Why You'll Want To Clean Your Toilet With A Dryer Sheet
If you have trouble cleaning up the dust and hair that gathers between your toilet's bowl and tank, look no further than your laundry room. Dryer sheets work great for picking up dust because they are designed to absorb static electricity, and they'll help make the chore of cleaning your bathroom much easier. Rather than struggling to pick up hair, dust, and debris with a wet cloth, which usually just pushes dirt around and makes this chore frustrating, quickly wipe the outside of your toilet with a dryer sheet before cleaning.
This hack was posted on TikTok by Amanda Kay Sheppard (@amandakaysheppard), and her video shows how well dryer sheets pick up dust from porcelain. If you're worried about using too many dryer sheets, you can repurpose ones that have already gone through the laundry. For a more environmentally friendly version of this hack, try using a damp microfiber cloth, which is also known to be good for picking up dust.
How to use a dryer sheet to clean your toilet
While the dryer sheet will remove dust and make it easier to pick up hairs from your toilet, it will not actually clean or sanitize anything. You'll still need to clean your toilet, but getting rid of the dust with a dryer sheet first will make the job easier and quicker. If you use scented sheets, it may also leave behind a pleasant smell.
Besides dusting, dryer sheets can also help to remove hard water rings inside the toilet. Even if bleach or other cleaning products haven't removed the rings, there's a good chance that dryer sheets will. Because of the fibers dryer sheets are made from, they are gentle enough not to scratch your porcelain but strong enough to make scrubbing easy. You can put on long rubber gloves and rub the rings with the sheet, or wrap it around the end of your toilet brush to avoid sticking your hand in the bowl. Make sure not to flush the dryer sheet, as this can cause a clog or blockage.
More ways to clean your bathroom with dryer sheets
Besides cleaning toilets, dryer sheets can also be used to remove soap scum from showers and bathtubs. The chemicals used in dryer sheets can help to soften and lift the scum from the porcelain without scratching the surface. Simply wet your sheet and start scrubbing. When you're finished, rinse the shower or tub with warm water and the soap scum will disappear. This will also work for sinks, tile, and shower liners. If there are smudges on your shower, dryer sheets can eliminate those as well.
Dryer sheets can also help to polish dingy faucets or other bathroom fixtures. Wipe them down with a damp sheet and they will sparkle. You might also want to try dusting the rest of your bathroom, or another room, with your used dryer sheets rather than throwing them away. Though they are designed for laundry, dryer sheets will help you clean your toilet and the rest of your bathroom.
Things to keep in mind when using dryer sheets
While many people use dryer sheets when doing laundry, they may not be as harmless as they seem. The fragrances and chemicals in these helpful laundry products can sometimes cause attacks in those with asthma, and dryer sheet brands are not required to label their ingredients. If ingredients are printed on the box, it may not be a complete list of everything the sheets contain. Some common ingredients are polyester substrate, fatty acid, clay, fragrance, and dipalmethyl hydroxyethylammoinum methosulfate, which helps to give the sheets their anti-static properties.
For those that are sensitive to artificial fragrances, you can try using unscented dryer sheets to clean your toilet, but you still may not know what is in them. If this is a concern, sticking with microfiber cloths will give you the same benefits of easier toilet cleaning as using dryer sheets, but without the added chemicals and scents.
Sustainable alternatives to dryer sheets
If you tend to avoid products like dryer sheets to be more sustainable, microfiber cloths are made of a similar polyester material and will also work well for cleaning your toilet. Microfiber cloths are generally made from split fibers, which gives the cloth more surface area for trapping dust and hair. While these cloths aren't scented like dryer sheets, they will trap small debris in a comparable way.
Microfiber cloths won't push the dirt around like a regular rag, and since it's washable, you can use the same cloth to clean your toilet every week. This will cut down on the waste of using new dryer sheets for cleaning, and there are no potentially harmful chemicals involved. For these cloths to work best, you may need to dampen them before cleaning. Unlike dryer sheets, you can use these cloths with your regular cleaning products, making the job quick, easy, and sustainable.