It's a busy Saturday morning, you've only got one more child to dress for a family birthday party (in my case I have 5, 6 including myself), you take your daughter's favorite birthday party shirt out of the dryer only to discover it's been attacked by the Static Monster! The same little creature who likes to glue the bottom of your dresses to your newly shaven (or for the brave of you...), waxed legs!
What have I ever done to deserve such an intrusion into my laundry pile or more so into a very rushed day! Like washing & folding clothing for 6 isn't enough, now I have to deal with the dreaded static clingy disease. But alas I have finally found the vaccine...well at least one that works for me.
After reading many articles on ways to keep laundry from collecting static, I found the same theme...use a bit of vinegar in the rinse cycle (which is great for those lucky laundrypeneurs who have a rinse indicator on their washing machine) or purchase expensive & not so earth friendly rubber/plastic dryer balls. You've seen them, they look like a rubber ball crossed between a porcupine & Homer Simpson's head.
Then there's always the dryer sheets...yes they work, but did you also know that because of the coating used in their construction, they tend to build up on the dryer filters which causes the filters to clog & can sometimes lead to house fires. House Fires!!! Not too mention all the harmful chemicals & that they also put undo strain on the heating coil, which by experience can cost almost as much as a new dryer to replace! This build up can be avoided by washing the filters once every 2 or 3 months (after removing from the dryer), with an old used toothbrush (Ya more re-using), warm soapy water, a good rinse, air drying & placing back in. (Try the clog test: If your filter beads up when you pour a bit of water on it, it's more than likely clogged).
Now where was I...oh yes Laundry articles....I came to one article that got me even more curious about getting rid of the static pest...it suggested putting 2 tennis balls into the dryer, so I began to think with my over worked tired mommy brain...if 2 tennis balls would work, why not tinfoil balls? Cause doesn't touching metal 'ground' electrostatic? Hmmmm could it work? The next article I read confirmed my mommy intuition.....yep aluminum foil balls can work & they can also help dry the clothing faster because they separate the fabrics! So I grabbed my very full roll of tin foil, ripped off 1/2 metre & then another & rolled each section into tiny golf ball size dryer balls.
My husband thought I was crazy...I knew I was well before the foil ball episode.....but I was a determined Eco-conscious frugal mommy who LOVED the idea that I had all the control over that Static Monster.... muuuahhhhhh!!!
Being the patient person I was, I waited 1 entire day until I finally had enough laundry to warrant our old machine one last try with eradicating the monster with in without using any chemicals or hyper-fad products....within seconds of hearing the dryer bell ding, I ran to the laundry room to see the results of my science experiment....IT WORKED!!! I couldn't believe it! I was SO excited that I called my mom to tell her, she would no longer battle with the mischievous Static Monster that learks in all our dryers & all it would take is a bit of foil.
I'm happy to say that I still have the same 2 dryer 'ball buddies' I now like to call them, along with 6 or 8 of their friends. Instead of having one huge Static Monster to deal with, I now have mini monsters... foil #1 & foil #2, unfortunately sometimes they can also cause problems, like playing hide & seek in our laundry...which I'm very ok with because my 2 youngest little monkeys, ages 2 & 5 love to search for them.... many times they our found in daddy's pant legs. Something he's not to crazy about....lol but at least they don't stick to him like our previous laundry use to!
Here are a few other laundry tips, (please keep in mind that cloth diapers along with many other types of fabric, require special laundry care):
There are Methods to reduce potential static cling which include:
1) Putting one-half cup of borax or one-half cup of vinegar in the washing machine during the wash and rinse cycle. These substances are said to naturally reduce static electricity on clothes. (Never mix vinegar & bleach together as it may cause a caustic/dangerous reaction).
2) Wash and dry cottons and synthetic fabrics separately.
3) Try not using the dryer at all for nylon and other synthetic fabrics. Hanging to dry will also save you some money and help save our environment...a win win for us all!
4) Do not dry clothing completely, let them air dry the last few minutes while still damp.
5) Spray clothes with a light mist of water after the cycle has ended & hang.
* Cloth Diaper Laundry Care Hint: Cloth diapers made with a PUL (Polyurethane Laminate) cover & micro-fleece inner cover do not require dryer use. Many dry quickly hanging on their own after a few hours in a hot summer laundry room or over night during a cold winter night.
Eco-Friendly Laundry Tips are always welcome for submission to my blog!
What have I ever done to deserve such an intrusion into my laundry pile or more so into a very rushed day! Like washing & folding clothing for 6 isn't enough, now I have to deal with the dreaded static clingy disease. But alas I have finally found the vaccine...well at least one that works for me.
After reading many articles on ways to keep laundry from collecting static, I found the same theme...use a bit of vinegar in the rinse cycle (which is great for those lucky laundrypeneurs who have a rinse indicator on their washing machine) or purchase expensive & not so earth friendly rubber/plastic dryer balls. You've seen them, they look like a rubber ball crossed between a porcupine & Homer Simpson's head.
Then there's always the dryer sheets...yes they work, but did you also know that because of the coating used in their construction, they tend to build up on the dryer filters which causes the filters to clog & can sometimes lead to house fires. House Fires!!! Not too mention all the harmful chemicals & that they also put undo strain on the heating coil, which by experience can cost almost as much as a new dryer to replace! This build up can be avoided by washing the filters once every 2 or 3 months (after removing from the dryer), with an old used toothbrush (Ya more re-using), warm soapy water, a good rinse, air drying & placing back in. (Try the clog test: If your filter beads up when you pour a bit of water on it, it's more than likely clogged).
Now where was I...oh yes Laundry articles....I came to one article that got me even more curious about getting rid of the static pest...it suggested putting 2 tennis balls into the dryer, so I began to think with my over worked tired mommy brain...if 2 tennis balls would work, why not tinfoil balls? Cause doesn't touching metal 'ground' electrostatic? Hmmmm could it work? The next article I read confirmed my mommy intuition.....yep aluminum foil balls can work & they can also help dry the clothing faster because they separate the fabrics! So I grabbed my very full roll of tin foil, ripped off 1/2 metre & then another & rolled each section into tiny golf ball size dryer balls.
My husband thought I was crazy...I knew I was well before the foil ball episode.....but I was a determined Eco-conscious frugal mommy who LOVED the idea that I had all the control over that Static Monster.... muuuahhhhhh!!!
Being the patient person I was, I waited 1 entire day until I finally had enough laundry to warrant our old machine one last try with eradicating the monster with in without using any chemicals or hyper-fad products....within seconds of hearing the dryer bell ding, I ran to the laundry room to see the results of my science experiment....IT WORKED!!! I couldn't believe it! I was SO excited that I called my mom to tell her, she would no longer battle with the mischievous Static Monster that learks in all our dryers & all it would take is a bit of foil.
I'm happy to say that I still have the same 2 dryer 'ball buddies' I now like to call them, along with 6 or 8 of their friends. Instead of having one huge Static Monster to deal with, I now have mini monsters... foil #1 & foil #2, unfortunately sometimes they can also cause problems, like playing hide & seek in our laundry...which I'm very ok with because my 2 youngest little monkeys, ages 2 & 5 love to search for them.... many times they our found in daddy's pant legs. Something he's not to crazy about....lol but at least they don't stick to him like our previous laundry use to!
Here are a few other laundry tips, (please keep in mind that cloth diapers along with many other types of fabric, require special laundry care):
There are Methods to reduce potential static cling which include:
1) Putting one-half cup of borax or one-half cup of vinegar in the washing machine during the wash and rinse cycle. These substances are said to naturally reduce static electricity on clothes. (Never mix vinegar & bleach together as it may cause a caustic/dangerous reaction).
2) Wash and dry cottons and synthetic fabrics separately.
3) Try not using the dryer at all for nylon and other synthetic fabrics. Hanging to dry will also save you some money and help save our environment...a win win for us all!
4) Do not dry clothing completely, let them air dry the last few minutes while still damp.
5) Spray clothes with a light mist of water after the cycle has ended & hang.
* Cloth Diaper Laundry Care Hint: Cloth diapers made with a PUL (Polyurethane Laminate) cover & micro-fleece inner cover do not require dryer use. Many dry quickly hanging on their own after a few hours in a hot summer laundry room or over night during a cold winter night.
Eco-Friendly Laundry Tips are always welcome for submission to my blog!
*** Since first writing the above article, I have done more experimenting & now have another static fighting tip:
I have found that by placing a few copper pennies (Canadian pennies dated 1993 or earlier), in the dryer will make clothing soft & static free. If you're worried about the pennies wrecking the inside of the dryer, you can place them in an old cotton sock & tie the end. It also helps them from getting lost in your clothing. I recommend washing them in the sock first.
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