Dryer lint. Turn this common item that is often thrown away into something useful such as DIY fire starters and candles, compost material and more!
Dryer lint and I have a love/hate relationship. On one hand, dryer lint is a common household nuisance. If your like me, you hate having to clean the stuff off a dryer vent. It seems to leave a dust on literally everything in sight!
But if you are a prepper like me, you will be glad to know this stuff is also great for survival. That is where the love comes in.
One thing I want to mention first is certain materials are not safe to burn in an enclosed space. Some contain chemicals that put off fumes and some will melt or smoke. Be sure to use cotton, wool, linen and natural eco-friendly fibers to burn inside.
The Uses Of Dryer Lint
1 – One common way to use dryer lint is to make DIY fire starters. To make these you will need dryer lint (of course!), Vaseline, empty toilet or paper towel rolls and staples if you want to staple them on the ends, since it’s not necessary really.
To make these, first you take a big wad of dryer lint and rub Vaseline into it. (The Vaseline will make it burn longer) Then stuff that wad into an empty toilet paper or paper towel roll. Mash the ends together and staple them. These are very easy to make out of common things we throw away. And the Vaseline is pretty inexpensive, especially store brands of it, and will last a while since you don’t have to add much to the lint.
2 – Another similar thing to do with dryer lint is to make dryer lint candles. To make these, you will need paraffin wax, candle wax or even old crayons, a double boiler, and CARDBOARD egg cartons or muffin/cupcake pans with paper liners.
You make these by filing your egg cartons or muffin/cupcake pans with liners with lint. Be sure to leave a little rolled lint in the middle for a wick. Then using your double boiler, you melt your wax. Pour over and saturate the lint. Cool. After they cool, place in a fire safe holder and simply light with a match for light.
3 – You can also use dryer lint in your gardens if you drop it into your compost pile. It will give you some extra carbon and fiber. So if you just dumped a bunch of “greens” into your compost, adding dryer lint will be beneficial. So just toss it in your compost pile.
4 – The last important thing you can do with dryer lint is to use it for insulation. It is just as good as polyester batting. Place dryer lint in long tube socks and tie the other end for a draft guard for doors and windows.
Final Thoughts
So even if you are like me and have a love/hate relationship with dryer lint, love overshadows the hate for a prepper like myself. So with all these ideas, you better start saving up all that dryer lint!
