fabric softner question????does it work???

Question

they have these fabric softners that look like rubber dog toys and they are suposed to make laundrey way softer and fluffier....do they really work??

Answer 1

Yes, actually they do. I don't know about the various shapes but they work--without toxic chemicals. Some of the worst household chemicals are fabric softeners. I had a friend who had serious environmental sensitivities. Whenever her neighbours put fabric softener sheets in the dryer, she felt nauseated, and sometimes fainted. One of the active ingredients is formaldehyde. Go figure. Most deodorants and perfumes contain petroleum products, as do nearly every laundry detergent, shampoo, soap or household cleaner. Using dryer balls is a good step toward better health, even if they don't appear to work as well as all the other products we unthinkingly accept.

Answer 2

Fabric softeners work by changing a detergent’s negative electrical charge back into a positive, reducing static. They also coat fibres with a film that fluffs fibres and often scents the fabric.

Static electricity occurs when there is low humidity, when two surfaces of different material touch and then separate, and when both surfaces are made of insulating materials. Whether you recognized it or not, the previous sentence described the conditions found in a clothes dryer. Fabric softeners give clothing a chemical coating that stops their real surfaces from touching, thereby preventing static cling.

Beyond the static issue, most people will admit to using fabric softener to enhance the smell of their clothing.