Urban Blog

Dryer sheets are a massive waste of money. This reason alone would be enough to warrant tossing your dryer sheets out once and for all. As we will outline in this article, there are plenty of other good reasons to kiss those smelly dryer sheets goodbye.

An Unnecessary Expenditure

Many people continue to use dryer sheets out of habit. But even if everything about dryer sheets was simply wonderful, they do cost money and lots of it.

If you are using a dryer sheet every time you dry a load of laundry, then guess what? You’re losing your shirt, no pun intended. Imagine that instead of buying dryer sheets, you invested that money instead and took advantage of compound interest over a period of twenty years? The end result would be pretty attractive little nest egg.

The typical box of 240 dryer sheets cost between $10 and $15 dollars, and there are top end dry sheets that are roughly triple that costs. One brand in particular costs about $10 for just 80 sheets. These are, of course, online prices. Purchasing in the store is even more expensive. If you decide to use dryer sheets for 20 years and many people do out of habit, then you can expect to pay between $300 to $900 assuming that you average one load of laundry per day.

Little expenses add up. The bottom line is that you have better ways to spend your money than tossing it in your dryer!

A Very Unhealthy Habit

Now that we have the money issue out of the way, lets get to something even more important, your health and the health of your family. Dryer sheets contain chemicals and compounds that may very well damage human health. That slickly marketed “fresh scent” is usually nothing more than a carefully created concoction of chemicals that reduce the quality of your air.

Dryer sheets are soaked in chemicals, many of which are quite toxic. In a bit of a shocker, dryer sheets have compounds such as butane, chloroform, formaldehyde and other dangerous chemicals.

The chemicals found in dryer sheets range from upper respiratory irritants, such as benzyl alcohol, to much more serious chemicals, such as chloroform, which is a well known carcinogen. Other chemicals are even more alarming, such as ethanol, which can cause problems with the nervous system and other chemicals that can damage the kidneys.

If you are chemically sensitive, then dry sheets are very bad news. Those with chemical sensitivity issues also find that dryer sheets can make their conditions worse. Seeing as how this product can easily be avoided, the solution is clear. Just avoid dryer sheets.

The chemicals found in dryer sheets get heated up during the drying process. This factor, of course, makes the chemicals even more dangerous. If you have ever walked by a house that this pumping out fumes from its dryer and thought, “This smells awful,” well, there is a reason that you feel that way. The air produced by dryer exhaust is full of chemicals if the homeowner is using dryer sheets.

It is important to remember that once on clothing it is possible for these chemicals to continue to harm human health. Chemicals can be breathed in or absorbed through the skin. In short, there is nothing good about dryer sheets and plenty that is bad. If you are wondering how these products are able to remain on the market, you are, of course, not alone. It is also astonishing that dryer sheet manufacturers have no apparent interest in making products that are safer for consumers.

Scientific Evidence

If you are still not convinced, then you might want to check out a study conducted at the University of Washington. In this study, Professor Anne Steinemann set out study the air quality coming out of dryer vents. The results were many things, but they were not pretty. Progressor Steineman’s study went beyond dryer sheets and looked at laundry products as a whole. Next Professor Steinemann and her team tested the air coming out of the vents to discover harmful carcinogens, such as beneze and acetaldehyde. http://www.washington.edu/news/2011/08/24/scented-laundry-products-emit-hazardous-chemicals-through-dryer-vents/

It should also be noted that Professor Steinemann most definitely qualifies as an expert on the topic of air pollution, indoor air quality and its impact on human health. She is a Professor of Civil Engineering and Chair of Sustainable Cities, at The University of Melbourne, Australia. She has been published in 50+ journals, has written textbooks and been cited as an expert by the Wall Street Journal, Scientific America, USA Today, Washington Post and many other publications.

 The Best Choice for Your Family

When it comes to protecting your health and that of your family, you owe it to yourself to avoid products that are dangerous. The smell you are getting from dryer sheets is a dangerous one and you should avoid it at all cost. The real savings from ditching dryer sheets may not even be financially derived.   Instead, the real savings may be reducing your risk of developing diseases.

The good news is that those who switch to using clotheslines usually never miss their clothes dryer or dryer sheets at all. In fact, they find that the air and sunlight gives their laundry a remarkably pleasant natural scent.   The fresh aroma of clothing dried in the sun truly cannot be topped