Save Your Dryer Fluff for Fun Projects. Here’s Why

Cleaning your dryer lint trap is super important for household safety. If you don’t clean it before or after each load, you’re increasing the risk of a dryer fire. The lint is actually flammable, so it’s crucial to remove it. Most people just toss the lint in the trash, but did you know there are lots of crafty uses for it? It’s a great alternative to polyester stuffing in small DIY projects.

Dryers create a ton of friction and movement, which causes little bits of fuzz, cloth, and threads to shed from your clothes. The lint trap catches most of these tiny pieces. The texture is soft and fluffy, with a fresh, clean scent from being washed and dried. Lint can come from natural fibers like cotton or synthetic ones like polyester. No matter what, lint is super flammable, so you’ll need to be careful about what you use it for.

Lint is awesome because you get it for free instead of buying polyester stuffing. But it takes time to collect enough for a small project. So if you want to use your lint as stuffing, start saving it right away. Just remove it from the trap and store it in a sealed mason jar to keep it fresh until you need it.

Then you’ll have it ready to go for your next crochet project, small toy, ornament, or whatever else you want to stuff. If you don’t have quite enough lint, you can mix in some crumpled newspaper – that’s just one of many things you can use. Just remember, even inside a project, lint is still really flammable. You probably don’t want to give lint-stuffed toys to kids or store them somewhere fire could be an issue.

Along with avoiding heat, you’ll want to avoid water too. Washing a lint-stuffed craft will mess up the shape of the stuffing, and fixing it can be a pain. Just spot clean the surface with a damp cloth and mild soap instead of submerging it. No squeezing or twisting either!