Recycla has recently learned that even dryer lint can be reused. She has long known that dryer lint can be tossed in the compost pile, but here are four other uses that have surprised her:
- fire starter – Use wads of lint to start a fire in a wood burning fireplace or to help along campfires.
- toy stuffing – Use lint to stuff home sewn toys but be cautious as it is extremely flammable (see #1).
- share with wildlife – Fill a netted bag (the kind that holds oranges or onions) with lint and hang from a nearby tree in order to encourage local birds to gather bits for their nests.
- textiles – Spin it into yarn and knit some mittens.
Recycle shares this information in the spirit of reducing, reusing, and recycling; however, she will also confess honestly that there’s probably no way she’s going to do anything with her dryer lint other than compost it.
Tips courtesy of Green Daily.
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Of course, even MORE environmentally-friendly is not to use the dryer at all.
I use it October to March then try to avoid it April to September, when I use the washing line instead.
We have an electricity meter gadget in the lounge, where we can immediately see what impact we are making on our consumption and the tumble dryer is FRIGHTENING!
Guider: Excellent point and I couldn’t agree more. That said, many people simply won’t consider line drying their clothes because of the convenience factor.
Plus, I have to confess to posting this entry partly because of the humor factor. Honestly, I’m not going to make my lint into yarn.
I love the netted bag idea! It really is a great fire starter!
Just found this site – Thanks to Vanessa’s blog. Very cool and some very useful information. Anyways, I’m going to have to try out the using of the dryer lint as a fire starter. My husband is always looking for something and I feel as though when he uses paper it’s just making more of a mess than anything.
Thanks for the tip.
Depending on what is actually IN the lint, you might not want it as a fire starter. If you have dogs, it’s usually full of fur and it can get stinky when it burns! The paper fiber egg cartons make great fire starters. I tear up the lid into bits, fill the egg cup side with them, and pour in melted wax, usually from leftover candle bits. Then just break them into individual pieces. Works great.
I didn’t know you could compost it, and while I will likely never try any of those suggestions, I will start composting! Thanks!
I did not know you could compost it… which is great news.
Mittens, eh!?