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Why You Should Put Ice in Your Dryer

A washer and dryer are in a home's laundry room with baskets on shelves above them.
Artazum/Shutterstock.com

We’ve all done it. We had the best of intentions to fold our clothes as soon as they came out of the dryer, but it just didn’t happen. Now, two days later, you’ve got a wrinkled jumble of clothing. But before you pull out your iron, you might want to grab some ice.

Putting ice into your dryer and running a new cycle can help get wrinkles out of your clothing.

This laundry hack does sound odd, but when you think about it, the process does make sense. When you toss ice into the dryer and immediately turn on the heat, the ice will essentially create steam inside your dryer. Both moisture and heat work to get rid of wrinkles.

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Of course, there's always wrinkle-release spray.

For this to work, you only need a handful of ice cubes (don’t go overboard and re-wet your clothing). You should also only run a short cycle as opposed to fully re-drying your laundry.

While we know using ice in your dryer sounds like a wild hack, it’s not that different than another common method: using a damp towel. You dampen (not soak) a clean towel. Then, toss it in with your laundry. Like the ice, the towel will create steam and cause the wrinkles to release.

Don’t sweat if you accidentally let your laundry sit in the dryer too long. Grab some ice and get to drying. Don’t have time for that? Check out these other wrinkle-removing tips.

Shea Simmons Shea Simmons
Shea Simmons is the Assignments Editor at LifeSavvy. Previously, she worked as a freelance writer with a focus on beauty and lifestyle content. Her work has appeared in Bustle, Allure, and Hello Giggles. Read Full Bio »
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