Static Clothes with a Dryer?
Question:My fiance and I got a dryer for our engagement. I've been placing clothes in there and they come out with terrible static cling. We're currently in Australia, and I've been looking for dryer sheets here, like Bounce, in the USA, and I've found nothing in the stores. Are there any tricks of the trade to keep clothes less staticky without dryer sheets?
Answers:
Try about 1/2 c. of baking soda with your clothes... That might help reduce the static... Also, if you can't find dryer sheets in Australia have someone from the US friend/family send you some you can use them more than once...!
Add 1/4-1/2 cup white distilled vinegar to the wash. Vinegar works as a fabric softener and reduces static. The vinegar smelll dissipates as the clothes dry.
Or you can add a little hair conditioner to the wash.
Use a liquid fabric softener with your last rinse and take the clothes out of the dryer before they are completely dry, just slightly damp. And keep your eye out for those dryer sheets. I hate static.
If you can get some fabric softener, just place some on a small wash cloth and throw in the dryer with the clothes or add to the rinse cycle after washing.
Try finding a product called static cling and spray the clothes with that.
Do not mix fabrics like synthetic nylons or wool socks with cottons. Those fabrics automatically build up static.
Don't dry them too long. I've heard that if you use dryer sheets your towels will not be as absorbent as you would like.
Maybe you can find a liquid fabric softener to add to the final rinse if not try one of these tips.
#1. 1/2 cup white vinegar (natural fabric softener) to your wash cycle but, do not mix with bleach.
#2. Do not over dry clothes a little moisture left in them helps reduce the static.Hang or use the air dry setting on dryer.
#3. Do not wash and dry cottons and synthetics together.The synthetic causes most of the static problems. Nylon and rayon and other synthetics dry much quicker than cottons so use the air-dry setting on dryer or just place on a hanger.
#4 If you don't like any of the above tips,then this is the only other remedy I can suggest, but I don't know if it works I haven't tried it yet.It was e-mailed to me last night.
Place a sheet of aluminum foil in dryer with clothes or a few safety pins attached to clothes.
(Sounds crazy) but, who knows it might work.
1/2 cup of borax in the wash
1 cup of white vinegar in the rinse
Check with your local supermarket or shop that sells dryers and ask if they have antistatic pads. They should be around 70mm square and approx 6mm thick. You just throw them with the clothes when drying.
Items that will build the most static are those that are synthetic or man-made, like polyester or nylon. You can try to dry those separately so they don't make the rest of your laundry static-y.
Also, once you remove an item from the dryer and find it is static-y, try spraying a little water on the item. Static is a result of low moisture.
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