In the clothes dryer?
This all started when I opened the new box of dryer sheets. It had a little cardboard placard on the top instructing on how many sheets needs per laundry load size. Excuse me, what? I have never used more than one on any size load of laundry. I immediately thought this was some sort of ploy to ensure people use more sheets more frequently so the company can sell more.
Then today, I was adding a load of towels into the dryer and thought I should look it up on how many sheets to use with a large load of towels. Come to find out the actual answer is zero. Apparently, dryer sheets are not magic, like I had assumed previously. The sheets themselves have fragrance and a thin coating of wax. When the wax heats up as the dryer runs, it carries the fragrance and “softening” wax from the sheet and binds to your clothing or other articles you are drying. This makes the laundry smell fresh, and “feel” soft, as well as reduce static cling. Things covered in wax won’t conduct electricity, at least, that is the assumed science behind it.
Maybe this is supposed to be common knowledge, and as a fan of science (thanks Bill Nye!), I feel like I should have realized this at a much younger age. After today I have come to the realization that adding a wax-like substance to your towels makes them less absorbent. Well, duh? Right? This had me chasing down the rabbit hole, and apparently, you can make balls of aluminum foil and add this into your dryer while drying towels. It is claimed, this will help reduce static electricity and will not add wax to your towels reducing absorbency. Make sure the foil balls are smooth so they won’t snag on your towels!
I have not tried this, and I am scared to. I keep having flashes of igniting my house from the foil and combusting with my gas dryer. Maybe I watched too many Final Destination movies. If you have tried this, or you do this, please let me know if it works, is it safe, and what is your common practice when it comes to towel laundry? We have used the wool balls in the past with success, but once we moved we lost the balls in the dryer we got rid of when we got our new set. Yes, I forgot they were in there, and poof, they were gone.
7 responses to “Aluminum foil”
Aluminum foil in the dryer might make the paint inside the dryer wear away faster but other than that it should be safe. Just don’t use the foil if you ever decide to dry your clothes in the microwave.
Haha! I immediately was reminded of the scene from the TV show “3rd rock from the sun.” A scene between John Lithgow and French Stewart’s characters.
“I feel so depressed, I feel like sticking my head in the microwave!’
“Make sure you poke holes in your head so your head doesn’t explode.”
That is funny.
[…] these fun subjects to explore. Not to mention the classics of Pac-Man and finding out you can put aluminum foil in your clothes dryer, but not usually in your […]
Hi, welcome to the weekend share! Glad you’re skipping dryer sheets. Me too. I think that the wool dryer balls would be healthier than aluminum balls, as long as you’re not allergic to wool. 🙂 Aluminum is unhealthy to ingest or have on our skin. Heating aluminum causes it to transfer to what’s around it (clothes). As a cooking website mentioned: “Aluminum interferes with the digestion of calcium, phosphorus, and fluoride, and can even result in osteoporosis. It damages the liver, and impairs the kidneys. It is linked to neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinsons. It leads to colic, sleep disturbance, anemia, and speech problems”. Sounds like conditions I’d like to avoid. I don’t use it directly on our food either. Nice post.
Hiya Rebecca! Thanks for stopping by and dropping heaps of knowledge! I knew foil was too good to be true! We did the wool balls for quite some time and I think we are leaning to go back to that method. Again, thank you so much for stopping by and I’ll make sure and not be a stranger around your neck of the blogsphere!
I like to research. We’re pretty crunchy granola in our household to keep our medical conditions at bay. 🙂 Thanks for your follow on fake flamenco!