4 Nontoxic Ways to Get Rid of Laundry Static

As much as I love my wool dryer balls, I must admit they do not get rid of laundry static as I hoped they would.  Since I will never ever ever ever ever go back to toxic dryer sheets, I needed a natural solution for static cling in the dryer.

Of course, if I were a true homesteader I’d line dry all our laundry and have no static at all.  Guess what: we don’t even have a clothesline!  {Gasp}  I do have this awesome wall-mounted drying rack in our laundry room and I use the heck out of it, but I still dry most of our laundry in the dryer.

Below are the best 4 nontoxic ways to get rid of laundry static.  When I follow these steps, we have zero laundry static.  Hooray!  #1 is my favorite…

How to get rid of laundry static

1. Line dry synthetic fabrics

This is so simple, y’all, but it totally works.  Yes, I know it takes a few extra minutes per load of laundry.  But it’s worth it to me to eliminate static cling from our laundry using zero toxins.

Pro Tip: This is a great job for kids!  Train them to hang wet synthetics (which, at our house, are mostly their clothes anyway) on the clothesline or drying rack.  Give them a title if it helps, like Master of the Drying Rack.  

If I were a true greenie, we wouldn’t wear any synthetic fabrics.  Or conventional cotton, which is sprayed with toxic pesticides.  But that’s a topic for another day, and for now, we wear regular clothes that often contain synthetic materials

Keep these synthetic materials out of the dryer:

• spandex
• fleece
• microfiber
• polyester
• nylon

If you line dry your synthetics and use the dryer mostly for cotton fabrics, you’ll notice much less static (or even none at all).

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2. Reduce drying time

Another simple way to get rid of laundry static is to reduce drying time.  The longer you dry clothes that are already dry, the more static will build up.  If you can pull out the clothes when they are just barely dry or even slightly damp, it will greatly reduce your laundry static.

The trick is to time it just right for each load, or to have the presence of mind to check each load.  Frankly, this is unrealistic for me most of the time. Sometimes I do remember, though, and it really helps.

3. Use salt

Heather over at Mommypotamus decribes a method of adding a small (and tightly sealed) cloth bag of pink Himalayan rock salt to the dryer.  Check it out here: How to Get Rid of Static Cling Naturally.  I haven’t tried this trick because I’m nervous it could somehow damage the dryer or leak salt all over my laundry, but it really intrigues me.

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4. Use vinegar

Add about 1/2 cup vinegar to a small or regular load in a conventional upright washer, or 1/4 cup for HE machines.  Pour it into the fabric softener dispenser, and add a few drops of essential oil, if you like.

Alternatively, you can spray vinegar onto a wool dryer ball, or a sock or clean washcloth, and toss it into the dryer with a wet load.

Do you have any tricks for fighting laundry static?

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