Say Goodbye to Scented Dryer Sheets

Outdoor drying is the Ideal Laundry Situation

But if we must use a dryer, lets skip the fragranced dryer sheets…

Close your eyes and imagine this: you’re doing laundry, and you remove a clean load from your washing machine, you look out onto your grass and flower laden backyard, the sun is shining, the birds are singing, and air smells wonderful and fresh and you proceed to line dry your clothes knowing that once dry, they will be infused with the wonderful scents of nature.

Then you open you eyes and look out of your window. You don’t have a yard, or a way to line dry, or … all you see is snow covered grounds or a grey, cold, sunless sky. What do you do? You resign yourself to using your machine dryer, knowing that yes, it’s environmental impact is terrible. It’s ok. You are not a bad person for using the dryer. Sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do.

Now, your clothes are loaded into the dryer, you grab a scented dryer sheet, toss a couple in with the load. PAUSE. You may not be able to avoid using the dryer, but the use of scented dryer sheets is something you can control.

So, this post is not to add to the fear mongering echo out there about how dryer sheets will give you cancer. In fact, this claim, for now, is largely unproven. The chemicals on dryer sheets that remove static cling and soften fabrics are generally recognized as safe by the FDA. So what’s my issue? The hidden ingredients used to fragrance these sheets.

Due to the fact the Federal Trade Commission does not require dryer sheet manufacturers to list the ingredients in their fragrances, it’s difficult to know exactly what chemicals are in scented dryer sheets. A study by Anne Steinemann at the University of Washington evaluated six common fragranced household products, including laundry products, and found “nearly 100 volatile organic compounds (VOCs)… but none of the VOCs were listed on any product label… [and] ten are regulated as toxic or hazardous under federal laws, with three (acetaldehyde, chloromethane, and 1,4-dioxane) classified as Hazardous Air Pollutants”. Even some so called “green” products contain worrisome compounds. Read the full article here from The Environmental Impact Assessment Review.

What does the law have to say about this? in 2009, the bill “Household Product Labeling Act” was introduced to the 111th U.S. congress. This bill would require that household cleaning products and similar products bear labels that state completely and accurately all the ingredients of such products. The bill was not enacted by the end of the session.

California enacted the “Cleaning Product Right to Know Act”, which went into effect on January 1st, 2018 and requires full and complete listing of ingredients in household products, among others, by January 1st 2020 (online) and January 1st, 2021 (on-package).

Yes, you could use unscented dryer sheets, but if you still crave some sort of fragrance, don’t fret. Personally, when I’m doing laundry and using the dryer, my go-to is wool dryer balls with a few drops of essential oils. They decrease static cling and also soften your clothes without the addition of VOCs. I like the peace of mind I get knowing I’m not messing around with any potential hazardous chemicals. Did you know that most wool dryer balls can last for up to 1000 loads? That’s 1000 less non-biodegradable polyester sheets used. You should also know that there are some dryer sheet manufacturers that make biodegradable sheets so try to use those if you are set on using dryer sheets because even small steps can make a big impact.

Next time you do a load of laundry, opt for wool dryer balls, add a few drops of your favourite (and well sourced) essential oils, and enjoy.

My very well used dryer balls and one of my favorite essential oils.