This Common Household Waste Can Boost Your Garden Soil

Most people pull that dryer lint off the screen and throw it away. But you can actually put that soft fibrous material to good use in your garden, as long as you use it the right way. While not all dryer lint is safe for the garden, lint from natural fibers like cotton and wool can be reused as mulch, compost, and even tinder for starting a fire. 

Related: This Kitchen Leftover Can Supercharge Your Garden

What is Dryer Lint

Dryer lint is made up of the fibers that your clothes shed while dying and end up in the dryer lint trap. Dryer lint typically contains wool, cotton, and synthetic fibers like polyester and nylon. 

A Word of Warning

Whether you can use dryer lint or not in your garden depends on the type of clothing you’re putting in the dryer. Using dryer lint made up of natural fibers is safe and perfectly fine. You don’t want to use dryer lint from synthetic fibers. This type of lint contains microplastics that won’t break down in your soil. You should also avoid using dryer lint that contains chemicals from scented laundry detergent and fabric softeners. 

Dryer lint is safe to use when:

• Your laundry consists mainly of natural fibers (100% cotton or wool)
• You use detergents that have minimal fragrance
• You don’t use dryer sheets or fabric softeners

If your lint satisfies that criteria, you can use it in a whole host of ways.

How to Use Dryer Lint in Your Garden

Add it to Your Compost Pile

Since dryer lint can function as “brown” material, it can help balance out the nitrogen-rich “green” materials you put in your compost pile, like food scraps and grass clippings. Just don’t get carried away. Mix it with organic materials to keep your compost natural. 

Improve Moisture Retention

Since dryer lint’s fibrous consistency makes it highly absorbent, it’s a great soil additive that helps with moisture retention. Mix the lint into soil in raised beds and potting containers that are prone to drying out. You can also line the bottom of potted planters to help them retain moisture. Just don’t get carried away as too much lint can actually cause the soil to compact and resist airflow. 

Mulching

Spread dryer lint evenly over the soil in your garden. The dryer lint will help the soil retain moisture while blocking out weeds. Dryer lint isn’t particularly attractive, so add a thin layer of mulch or straw over the layer of dryer lint to mask it. There is a caveat here. If you’re growing edible plants, don’t use dryer lint in the soil to avoid potential contamination unless you’re absolutely sure that the lint only contains natural fibers and there’s no residue from fabric softeners, dryer sheets, or scented laundry detergent in it. 

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Use It As a Fire Starter

Along with gardening, dryer lint also makes an exceptional fire starter. Lint is highly flammable, which is why it’s so important to clean out your dryer vents periodically, making it a great way to start up fires in your fireplace or fire pit. 

Bottom Line

While dryer lint may be something we don’t think twice about throwing away, it actually can be quite valuable for gardening. Only use dry lint in your garden when you know what's in it. Only use lint from natural materials that will break down in the environment, and avoid lint from synthetic fibers that include microplastics.