Do You Use Dryer Sheets? If So, Read This

If you are like me, you are religious about cleaning your lint trap on the dryer. I, like many, thought that was enough to keep my dryer working as good as possible. However, I recently found out that if you use dryer sheets, your lint screen can get a thin film on it blocking the air the same as if you didn't clean it. This is a good way to kill the heating unit.

Most of the dryer manufacturers recommend you do not use dryer sheets for that reason.

Never fear you can clean the film off. Take the screen to the sink and run water over it, if the water just sits on the mesh you know it is has blockage. Take a scrubber and scrub it right off. Be sure to do both sides. Let it dry before using in dryer. You will want to clean the screen like that every month or so, maybe more or less depending on your dryer and how much dryer sheets you use. Consider cutting the dryer sheets in three or two sections, only using one section per load. In addition, using the dryer sheets more then once isn't a bad idea either. If your dryer in newer go to the makers website and read what they recommend.

Alternatives to dryer sheets: Dryer balls (some claim to last years)

½ cup vinegar in the washer

Natural laundry soap with a built in soy based fabric softener

The crazy one is to put a piece of aluminum foil in the dryer with your clothes

To fluff up blankets my mother in law puts a golf ball in the dryer.

If your dryer doesn't have an air outlet through the wall, and you just have a stocking over the vent in the back. You will still have lint bunnies everywhere, the better thing to have is a defect-o box. It is a plastic box with vents on the top; you attach the vent hose from the back of the dryer to the hole at the top of the box. Fill the box with water. So, now the air coming out of the dryer is going through the water, the water catches the lint bunnies that would normally fly all over. Lint build up inside your dryer is dangerous. I take the back off mine once a year to clean it and anything that makes that easier is fine by me.

If you are buying a new dryer be sure the dryer you buy has a moisture sensor control, which will automatically turn the dryer off when the clothes are dry. A moisture sensor typically cuts energy use by about 10-15%.

Do not overload your dryer. The load will most likely not dry well, and you will need to put it on for another cycle.