# Why would fabric softener sheets be prohibited in a jail/rehab program? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 13, 2019, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-fabric-softener-sheets-be-prohibited-in-a-jail-rehab-program/841726 "2019-10-13T21:22:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2019, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-fabric-softener-sheets-be-prohibited-in-a-jail-rehab-program/841726/21 "2019-10-16T00:05:48Z")
I Keep fabric softener sheets in my car, because I drive a lot at night, and when wet, they easily remove dead bugs from the windshield. Maybe I should rethink that strategy but I do have them in a ziplock bag. ---
**Author:** ![Bayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bayaker/32/3454_2.png) [@Bayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bayaker)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2019, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-fabric-softener-sheets-be-prohibited-in-a-jail-rehab-program/841726/22 "2019-10-16T14:11:48Z")
> [@nelliebly](#): > > According to [this recovery community site](https://newlifehouse.com/5-ways-drug-addiction-happening-behind-back/), > > Quote: > Teens and young adults that smoke marijuana in the home are able to hide the smell with two basic items found right at home: a toilet paper roll and fabric softener sheets. Teens take an empty toilet paper roll and place a scented fabric softener sheet at the end of the roll. They are then able to disguise the smell by blowing the marijuana smoke through the tube. But that could only mask the _exhaled_ smoke. What about the burning cigarette/joint/crack pipe/whatever? That smoke is more pungent than what comes out of their mouth. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2019, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-fabric-softener-sheets-be-prohibited-in-a-jail-rehab-program/841726/23 "2019-10-16T14:22:51Z")
> [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](#): > > Wow. I did not know this. > > It doesn’t seem a particularly _bonne idée_ to have “very flammable” items in an appliance that runs on natural gas and has the potential to generate sparks because a big metal tub is constantly spinning against who knows how many friction points. > [@Atamasama](#): > > Liquid fabric softener can make clothes more flammable but dryer sheets don’t. > > I see nothing (reliable or unreliable) claiming that the sheets themselves are highly flammable, and I doubt that they’d be safe for public use if they were. They’re going into a high heat appliance after all. I have no dog in this fight. I was just passing on something I found when I goggled the topic. There are people posting [videos](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pyuYX2yrdEc) of how they make fire starters out of fabric softener sheets. They’re doing it for innocent reasons of starting campfires and fireplaces. But a fire starter could obviously also be used for arson. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2019, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-fabric-softener-sheets-be-prohibited-in-a-jail-rehab-program/841726/24 "2019-10-16T15:15:59Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > I have no dog in this fight. I was just passing on something I found when I goggled the topic. There are people posting [videos](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pyuYX2yrdEc) of how they make fire starters out of fabric softener sheets. They’re doing it for innocent reasons of starting campfires and fireplaces. But a fire starter could obviously also be used for arson. Interesting. The outer sheet seems to burn slower than stuff like newspaper. Which is actually advantage in starting a fire. But then the “highly flammable” thing doesn’t seem to fit. And a rehab place would also have to ban paper if they want to prevent anything at that level of flammability or more. And regarding smokers (of anything) and smell. Smokers are the worse judges of how much smell they are producing, either normally or trying to suppress it. A dryer sheet and a toilet paper tube? Pleeze. The non-smokers can still tell. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Brother\_1](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_brother_1/32/3513_2.png) [@Little\_Brother\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Brother_1)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2019, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-fabric-softener-sheets-be-prohibited-in-a-jail-rehab-program/841726/25 "2019-10-16T20:24:13Z")
\*Jasmine You really don’t have to get high tech about it. Several sheets in tandem could be used in the production of a garrote. \* Ah, this explains why the late Jeffrey Epstein reportedly ended up smelling like a fresh spring breeze! ---
**Author:** ![mjmlabs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mjmlabs/32/69_2.png) [@mjmlabs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mjmlabs)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2019, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-fabric-softener-sheets-be-prohibited-in-a-jail-rehab-program/841726/26 "2019-10-16T22:13:56Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > I see nothing (reliable or unreliable) claiming that the sheets themselves are highly flammable, and I doubt that they’d be safe for public use if they were. They’re going into a high heat appliance after all. Uh, the sheets leave a layer of wax on clothes, and wax is pretty damn flammable. (Cite: candles.) The ignition point is higher than you’d find in a (non-malfunctioning) dryer (cite: they don’t combust in my dryer), but that layer of wax does defeat the flame-resistance of clothing, by coating the fibers with wax (cites: > **[Home](https://www.tdworld.com/electric-utility-operations)** > > Transmission & Distribution World provides electric utility professionals with information about the latest technologies & solutions in the energy industry. [https://www.drifire.com/care-instructions](https://www.drifire.com/care-instructions) [FR home laundering do's and don'ts | 2015-10-01 | ISHN](https://www.ishn.com/articles/102435-fr-home-laundering-dos-and-donts)) The relevant ASTM standard costs $44USD to download as a PDF, and if anyone’s $44USD worth of interested, it can be found here: [http://www.astm.org/cgi-bin/resolver.cgi?F2757](http://www.astm.org/cgi-bin/resolver.cgi?F2757) ---
**Author:** ![mjmlabs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mjmlabs/32/69_2.png) [@mjmlabs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mjmlabs)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2019, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-fabric-softener-sheets-be-prohibited-in-a-jail-rehab-program/841726/27 "2019-10-16T22:23:20Z")
Gotta get faster on these research afterthoughts, dagnabbit… > [@me](#): > > …the sheets leave a layer of wax on clothes… cite: [The Master, 1995-12-01](https://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1137/how-do-dryer-antistatic-sheets-work/) ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2019, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-fabric-softener-sheets-be-prohibited-in-a-jail-rehab-program/841726/28 "2019-10-16T22:59:17Z")
It’s not because it defeats flame resistance\* because 1. most clothing is not flame-retardant 2. Even the cites above don’t specify dryer sheets - they refer to " Fabric softener, detergent containing fabric softener, or dryer sheets", " Do not use fabric softener", "Do not use soap, bleach, fabric softener, starch, or dryer sheets " and “fabric softeners or dryer sheets, which can coat the fibers and affect the FR performance” 3. If the program meant to prohibit all fabric softeners because it would affect FR clothes, the contraband list wouldn’t have referenced dryer sheets specifically. - If it even does - according to [this](http://tyndaleusa.com/blog/2013/09/20/using-fabric-softener-with-frc-clothing-should-you-or-shouldnt-you/) says > [@](#): > > However, repeated laboratory testing at 2x recommended fabric softener levels show little adverse impact on flammability through 25 launderings. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-fabric-softener-sheets-be-prohibited-in-a-jail-rehab-program/841726.md?page=1)