Some rights reserved by Jim Belford

Don’t you just hate static cling? It looks bad and feels worse.

For years, I had to deal with static cling on my clothes, especially my pants. I tried lots of ways to get rid of it. Nothing worked to my satisfaction.

And I kept remembering a demonstration I saw on an elementary school field trip that told me what the answer had to be. I just had no idea that I actually had the answer in my kitchen the whole time!

I’ll tell you about it, of course, but first, we need to consider how clothes get static cling in the first place.

We also need to consider why dryer sheets, sprays, and other common solutions don’t work well.

What is static and how does it get on our clothes?

Photographer’s title: Next time I’ll remember the StaticGuard . Some rights reserved by TheKarenD

Static electricity happens when an imbalance of electric charges builds up on a surface. It stays there until something gives it the chance to discharge. And if it gets on the surface of your body, the discharge causes a sudden electric shock. Very annoying.

An object builds up static when it comes in contact with another object and then detaches. When two objects rub against each other, the friction causes a larger charge than simple contact. Friction occurs when you put on clothes and they rub against your body as you move. It especially occurs in a tumble dryer.

Now, in the summer, when humidity is high, static electricity doesn’t build to levels that cause any problems. In the winter, however, we take staticky clothes out of the dryer, fold them, and put them away. Then, when we put them on, we may feel the awful sensation of our clothes sticking to our bodies right away. Or it can build up as we move around.

Then, if we touch something metal, we get that unpleasant poke as it discharges. That solves the problem until static builds up again.

Static electricity doesn’t happen only on clothes. It can build up on sheets and blankets, too, with the same annoying effects.

Static cling builds up on synthetic fabrics more than on natural fabrics. One solution is not to wear anything made from synthetic fabrics. Some people may find it practical, but worldwide demand for fabric exceeds what natural fabric can supply. We won’t be seeing the last of synthetic fabrics anytime soon.

What are common ways of getting rid of static cling?

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Since static cling builds up especially in the dryer, you can buy fabric softener sheets and toss one in the dryer for every load. Dryer sheets are made of an unwoven fabric treated with chemicals. They work reasonably well to reduce static, but they deposit the chemicals on your clothes. Then, you have a used dryer sheet that’s no longer good for anything.

The chemicals aren’t especially good for your skin. Also, the fabric is probably some kind of synthetic. Plastic, in other words. You can’t reuse dryer sheets. You can’t compost or recycle them. You can only use them once and send them to the landfill.\

But here’s another problem:

You take clothes out of the dryer that don’t have static cling, but static builds up as you wear them. I used to keep packages of dryer sheets in my bathrooms and in my desk at work. Then I’d have to sit on the toilet and pull my pant legs up so the outer surface was next to my skin, exposing the inner surface. Then I’d rub my pants vigorously with the dryer sheet—and put it in the trash. There’s no sense in rubbing the dryer sheet on the outer surface. That’s not where the static cling has built up.

You can buy aerosol cans of anti-static spray. It smells awful, which is a sign that it will irritate you lungs. The vapor remains in the air and contributes toward indoor air pollution. At least the can is likely recyclable after you’ve emptied it

I have seen suggestions to use moisturizer wherever your clothes touch your skin. Or hang your clothes on wire coat hangers. Anyone for putting the clothes in the freezer? Or you can just break down and deliberately touch metal to discharge it.

A vivid childhood memory to the rescue

All the while I tried to use dryer sheets to get rid of static cling, I was remembering that field trip in third grade. I don’t remember much detail from that long ago, but this occasion is burned in my memory. The scientist we went to visit held a up a cloth and rubbed it with a big glass rod. It started to stick to his hand. Then, he picked up a big copper rod and rubbed the cloth again. It hung loose as it had before.

He must have repeated that sequence half a dozen times. Each time, the result appeared immediately. It was so dramatic that I haven’t ever forgotten it. And once I started having to deal with static cling on my clothes as an adult, I wondered more than once where I could find a bigcopper rod.

A better way to get rid of static cling

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As it turns out, other metals besides copper conduct electricity and get rid of static cling. Aluminum, for example. I can’t remember when or why everything clicked, but I keep aluminum foil in my kitchen.

So here’s what you can do:

Your foil is probably about 12 inches wide, so tear off about 12 inches of it. That is, more or less a square. Then wad it up. Make about three wads.

Then, when you put clothes in the dryer, toss the aluminum wads in before you start it. They will make a racket while the dryer is working, but since you put them in yourself, you’ll know it’s not a sign of anything bad.

Two more things will happen during the dryer cycle. The collisions between the wads and the drum of the dryer will compact them in to a compact, egg-shaped nugget. The aluminum rubbing against the clothes will have exactly the same effect as that copper rod. It absorbs all the static.

In fact, it does so more thoroughly than dryer sheets ever can. It works so well that I  haven’t had static cling build up on my clothes as I wear them.

You may have seen advertisements for wool dryer balls. They absorb moisture and reduce the amount of time your dryer must run to get your clothes dry. I recommend them, but they don’t reduce static in my experience.

So in the winter, I just toss in the aluminum foil “eggs” along with the wool balls. They get rid of static cling. I don’t suppose they’ll ever wear out or come apart. If they do, I can stuff them into an aluminum can and put it with my recycling.