apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Great idea!

I'm just curious to know: aside from fighting static cling, what's the goal of using fabric softener?

I used to use dryer sheets because that's what my mom did when I was a kid and it's how I learned how to do laundry. Fast forward to my adult life and I forgot to add the dryer sheet a few times and I didn't notice anything special about my clothes so I stopped buying/using them once I ran out. Is there something I'm missing out on? Or could we all do without an additional additive to our laundry regime?

Most fabric softeners use animal tallow and water-repellent chemicals to waterproof your clothes to make them feel softer. Um, EW!!

thanks for that tidbit, muddy; I will have to start examining the labels of my fabric softener more closely! That is pretty gross.

I used to be a non-fabric softener type too... but, you really notice it with bed linens. If you sleep in the buff like me (okay, TMI!!!), one can really appreciate soft, buttery sheets that were washed with fabric softener vs. the stiff, crackly sheets washed without. And towels come out nice and spongy vs. brittle and coarse. And clothes that do require ironing tend to come out less wrinkled and are easier to iron. Just think of it like hair conditioner for clothes.

Actually, hejiranyc, fabric softener decreases a towel's abilty to soak up water, making them less effective.

hejiranyc never said the towels were more absorbent. Just spongy. I suspect that is a reference towards softness. Sponges aren't very absorbent either unless they are hard and dry.

I will always use fabric sheets on my clothes and sheets, but could skip it on jeans and any other items.

When I forgot the dryer sheet, my clothes did the static cling from tv. A sock stuck to a shirt and everything. I could definately tell something was up.

static cling is worse 1. when the weather is cool/cold and dry 2. when you have synthetic fibers in the load of laundry.

I hang to dry all nylon, polyester clothes like running shorts or sports quik-wick stuff. That really cuts down the static.

I do a DIY dryer sheet with a slight modification- I use "green" fabric softener which doesn't have much of a smell and I was never a fan of commercial laundry smells- so what i do is purchase a few of my favorite essential oils or "perfumey" oils and put a couple drops on the wash rag that I soaked in softener, make sure you only put a little bit so it doesn't transfer to your clothes and is completely absorbed and then with the dryer heat the oils heat up and make your clothes smell amazing- another trick is to use a tad bit of running alcohol with the drops of oil and spray it on the rag- the rubbing alcohol will take away any oil factor all together and prevent any oil transfer to clothes but the scent sticks!

Using light and DIY dryer sheets is a MUST for those with high effeciency dryers, if you read the manual it warns against using commercial dryer sheets-

The thing I like best about this is that I loooove perfume and i can coordinate the oil scent with a fragrance I wear- if it has vanilla tones I use vanilla oil and it is like adding another layer to perfume, like using a coordinating soap and lotion- smell lasts much longer and you don;t smell like laundry you just smell good!