# Do you reuse Dryer Sheets? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 30, 2024, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-reuse-dryer-sheets/1005027 "2024-07-30T22:56:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2024, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-reuse-dryer-sheets/1005027/1 "2024-07-30T22:56:50Z")
Inspired by the Zip-Lock bag thread, how many times will you re-use a dryer sheet? One And Done, or give it a few times? I’ll pull them out of the laundry when I’m folding it (yes, I do that!) and if they still have a good scent left, back in they go! I have a bunch of spent ones in a Zip-Lock (we’ve come full circle now) out in the Jeep to use cleaning up dog business but haven’t ever had to go there. Good dogs! I suppose they could be used as a make-shift band-aid if it came to that. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2024, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-reuse-dryer-sheets/1005027/2 "2024-07-30T23:06:17Z")
Back when I used dryer sheets, I’d cut them into thirds. That was plenty. Now I never use them because 1. They clog the lint filter with their waxy coating 2. I can’t stand the smell. 3. The water here is very soft. No fabric softener is needed. One cheap alternative to dryer sheets and a way to cut down on liquid fabric softener is to pour a little fabric softener on a cloth. Throw it in the dryer with the wet clothes. They’ll come out softened. It works when the cloth is wet or dry. It’ll last through many dryer loads without needing to add any more fabric softener to the cloth. ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2024, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-reuse-dryer-sheets/1005027/3 "2024-07-30T23:32:08Z")
I reuse dryer sheets one time. I use two used ones in place of one new one. ---
**Author:** ![Ellecram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellecram/32/18948_2.png) [@Ellecram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellecram)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2024, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-reuse-dryer-sheets/1005027/4 "2024-07-30T23:35:49Z")
My dryer sheets are all used up after one session. There would be no serviceability left for round two. This could be a me problem as I tend to forget that my clothing is tumbling about in the dryer. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2024, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-reuse-dryer-sheets/1005027/5 "2024-07-30T23:39:52Z")
A dryer sheet is a paper / cellulose substrate, some waxy softener stuff (the active ingredient), and some scent to improve sales. Except for tiny loads of delicates, 100% of the softener wax is gone after one use. Reusing a dryer sheet makes a much sensd as reusing wet poopy TP. It’s no longer able to do the thing you bought it to do. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2024, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-reuse-dryer-sheets/1005027/6 "2024-07-31T00:14:03Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > 100% of the softener wax is gone after one use. See? I didn’t know that. I figured if it smelled new, it was kinda new. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2024, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-reuse-dryer-sheets/1005027/7 "2024-07-31T00:22:59Z")
If you dry real delicately you might not cook it all off the sheet. You live in the desert; I live in the tropics. Might well be my dryer runs twice as long as yours does with the same load of clothes. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2024, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-reuse-dryer-sheets/1005027/8 "2024-07-31T00:23:52Z")
Never ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2024, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-reuse-dryer-sheets/1005027/9 "2024-07-31T00:35:55Z")
We have never used dryer sheets. In fact I would never have heard of them until one day a kid on roller skates maybe 10 years old that the market would not allow in with skates gave me some money and asked me to buy a box for him. But for him, I would not know what this thread was about. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2024, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-reuse-dryer-sheets/1005027/10 "2024-07-31T00:52:33Z")
I’ll tell you something about them: Slippery as Hell when you drop one on the hard floor and accidentally step on it. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2024, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-reuse-dryer-sheets/1005027/11 "2024-07-31T00:54:23Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > Slippery as Hell when you drop one on the hard floor and accidentally step on it. I’ll add this to my above list of why I don’t use them. ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2024, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-reuse-dryer-sheets/1005027/12 "2024-07-31T01:21:52Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > I’ll pull them out of the laundry when I’m folding it (yes, I do that!) and if they still have a good scent left, back in they go! I use dryer sheets for the reduced static I otherwise experience, the scent is a non-desired byproduct of the ones I buy (getting non-scented is possible, but takes more searching and more money). I do often tear a sheet in half though, especially for smaller loads. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2024, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-reuse-dryer-sheets/1005027/13 "2024-07-31T01:29:57Z")
I heard they’re bad for your dryer, and make your towels less absorbent. I still use them, but much less frequently. The box I currently have might last the rest of my life. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2024, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-reuse-dryer-sheets/1005027/14 "2024-07-31T01:37:14Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > The box I currently have might last the rest of my life. This is where I am. I’m sitting on a Lifetime Supply. For a while Kroger would send me a coupon for a free box. Got a HUGE box of name brand from Mom’s house. 🤔 So, _WHY THE HELL_ am I reusing them??? ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2024, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-reuse-dryer-sheets/1005027/15 "2024-07-31T04:59:11Z")
My wife reuses them. We usually line-dry our laundry and then put it in the dryer for 15 minutes to soften it up. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2024, 10:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-reuse-dryer-sheets/1005027/16 "2024-07-31T10:46:19Z")
> [@WildaBeast](#): > > I reuse dryer sheets one time. Same here, if I can find them. Sometimes they get lost among the clothes and I don’t waste time searching. But if I see them, I make sure to toss them with the next load. I like the idea of pouring liquid softener on a cloth - I may try that next time. ---
**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2024, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-reuse-dryer-sheets/1005027/17 "2024-07-31T13:18:27Z")
I use reusable dryer balls from New Zealand made of sheep’s wool I think. They speed up drying by fluffing up the laundry, and they remove static cling. The only challenge is with bed sheets. They always end up hiding somewhere in the sheets, and you have to find them to put them back in the dryer, which can take a little while. All in all, I think they are better then the scented dryer sheets that you throw away and end up in the landfill by the millions. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2024, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-reuse-dryer-sheets/1005027/18 "2024-07-31T13:21:09Z")
I actually keep the used dryer sheets for a secondary purpose. I do some 3D printing. The used dryer sheets are could for cleaning up resin drips. So I get a second use that way and save some paper towels. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2024, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-reuse-dryer-sheets/1005027/19 "2024-07-31T13:38:32Z")
My gf uses dryer sheets, while I do not, just because I’m a cheapskate. The thing is, I have zero problem with static. I _think_ enough of my gf’s dryer sheet persists in the dryer to benefit my load. ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2024, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-reuse-dryer-sheets/1005027/20 "2024-07-31T13:52:39Z")
I wouldn’t bother because one use reduces their efficiency almost to zero. In fact, put a fresh dryer sheet in one hand and a used dryer sheet in the other. There is a huge difference in how they feel. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-reuse-dryer-sheets/1005027.md?page=2)