22 Uses for Dryer Sheets (That Aren’t Laundry)

Alaina DiGiacomo/Taste of Home

Along with making clothes soft and sniffably fresh, dryer sheets can be used in dozens of ways around the house. Their clean scent covers up plenty of odors, and they’re abrasive enough to clean, but won’t damage most surfaces. Here are the most unexpected uses for dryer sheets.

FYI: This is how dryer sheets actually work.

Clean Baseboards

Vacuum the carpet or sweep the floor, then wipe a dryer sheet along the baseboards to remove stubborn dust and pet hair. Bonus: It repels dust later, too!

Alaina DiGiacomo/Taste of Home

Dust Your TV Screen

The sheets have anti-static properties that will help prevent dust from settling on the screen.

Alaina DiGiacomo/Taste of Home

Clean Window Blinds

Just like with the TV, dryer sheets will repel dust and make blinds easier to clean over time. See our best cleaning tricks for hard-to-clean household objects.

Alaina DiGiacomo/Taste of Home

Tame Flyaway Hair

Did dry air make your hair static-y? Rub a dryer sheet between your brush’s bristles to smooth things over.

smrm1977/Getty Images

Clean Up Pet Hair

Dryer sheets are great grabbers. Rub one along the floor or couch to pick up pet hair—or clippings from at-home haircuts.

Alaina DiGiacomo/Taste of Home

Freshen Up Your Shoes

Stick a dryer sheet in your flats or sneakers overnight to get rid of funky odors.

hxdbzxy/Shutterstock

Scrub Away Soap Scum

Rub a sheet on glass shower doors to clean caked-on grime.

Alaina DiGiacomo/Taste of Home

Easily Scour Pans

If food gets burned on a pan, let it soak overnight with water and a fresh dryer sheet. Check out this dryer sheet hack in action!

Give Chrome a Polish

From bathrooms to vehicles, dryer sheets can help restore chrome’s trademark shine.

Alaina DiGiacomo/Taste of Home

Clean Up Pantry Spills

Flour, pancake mix and other powdery ingredients will stick to dryer sheets, unlike paper towels.

Shutterstock/ben bryant

Freshen the Air Fast

Place sheets in vents or behind fans to fill your home with a fresh, clean scent.

Cover Up Diaper Smells

Tuck a fresh sheet into your diaper bag or bathroom garbage can help take the edge off odors.

De-Musk Old Books

You scored some great reads at a garage sale—but they’re a little musty. Put old books in a bag with some dryer sheets—after a few days, they’ll smell as good as new.

Jose Luis Pelaez Inc/Getty Images

Remove Crayon Marks

Lightly rub walls with a sheet and watch the crayon disappear. Magic! Parents, here’s how to remove crayon from furniture and more.

Ivan/Getty Images

Get Paint Off Brushes

Put a dryer sheet in warm water along with the brush—within a few minutes of soaking, the paint should wash right off.

Alaina DiGiacomo/Taste of Home

Sharpen Scissors

Run a used dryer sheet along the blades to restore their snipping power.

namtipStudio/Shutterstock

Repel Insects

Mosquitoes don’t like the smell of dryer sheets, so slip one into your belt loop to ward off the pesky insects.

catalina.m/Shutterstock

Keep Camping Gear Fresh

Toss dryer sheets into your tent and sleeping bags to stave off a mildewy smell.

Alaina DiGIacomo/Taste of Home

Banish Post-Beach Sand

This is one of the most surprising uses for dryer sheets! Wipe yourself and your kids with a dryer sheet to rid skin of dry sand before getting in the car.

mauro_grigollo/Getty Images

Keep Cars Smelling Fresh

Put a few sheets underneath the seat to freshen up your car without hanging something from your rear-view mirror.

Clean the Toilet

Dryer sheets are great to for cleaning the toilet—especially that crevice at the back that traps all kinds of hair and dust.

Remove Deodorant Stains

Keep your clothes streak-free (and smelling fresh) with a quick dryer sheet wipe on deodorant stains.