How to Get Rid of Static in Your Clothes

Does your laundry stick together when you’re trying to fold it? Do you sometimes experience small shocks while unloading the dryer? Here are some different things you can try to get rid of static clothing once and for all.

There are few things more annoying than your clothes sticking together, or sometimes even sticking to you, while you’re trying to fold a load of freshly dried laundry or just go about your day. Odds are you’ve experienced this nuisance at least once before, and you might even be familiar with the term for it: static cling. Static cling is caused by the electrostatic charge many laundry items will attain from tumbling around and rubbing against other laundry items during your typical dry cycle. Lucky for us, though, modern problems inspire modern solutions. Keep reading to learn how to remove static from clothes.

How to Remove Static From Clothes

There are several ways to go about getting static out of clothes, but the general idea is to counteract the dryness that causes static cling with a little moisture.

Introduce Humidity

Some ways you can cut down on dryness and increase moisture include:

• Stopping your dryer cycle slightly early: This method will prevent the air inside your dryer from becoming unnecessarily dry and provides the bonus benefit of helping with wrinkle reduction.
• Misting your dried laundry: You’re obviously not looking to soak all the stuff you just got done drying, but a very quick and light water misting with a spray bottle is one way to provide the moisture we’re looking for.
• Using a humidifier to raise the overall humidity level in your home: If your whole house is more humid, your clothing should begin carrying less static without even requiring individual attention. You might also avoid developing dry eyes, a sore throat, or chapped lips as an added bonus.

Dry Differently

Outside of excessive dryness, remember that the main source of static is the electrostatic charge that’s created by your clothes rubbing together every time they’re tumbling around in the dryer. Knowing this, we can attempt to reduce the charge created by tweaking the drying method itself. Try:

Line drying or air drying your laundry after a wash

While this is maybe the most time and effort-intensive option on this list, you really can’t beat the freshness, anti-static, and anti-wrinkle properties of a good old line dry.

Separating synthetic fabrics from natural fabrics

Dividing up your laundry items that are made from synthetic materials like nylon, spandex, and polyester and your laundry items that are made from natural materials like wool, cotton, and hemp, then drying the natural fabrics normally and the synthetic fabrics on a low heat cycle can cut down on static. Be aware however that because of the increase in dryer loads you’ll have to run, this isn’t the most time-effective option on this list.

Use Anti-Static Products

You’re probably familiar with dryer sheets and the way they’re used to freshen clothes while they’re in the dryer, but did you know that dryer sheets also help get rid of static? And they aren’t the only products that can do this effectively. Dryer balls are a newer household product that can be added to any dryer load to not only reduce static but help your dryer dry your clothes faster too. Fabric softener is yet another product that can potentially reduce the amount of static in your clothes as it can lessen the roughness of the rubbing that’s happening between all of the items within a spinning dryer.

Tip: If simply putting these products in with your laundry proves to not be enough to get rid of static in your clothes, try rubbing down each individual laundry item with a dryer sheet as you pull it out of the dryer. This method, while maybe a bit more time-intensive, ensures that everything in your laundry gets individually treated and therefore might be a more effective technique.

Other Options

If you’re not a fan of any of the potential solutions presented thus far, here are a few more miscellaneous ideas you can try to get static out of clothes:

• Shake each laundry item a few times as you pull it out of the dryer
• Rub a metal coat hanger across either side of each laundry item
• If you’re only struggling with static cling coming from clothes you’re actively wearing, putting on some lotion before you get dressed can serve as an alternative solution to trying to remove any static from the clothing itself

As you can see, figuring out how to get static out of clothes doesn’t have to be a sinkhole for time, energy, or money, and hopefully at least one of these options ends up working for you. For more laundry info, like ways you can be more eco-friendly on laundry day or get oil stains out of clothes, be sure to browse our blog.