Do Dryer Sheets Help with Static?

3 minutes to read
Do Dryer Sheets Help with Static

Using a dryer sheet when you toss your laundry into the dryer is one of the best ways to prevent and remove static - introduce fresh scents and amazing softness to all your favorite clothes.

How Does Static Electricity Happen in a Machine Dryer?

Static electricity is among the most annoying things about doing laundry. We’ve all been there— pulling clingy clothes apart, finding socks and underwear stuck to our sheets, even finding them stuck to our pants when out at a store, or in the office.

Much like rubbing a balloon on your hair creates static electricity, your clothes tumbling in the dryer create static electricity. It's generated by the repeated contact of your clothes colliding inside the drum. As the drying cycle continues and your clothes rub together again and again, without a dryer sheet, static builds as ionic charges are generated by repeated contact, causing clothing to stick together.

Not only does this make sorting and folding more of a chore as you peel items of clothing apart, but it can also cause you to overlook smaller items like socks or children’s clothing that may stick to larger garments.

Why Are My Clothes Full of Static?

Static is known to build-up both in the dryer and in-wear when fabric fibers rub together generating friction. As a result of the friction between fibers, electrons are transferred across surfaces resulting in charge separation, i.e. one surface will accumulate more electrons and become negatively charged and the other surface will lose electrons and become positively charged.

When charges are separated, an electric field is created. This electric field exerts an attractive or repulsive force around the surrounding space. Materials within that space may become attracted to oppositely charged surfaces within that space.

An everyday example of this is dust accumulation on TV or computer screens. Lint and hair, like dust, are materials which are prone to charge separation in the presence of an electric field. When in an electric field, lint and hair can become charged and attracted to oppositely charged surfaces. Synthetic fabrics like nylon and polyester are more susceptible to static cling than cotton.

Choose the right product

Discover all the ways Bounce dryer sheets help fight static, pet hair, wrinkles and lint, so your clothes can look and feel their freshest.

Bounce® Outdoor Fresh Fabric Softener Dryer Sheets

Dryer Sheets

Shop Dryer Sheets
Bounce® Pet Hair and Lint Guard Mega Sheets

Mega Sheets

Shop Mega Sheets

How to Use Dryer Sheets to Prevent Static Cling in Clothes

Once your wash cycle is complete and you have placed your damp laundry into the dryer, simply drop in a fresh Bounce Outdoor Fresh Dryer Sheet on top of the wet load of clothes. Then start your drying cycle as you normally would.

If you have an extra-large load, you can toss in two or three sheets. After you’ve added your dryer sheets, you can start the drying cycle and let Bounce take care of the rest!

During the tumbling of the dryer, Bounce dryer sheet cationic (positively charged) ingredients are activated by heat and released from the substrate to transfer onto fabric.

The anti-static/softening agents in Bounce coat the fibers providing an anti-static benefit throughout the load. This coating remains on fabric after the dryer providing a long lasting in-wear static benefit.