There are many brands of dryer sheets, but they all work to solve some of the same problems. Although washing machine manufacturers later added an automatic fabric softener dispenser, dryer sheets remain popular, and they're used not only for laundry, but for many off-label purposes such as cleaning and keeping insects and rodents away. When the sheets were put in the dryer with laundry, the heat and moisture warmed up the softener and spread it across the clothing. Gaiser is believed to have come up with the second breakthrough in the 1960s, by figuring out how to treat small sheets of material with fabric softener.
Putting the two together caused them to counteract, reducing the effectiveness of both.Ī scientist named Conrad J. They had to be added after the first wash cycle in an automatic washer, because softeners were cationic, with a positive electrical charge, and detergents were anionic, or negatively charged.
Fabric softeners were invented in the mid-20th century to make clean clothes more pleasant to touch and later, chemicals were added to help prevent static.
