End Static Cling Six Ways

The heat is on at my house and the air is dry—and the other day my favorite skirt was bunching up around my knees in a most unattractive way. I won’t use commercial fabric softeners because the chemicals and fragrances literally make me sick. What to do? I turned to the wisdom of Annie Bond to find out how to eliminate static cling easily, inexpensively, and naturally. Now my skirt hangs smoothly once again!

Here are Annie’s six simple tips for getting rid of that nasty static cling:

1. Add either 1/4 cup of vinegar or 1/4 cup of borax to your wash cycle.

2. Add 1/4 cup vinegar to your rinse cycle.

3. Use an eco-friendly fabric softener (seventh Generation and Ecover make good ones). These are made with vegetable-based surfactants, salt, and natural scents rather than chemicals that cause headaches and other health woes, and environmental damage.

4. Natural-fiber clothing is less susceptible to static cling, so purchase natural materials as much as possible.

5. As soon as you take your clothes out of the drier, shake them out.

6. If your clothes are already clean and dry and they’re clinging, use the metal hanger trick:

For skirts or dresses, put the garment on, then reach up inside it with a metal hanger and brush the inside of the garment, top to bottom.

For pants, elongate the hanger and reach up inside each pant leg, brushing downward.

Read more: Home, Household Hints, static cling

By Annie B. Bond

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of
Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

KS G.

6:55AM PDT on Aug 12, 2011

Thanks for the article.

send a green star

NO EMAILS P.

12:18AM PDT on Mar 18, 2010

thanks

12:17AM PDT on Mar 18, 2010

thankyou

Leanne B.

11:51PM PST on Mar 10, 2010

Great stuff thanks

Dr Kathi A.

10:38AM PST on Mar 4, 2010

Can add conditioner & water [approximately half conditioner & half water] in a spray bottle [w/fine mist sprayer best] & sprtiz clothing that may cause static build-up in long hair, where the hair may come in contact W/clothing or coats. * Can also be used on shoulders & back of coats & jackets. It cuts down on static build up in hair in dry winter months. After spritzing, I normally blow-dry the area before putting it on.

10:36AM PST on Mar 4, 2010

You can carry a fabric softener sheet in zip-lock in purse for long hair & static build-up for dry winter days? Works for me.

Past Member .

4:22PM PDT on Apr 7, 2008

I hope someone can enlighten me about a product. I am thinking of purchasing the blue rubber orbs with little spiky protrusions all over them to use instead of dryer sheets. Do they also help with static cling? If not, what is their purpose?

Cindy M.

10:17AM PST on Feb 13, 2008

Hey there, Not sure about repelling hairs, but I've been using vinegar for years and don't seem to have a great prob w/my pets when I wear natural fibers, but there are still some, especially depending on the weave. When I've tried Bounce, I still had hair (but keep reading & I'll give you a tip). And not only are dryer sheets really bad environmentally, they're also really bad for our health too, everyone's, not just asthma sufferers. Studies in both Britain and Canada show this, so does evidence of American's health compared to other countries. There's too much money to be lost here to let that cat out of the bag. The tip that works great for me is to wet a rag, or sometimes even just my hand in a pinch in a public bathroom, and rub off the hairs. That works as good for me as a sticky tape role does. Good luck and hang in there!

Leigh-Anne Y.

7:30PM PDT on Sep 12, 2007

Do we know if the vinegar remedy will repel dog and cat hair as well as a Bounce fabric softener sheet? And how well do expensive work clothes last when you are adding vinegar to the wash cycle?