

It’s true that regulatory bodies banned some substances from use in consumer products. Unfortunately, laundry and cleaning product manufacturers are not required to perform safety tests on dryer sheets or other consumer products. Most people think some governmental agency requires product testing or approves and tests chemicals. It’s troubling that product ingredients aren’t included on the label, isn’t it? These lax disclosure requirements limit your ability to identify the safest products by reading labels. It’s even acceptable if the manufacturer decides not to list any ingredients, according to CPSC regulations.

For example, if a manufacturer’s product had 20 ingredients, they could choose to disclose all 20, or maybe just five. How lax? The CPSC gives manufacturers significant leeway on disclosing ingredients they can list all, some or none of the ingredients. What most people don’t realize is that the CPSC has lax disclosure regulations. The Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC) regulates cleaning and laundry products and soap. However, manufacturers aren’t required to disclose ingredients. Ideally, you’d be able to find safer products by reading the labels. Dryer Sheet Ingredients – Not Always Disclosed So, what if you avoid dryer sheets with fragrance? In a well-regulated world, you should be able to find dryer sheets without fragrance, but it’s not that straightforward. These fragrances release a large number of chemicals. Most manufacturers add fragrance to dryer sheets.

Why are dryer sheets so unhealthy? Added fragrances are mostly to blame. The dryer sheets had more troubling results than products like bathroom and kitchen cleaners. Surprisingly, these researchers discovered that dryer sheets, along with air fresheners, sunscreens, and perfumes had the largest number of chemicals with some of the highest concentrations out of all the products tested. In the study, the researchers selected dryer sheets as one of 50 consumer product categories to test. Evidence from studies suggests that EDCs can affect developing reproductive and nervous systems, metabolism, and cancer. The findings showed that the dryer sheets emitted 15 endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) and chemicals associated with asthma. In one study, researchers tested five name brand dryer sheets. Many dryer sheets contain fragrance and other chemicals that can trigger asthma and disrupt hormones. More Harmful Ingredients than Kitchen Cleaning Products The good news is you can avoid unhealthy dryer sheets by switching to healthy options. These chemicals can cause health problems because they can mimic estrogen and trigger asthma. Some people love the scent, but unfortunately, dryer sheets can contain harmful chemicals that adhere to clothes, vent into the air, and rub off on your skin. Your dryer sheets can leave a residue on your clothes, towels or sheets and create a perfume cloud where your dryer vents outside.
