What would be added to Fabric Softener that would make them dry faster (link), and is that additive safe?

Who needs this? I never heard anybody wish their laundry would dry faster. I do not believe anybody who uses this product will actually spend the time saved with their families for the simple reason that washing is done while the family is out of the house. Cotton-polyester blend does not hold water like cotton does. That has had no effect at all on the amount of time mothers spend with their families.

That is for perspiration not when you wash them, perhaps? Oh no.. This makes no sense to me.

I wonder who faster drying clothing would even apply to, @SmartAZ, but for those who have moisture detecting dryers that shut off automatically. Do you open your dryer every 5 minutes to see if your clothes are dry? I set mine to what I believe to be dry + 5–10 minutes overkill.

That’s an interesting thought, @cazzie! I wonder if it would make your sweat dry faster? Surely it would! Now I’m even more curious if this special ingredient is carcinogenic!

FWIW I don’t use dryer sheets because of the chemicals in them. You should always read labels. When it warns you to keep your hands away from your eyes until normal skin color returns, you would naturally suspect that you should not want that stuff anywhere near you. But in any case, the first question to get an answer to is “Why do I need this?”

I agreed, @SmartAZ, until @cazzie mentioned that it might work for sweat, too.

Coating clothes and other things with hydrophobic chemical doesn’t seem that smart, but perhaps it is. We might have to rely less on water to wash our clothes in times of draught.

Some of us don’t have a clothes dryer. I happen to be one of them. If the weather isn’t good, which it often isn’t in our neck of England, then clothes are hung on clothes racks and a dehumidifier is turned on. It can take more than a day or two for them to dry.

@SmartAZ If laundry is done while the family is out of the house, then who or what is doing it?

I’m in the situation as Pied_Pfeffer. Bit I don’t have a dehumidifier.

@Pied_Pfeffer As you might guess, I have never been outside my own country. Perhaps this stuff might be acceptable in England. But I still advise to read the label and avoid anything with a name you can’t pronounce.

In most of America, a housewife does her work while the kids are at school. That is what I call “family out of the house”.

Since this isn’t 1872, and I don’t have three days out of the week set aside for laundry, I’d love for my clothes to dry faster.

It costs $0.25 for every four minutes in the dryers at the laundromat. Faster drying directly relates to money saved.

Then have you seen or tried the faster drying fabric softener, @Seek?
So far you’re the first example where faster drying would really be a boon.

My washer and dryer are in the basement, so I just set the dryer for a little overkill. When I took all the stuff to the laundromat, I watched it like a hawk. As soon as something was dry, I was processing it.

I haven’t. I will be doing laundry in the next couple of days, and I do need to pick up softener. I’ll look out for that stuff and grab a bottle, see how it works.

I’m very interested in how this works.

I think it said it takes 4 washings to see the full effect?
It was cheap. I think I saw it at Family Dollar.

I’m interested, too, @cazzie.

Suavitel is one of the lower cost brands. I usually spring for Gain, because I like the scent, but I’ll slum it for science.

I’m not having bad luck with the fabric softener from Dollar Tree at the moment. I had to pour it into an old FS bottle because there is no pour spout on the DT bottle. Other than that, so far, so good.

FWIW, I don’t even use anti-static sheets because of the suspicious chemicals. I use balls of crumpled aluminum foil. They work just as well and are much cheaper.

I’m working on balls of wool yarn for dryer softeners.
Very slowly.

Everything is chemicals.

I tried doing the crunchy granola, make your own detergent from Borax and hope method, but I prefer having my clothes clean. After a 14 hour day of construction dirt, grime, and sweat, you need some industrial-strength chemicals to get those jeans clean.

Cleaning is one thing, @Seek, and I agree you’re probably going to need some stout detergent.
Softening can be done without chemicals, although it’s not really practical for you, using laundromat. It’s not like you’re going to want to tote a garbage bag full of yarn or aluminum balls back and forth.

Truth.

Besides, aluminium doesn’t smell like Gain.

OK, me and the Professor, aka BBE, have been discussing this and we came up with the fact that ALL fabric softeners contain hydrophobic chemicals and the fact that it takes about 5 washings with a fabric softener for it to build up on the fabric. It could be that all fabric softeners have this to some effect or another. Just remember, if you use this on your bath towels, they are going to lose their natural absorbency. You can have towels that feel soft or you can have towels that dry you off. Your choice.

Meh, I live in Florida. The bathwater boils off after a minute or two anyway.

They only lose a portion of their absorbency, so it isn’t a 1 or 0 scenario. Me and the kiddo are allergic to many of the fragrance chemicals, so I stay away from them for the most part. I will add a few drops of essential oil to make my sheets, blankets and bedding smell nice, though. I’ve also made a really kick ass fabric freshener after my bought of dog sitting.

Well, there seem to be only 2 brands that have a version that makes the claim, @cazzie.

Did laundry today.

I tried to get that Suavitel, but the only bottle available in that version was the huge $7 bottle in a scent that was simply awful. I bought my normal Gain because it’s a known quantity and the same price.

I did read the bottle. It said that it dried 30% faster, tested on swatches of cotton and poly/cotton blend vs. Detergent only.

Sounds a lot like detangling sprays that claim to release tangles by 50% vs. shampoo alone. I’m already using conditioner/softener, so that percentage means nothing to me.

I think the fast drying only comes in one scent, @Seek.

Yep. And it was a super-flowery scent. Not my bag at all. I’d probably have tried it if I had the option of the smaller bottle, but I wasn’t going to commit to a gallon of the stuff.

I understand that.
I only buy small bottles of new stuff.

So far I’m okay with the Dollar Tree softener.