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Well-meaning pet owners are using dryer sheets to control pet hair. Is this such a good idea?
We love our pets -- and they love us. Which is the main reason dog and cat dander seems to get everywhere: on the sofa, your clothes, and your carpet. Your furry companion loves to sit wherever you do.
There's a tip making the rounds these days: use a dryer sheet to repel pet fur. And it seems to work. Dryer sheets cut down on static, which is what makes fur cling to fabric surfaces. Some owners even use dryer sheets directly on their animals to reduce the static buildup which accompanies thunderstorms and alarms jittery pets.
But is this safe?
First, hats off to Bounce for their truly generous support of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Last month, their Bounce Everywhere campaign donated $10,000 to the ASPCA. It's part of a bid to promote dryer sheet usage by pet owners that goes by the slogan, "Share the love, not the hair!"
Dryer sheets repel static and smell so darn good because they're full of chemicals. Formulas vary from product to product, but your favorite fabric softener or dryer sheet (not necessarily Bounce) might contain such unpleasant substances as benzyl acetate, camphor, or even chloroform.
Possible health risks
None of this stuff is good for humans, and the same is true for pets. The Merck Veterinary Manual warns that cationic detergents, which are present in fabric softeners and dryer sheets, can cause a variety of problems for animals ranging from minor irritation to widespread systemic distress and pulmonary edema. Bounce's own product literature cautions pet owners to keep dryer sheets away from animals to avoid accidental ingestion.
Animals lick their fur and the areas on which they rest, so using dryer sheets to repel dander may needlessly expose Fluffy or Fido to health risks. The danger is increased when pets are allowed to use sheets as toys -- and cats, in particular, just love them. Some owners have reported kidney failure in animals which have ingested dryer sheets.
A better way
Want to keep pet fur at bay -- the safe and natural way? Brush your animal companion daily. A stiff brush or rubber squeegee will make quick work of any hair which gets on furniture. Use a lint brush or length of masking tape to remove danger from clothing.
A few minutes of extra work means fewer chemicals in the lives of you and your pet. Take a little extra time with your cat or dog -- and show you care.
Readers have left 8 comments. 1. Untitled
Alice, Guest glad to see some one else beside interested in chemicals in our food , casmetics etc. keep it up, let more people know what they are exposed to every dqay. Thanks Alice 2. Untitled
Tony, Guest My first wife and I had a small dog that got a dryer sheet that had fallen on the floor in the laundry room and ate it. We didn't notice until that night when the dog started getting sick. We took her to the puppy ER and they transfered her to our vet's office the next day. She didn't make it. Ever since then I've been careful to make sure dryer sheets go directly from the dryer to a closed trashcan that pets can't get into. 3. Untitled
Brad Barrish, Guest What about the Bounce Free sheets that don't contain any of the smelly stuff? I use them in the laundry and for pet stuff. 4. Untitled
Chris Baskind, Guest Brad: Well, I want to be careful about singling out any particular brand here. Bounce is mentioned because of their outreach to the pet community, but we're talking about dryer sheets in general.
I don't know what's in Bounce Free. Method's dryer sheets are supposed to be more eco-friendly, though I haven't investigated them. Your best bet is probably to look at the side panel for active ingredients and compare them to those mentioned in this article and the sources it references.
In my opinion, we accept far too many powerful chemicals in our daily lives. From our food to the products we use to clean ourselves, our clothes, and our homes -- we're swimming in more strange stuff than can possibly be good for us. Same goes for our pets.
Personally, I would never use a petroleum-based wipe of any kind on one of my pets. I stopped using dryer sheets last year, and will transition to vegetable-based laundry soaps when I finish my current supply. 5. Untitled
Jane McLernon, Guest I've had many pets who shed - including a half-Siamese, half-Himalayan cat who "fluffs" - but I've never considered using dryer sheets anywhere near them! Good thing, it seems. For those who have considered this option, I can quote from my box of "Arm and Hammer Essentials" dryer sheets that they are made with "No Petroleum Based Softeners" and that those softeners are "100% Naturally Derived". I bought them along with the Essentials laundry detergent and they both work well and claim to be better for the environment. Perhaps these sheets, which have a scent in the box but leave nothing much behind on the clothes, would be more pet friendly.  6. Untitled
Solomon Broad, Guest It's scary to think that people would use something so artificially fragranced directly on their pet. 7. Untitled
Kim, Guest Instead of using dryer sheets, try using vinegar in the downey ball when you wash. I've been doing this for a few years now. The clothes come out fresh and they are not stiff when hanging out on the line. For dryer static, try lessening the dryer time by 10 minutes until you reach dry clothes and no static. The static is usually because the clothes are dry but the dryer is still running. 8. bounce give me asthma
Guest, Guest bounce and a lot of detergents that have so called added powers of cleaning gives me asthma. all these chemicals are so toxic and not enough research have been done to guarantee their safety. we have to be around plenty of pollution, our bodies have enough to fight, why add more pollution when we have a choice? same thing with fragrances, it's not necessary for our health and if our clothes smell bad, it's a sign they need to be washed, not hide the odors and breed the bacteria. i like to try as much as possible to keep the earth chemical free and non-toxic for future generations before it turns into a waste land. |
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