Recently, I noticed an awful ring around my toilet. Not only did it make me cringe in disgust, but visions of my mother-in-law shaking her head in disapproval bobbled back and forth in my mind. So I tried all the bathroom cleaners in my possession—Mr. Clean, Scrubbing Bubbles, Lysol—nothing worked. It wasn’t until later when I was scrubbing a pot with steel wool that I came up with the novel idea of repurposing used dryer sheets, which are similar in texture but not as harsh.
What happened next was magical. I’m now the proud owner of a pristine toilet, people! Hard water, grime, desperate toilet-brush scrubbing…begone! Seriously though, dryer sheets work wonders—and not just in the bathroom. Check out all these surprisingly awesome uses that even my own mother-in-law swears by now:
1. Safely scrub your toilet and sink
Say ‘bye to nostril-burning chemicals and hello to savings! Use new or used dryer sheets as a replacement for scrubbing pads to clean ceramic, porcelain, tile, and other household surfaces.
2. Dust your house
Run dryer sheets lightly over dusty blinds, baseboards and furniture—it’s like a fresh-smelling magnet for dust!
3. Clean your iron
Turn your iron on the lowest heat setting and let it warm up. Then lay a dryer sheet out flat on your ironing board and gently rub the iron over it. Voila! The dryer sheet will capture the gunk and leave your iron clean.
4. Remove pet hair from clothes and furniture
Believe me when I say German Shepherd shedding in no joke. Dryer sheets help prevent my home (and my wardrobe) from being swallowed in fur.
5. Clean glass
Use dryer sheets to wipe away smudges on windows. I even use them on my eyeglasses, and they’re wonderfully portable (only use on glass lenses!).
6. Shine chrome
Water spots can ruin your clean bathroom’s vibe. Keep chrome sparkling with dryer sheets.
7. Clean paintbrushes
Soak paintbrushes in warm water with a dryer sheet and watch the paint come right off!
8. Use it to get dead bugs off your car
Gross, dead insects love sticking to my car—sometimes even after a wash! Now I carry a small stack of dryer sheets in my glove compartment.
9. Scrub away grease from cooktops and cupboards
There’s just the right amount of texture on dryer sheets to safely scrub away grease from kitchen surfaces—I love it!
10. Line garbage cans
Line the bottom of your garbage cans with used dryer sheets to catch any leaks and keep it smelling fresh!
