are often expensive and it is traditional to buy new ones each year because the ones from last year almost never make it in storage.

To keep your holiday ornaments throughout the years wrap them individually in dryer sheets. This will keep them fresh, ward off dust and prevent the ornaments from stripping.

31. Make your pantry smell fresh

Place a few dryer sheets under the jars in the pantry and you will make it smell really sweet as well as keep some insects away.

32. Refresh your toilet brush

 

The toilet brush will sit in the bathroom for a while before being used sometimes. As a result, it may lose its freshness and then cause the bathroom to not smell as good as you would expect after cleaning.

Put one or two dryer sheets under the toilet brush to keep its company and keep your bathroom smelling amazing.

33. Keep your dust bin smelling fresh

Place a few dryer sheets in the bottom of your bin before you place your liner. You will not believe how fresh it will be.

Dryer sheets have proven to be a great tool to replace many household conveniences as well as help to protect the environment through recycling. These little squares can also help to lift the weight of repurchasing many of these conveniences in our daily life. It will cost nothing extra to give one a try.

30 Unexpected Ways To Use Dryer Sheets

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Instructions

Use dryer sheets to remove soap scum

Use dryer sheets as a lint remover

Keep suitcases fresh with dryer sheets

Use dryer sheets to clean up dry spills

Use to dust ceiling fans and other things that accumulate dust

Clean your clethes iron with dryer sheets

Erase deodorant marks using dryer sheets

Clean your eyeglasses

Freshen up old books that carry that dusty and old musty smell

Use dryer sheets to freshen up an entire room

You can use dryer sheets as a mosquito rpellent

Use dryer sheets to remove static cling from eletronic devices

Use dryersheets to prevent fly away hair

Freshen up stuffed animals

Prevent tangles in thread for sewing using dryer sheets

Clean you car bonnet and hood

Sharpen scissors

Clean a burnt pot

Clean oven racks

Freshen up avacuum

Start a fire using used dryer sheets

Usr dryer sheets to remove glitter nail polish

Deodorize used diapers

Clean paint brushes

Prevent shoes from squeaking

Make a textures card using dryersheets

Use dryer sheets to line the bottom of your plsnt pots

Freshen up yiur bahtroom with dryer sheets

Freshen up your car

Protect decorative ornaments