Best Uses for Dryer Lint
In the world of laundry, lint is a pain. It builds up in your dryer’s filter screen. It clogs your exhaust vent. Worse, the build up over time decreases your dryer’s effectiveness in drying your laundry. Overall, the presence of too much lint in your dryer’s system is an issue of safety. It is prone to catch fire and lead to dangerous house fires.
Bottom line, as a homeowner you need to regularly clean your dryer’s filter screen and periodically clean your dryer’s interior ducting, exhaust, and piping.
Before tossing aside all that lint from your dryer, THINK AGAIN! Turns out, there are so many good uses for lint. After reading this list you will no longer view lint as a pesky by-product from your dryer, but a useful asset that can be applied to a myriad of household and outdoor activities. Check out my list of the best uses for lint below.
1. Fire Starter
Let loose your inner survivalist and discover one of the best ways to spark a (controlled) fire. In fact, I always keep a zip-lock bag full of lint handy for camping trips. If you lay a fat clump of lint under a pile of twigs and light it up, you’ll find yourself with a surefire plan for sure fire. In all seriousness, there are a number of good ways to make fantastic fire starters with lint. Other than going solo with a clump of lint by itself, I have found that the best way to use lint as a fire starter is to stuff a cardboard toilet paper roll tube with dryer lint. This makes a nice, self-contained, lightweight firestarter that you can take anywhere on the go.
2. Stuffing
For you crafters out there, you’ll see the value in no longer needing to buy stuffing for many of the sewn items that it requires. Here are a few small items that can best be created using lint stuffing:
- Pot holders
- Small stuffed animals
- Stuffed Christmas tree ornaments
- Small decorative pillows
- Door draft guards
3. Compost
Yes, that’s right! The properties in lint are excellent at breaking down and beneficially adding to your existing pile of yard waste or food scraps. Over time, lint will break down with the other components added to the pile to form great nutrient-rich soil for your gardening endeavors.
4. Pet Bedding
For those of you who have little critters such as guinea pigs, hamsters, or pet mice, you understand that pet bedding is something that has to be changed and cleaned often. Over time, not only does this process get annoying, it also gets expensive. Dryer lint is a great resource to supplement your pet bedding. Think about it… it’s non-toxic, highly absorbent, and it’s free! Give it a try and you’ll quickly realize the benefits.
5. Packing Material
Do you really want to buy a giant bag of packing peanuts just to ship a tiny box of glassware? Dryer lint makes an excellent household packing material because it is extremely soft and when clumped up it also has excellent shock absorbing properties. Next time, instead of scouring the house for something to use as stuffing, head to the dryer.
In the world for dryer lint, the above list only skims the surface on the many uses for the stuff. With a little creativity, you may be able to come up with a few more great ideas and hacks to use for your own. As always, if you have any great ideas to add, I’d love to hear them. Feel free to comment below!
Also, since we're on the topic of dryers, check out out our buying guide for purchasing used dryers. There are so many benefits along with great savings on money. You can also check out some of our products which make great accessories to your laundry appliances.