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Uses for Dryer Lint

April 5, 2007

Uses for Dryer LintUses for dryer lint. Post your ideas!

Hang Dry Instead

Dryer lint is an expensive commodity. It represents the life being worn from your clothes by the action and heat of the dryer. I know that's why I won't dry anything of mine any more. I get it out and hang it up to dry or put it on the line.
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By Joe

Stuffing Toys

A great tip I found by accident using dryer lint is stuffing for small dolls and teddy bears. I was making my girls small bears and ran out of stuffing. I needed to finish them and it was too late to go to the store so I was searching my laundry room for some extra and came across my bag of "lint". I quickly grabbed it and stuffed away. The bears smell great and are soft and washable.

By Melissa

Nesting Material for Birds

To "help" the birds build a nice warm nest this spring to hatch their babies, toss some lint from your dryer lint screen onto the branches of your trees. They'll sing their gratitude as they use it for nesting material!

By LS from Michigan

Worms Or Compost

Dryer lint can make great food for worms! Toss it into your local friendly worm farm or into a compost heap and it'll be turned into lovely healthy soil for your garden! You can also use it to stuff home-made cushions, or stuffed toys, if your worm farm isn't in existence yet!
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By Ricky

Insulation

Since we live in a very old, drafty farmhouse, I noticed there are little nooks and crannies that let cold air in the house. I have been using the lint from the dryer as a "draft dodger". I make sure it is not near anything electrical. It has worked great!

By Michelle

Make Paper

This may sound a little corny but you can use it to make paper. There is a way to do it involving hot water, glue, a screen and a heavy pressing object. It's been awhile since I've done it. Check your local library for a few books on it to get it right. We did something with dandelions in elementary school to do it but I did it at home with dryer lint until my mom got tired of all the places my "paper" was drying dripping on her floor.

By Katzprizim

Dryer Lint Clay

Ingredients

Here's recipes for making clay out of dryer lint.

Directions

Place the lint in a saucepan and cover it with the water. When the lint is saturated, add the flour and stir until it is smooth. Add the drops of wintergreen oil flavoring. Cook the mixture, stirring constantly, until it forms peaks and holds together. Pour it onto newspaper to cool. Shape and model figures, or cover a form with it, such as a balloon. Allow to dry for 3 to 5 days, then paint and decorate as required.

By Kayla

Dryer Lint Clay a Success

My experimentation with dryer lint clay was a success! I made a wonderful bowl out of it. When I removed the mixture from the stove, I poured it onto an overturned glass bowl that had 2 sheets of tissue paper over it (the big ones, like the ones used in wrapping presents). I then used my batter spatula to spread it around the base of the bowl. It was thick enough that it spread like gooey cake frosting, but it didn't run at all.
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It took days to dry, but the texture is wonderful, and since that dryer load must have had something dark in it, the bowl is like a deep denim/ navy gray color with white flecks (although I suspect those are clumps of flour - I can't stress enough to make sure you don't just dump it all in the pot at one time - like I did!) And don't try to use a whisk or you'll be picking strands of fiber (and hair) out of it! Heheheh, What fun! AND depending on what you've been drying, the colors will change!

By Nancy

Artwork

I remember a beautiful picture made from lint at a Ripley's Believe It Or Not Museum. I always wanted to try to make a picture after that.

By Sandy

Mix 1/2 cup of flour with 1 cup of Sta-Flo liquid starch, then add to dryer lint as needed to form shapes on a piece of plywood. Continue adding various shapes and colors, mixing with the Sta-Flo recipe as needed for the right texture. Allow to dry thoroughly, spray with sealer.

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Sounds corny, but if you use your imagination you can make an impressive piece of art. Others will admire your work and not know what it is made from if you do it right.

By KAREN

Fire Starter

You can put this lint to use if you have a wood stove. The soft batts of lint ignite quickly and help set kindling ablaze.

By Joesgirl

The "fluff" in your dryer lint screen makes great fireplace tinder. You can ball it up and use to start fires quickly

By Doggy

A friend showed me how to melt used candles/wax in a coffee can in a pan of simmering water. Stuff the lint into cardboard egg cartons. Carefully, pour the melted wax over the lint. Let dry then use a couple of the "lint/wax eggs" as fire starters in the fireplace. We have used these for 3-4 years .They work just fine.

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By Vi

Don't throw away your dryer lint if you have a fireplace or go camping. Fill toilet paper or paper towel tubes with dryer lint and newspaper. Close the ends and you have a great fire starter!

By Melissa Z.

I make the filling for quilts, stuff toys, and my favorite fire starters. For the fire starters, I use the cardboard egg cartons, use wick, wax and lint, melt the wax, put lint in the egg carton, with the wick under it, then pour the wax over it. Use 1 to start for fire.

By Cindy

Be careful when you burn dryer lint. How it burns will depend VERY much on what the lint is made out of! Anything man made will melt, smoke, smell like burning plastic, and put out fumes you don't want to be around. Cotton, wool, or linen dryer lint, on the other hand, is fine. If you have a question, take some outside in your driveway and burn it. If it turns into little hard beads, don't put it in your fireplace.

By Kathy K.

Comments

November 14, 20160 found this helpful
Top Comment

I think I'd rather take my chances with a "flammable" fill I collected myself than with the nasty, chemical-laden and "fire-resistant" fills used for pillows and mattresses, made from petroleum products and who-knows-what-else. Short of fermentation or spontaneous combustion, I can't imagine how a lint-filled pillow or stuffed animal would catch fire; and obviously our clothes are made of the same fibers yet we don't generally worry about our clothes suddenly bursting into flame. Even if pillows or clothing do catch fire, something that burns cleanly without melting into liquid plastic is still much safer, I would think.

 
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10 More Solutions

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Silver Post Medal for All Time! 255 Posts
February 22, 2010

Don't throw away your dryer lint! In the winter birds love it to line their nest with.

 
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Silver Post Medal for All Time! 255 Posts
January 19, 2017

Even dryer lint can be recycled. I recycle it in 3 different ways.

Recycling Dryer Lint - TP tube filled with dryer lint

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September 30, 2008

When my daughter was younger, she made hundreds of miniature stuffed animals, dolls, personalized pillows, and so forth, using fabric scraps. Even with the fabric free, of course, cotton batting or fiber-fill would have cost money to stuff her creations. So, she stuffed them with dryer lint!

 
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Silver Post Medal for All Time! 418 Posts
February 20, 2014

After finishing up my Folgers Decaf instant coffee, I looked at the container and thought it would be perfect for holding dryer lint. I gave it a try and found that it works great. It takes up just a little space and the flip top lid is so convenient.

Dryer Lint Container


Silver Post Medal for All Time! 255 Posts
January 17, 2008

Since dryer lint is mostly organic material, it is great for the compost pile.

 
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May 25, 2005

Makes about 8 cups of modeling clay. You may shape over objects or press into a mold or use the same as you would use paper-maché pulp. It takes 3 to 5 days to dry to a very hard surface.

 
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May 10, 2018

Use the lint from your dryer in your garden, for planting seeds in the spring. This is a page about using dryer lint for making seed balls.

Hand pulling lint trap out of dryer.

January 3, 2017

This is a page about pet dust bunnies. If you are looking for a clever gag gift that doesn't cost much; here it is. These cuties are made of recycled dryer lint.

pet dust bunnies craft

Archives

ThriftyFun is one of the longest running frugal living communities on the Internet. These are archives of older discussions.

December 17, 2009

If you use fabric softener, is it safe to use the dryer lint to put out for the birds to line their nest? Would it be dangerous for the baby birds?

 
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February 22, 2010

It's cold outside! Save your dryer lint and stuff it in your birdhouses. This will help to keep the birdies warm and cozy in the winter and spring.

 
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