Went to a layout open house over the weekend and the owner had a box of a name brand fabric softner sheets, the kind you toss in the dryer with a load of clothes, sitting beside the mainline. The layout tour was rather busy, so I didn’t have a chance to ask him what he used them for. Anybody got an idea what this was all about?
Mike
I used them a few times to clean engine wheels.
One possible explanation is that he may have a problem with mice. Many people use the dryer sheets in their cottages to deter the little beasts. By the way, having mice does not reflect negatively on the household level of cleanliness. They have just been blessed by Mother Nature’s bounty![;)] If you do have mice it might be worth checking your wiring once in a while. We bought a used stove once ( we were in university) that had been stored in a barn. It soon shorted out. Mice had eaten all the insulation off of the wiring!
Dave
Was there a clothes dryer in the room?
Maybe he or his wife left them there by accident.
Maybe he was using them to freshen up the room. When I was living in a dorm room, my roommate and I would tape a fabric sheet onto the HVAC vent. One sheet could freshen the room quite nicely and lasted about a week.
I take the used ones and either make plaster cloth or glueshell scenery by soaking them in thin plaster or plain old white glue.
Cheap is good,free is gooder.[8D]
They also work as a “duster” to dust off engine and equipment. The anti-static helps keep dust from forming back on and sticking to RR cars and locos.USed ones work best ad still have some life in them.
The used one also work for cleaning off your CRTTV screen to keep dust at bay.
The used ones make great dusting cloths for the whole house in general.
The “free and Clear” models {free of pefumes and clear of dyes} wolr great and won;t leave our train layout “april fresh”
BTW for most loads, only half a sheet of bounty or the like is all that is really needed to soften and anti-static a whole load of dryer clothes. SO now you can save some money. and I will be tarred and feathered for that info.
I attend an occasional operating session. The layout owner uses dryer sheets instead of plaster soaked paper towels for his scenery base. His have already been thru the dryer. If it was a new box, I’d guess they were for static abatement.
I give my foam cutting tools a quick rub with a used one to cut down on the static cling.
Nick
FWIW, I’ve heard of people using dryer sheets to repel wasps.
I would think maybe they are being used to prevent dust from foam scenery construction materials from clinging to clothing and skin.
Other people have used them to deter spiders. For some reason, spiders don’t like them. I have tried it in the basement train room and can attest to their effectiveness.
James
Thank you all for the numerous thoughful replies. I can see how many of them could apply in this particular situation, although pest control seems unlikely and this layout room did not have an actual clothes dryer.
Mike