Tips And Tricks To Prevent Sheets & Bedding From Getting Tangled Up In Your Dryer

Your bedsheets are a part of a comfy night's sleep. But they sure can be a hassle, can't they? From the trouble of folding a fitted sheet to dealing with them constantly sliding off the corners of your mattress. And, the problems continue during washing and drying your sheets and bedding. Drying sheets can be a pure nightmare. They always seem to get tangled up in the dryer, forming that annoying burrito-shaped bundle.

Beyond the hassle of having to untangle the sheets, they don't fully dry when everything is all balled up. This means that each load of laundry takes longer to finish and requires your attention and untangling, causing a back-up in the laundry room. Plus, you're wasting energy running your dryer for longer than should be necessary. Fortunately, there are a few tips and tricks you can try to prevent your sheets and other bedding items from getting twisted and tangled in the dryer.

Grabbing the wet sheets from the washer and simply tossing them into the dryer may seem like the best time-saving option given everything on your to-do list. However, it may just backfire and end up costing you more time in the long run. Instead, try this genius sheet folding hack from TikTok for faster drying times.

Taking a few minutes to fold your sheets before sticking them in the dryer will prevent them from balling up into that frustrating burrito. Start by taking your fitted sheet out of the dryer and giving it a few quick shakes to release any twists or tangles. Hold the top two corners and turn one inside out before tucking it inside of the other top corner. Repeat these steps for the bottom two corners before tucking all four of them together. Now, there should only be one pocket, providing less of an opportunity for something to get trapped. Fold the sheet a few more times, and then put it in the dryer.

Next, pull the top sheet out of the washer, give it a few shakes, and fold it several times to make a smaller rectangle. Toss your pillowcases and a few dryer balls, such as Budieggs Wool Dryer Balls, and start the dryer. While this won't save you from having to fold your sheets before putting them back in the linen closet, they shouldn't be all twisted and tangled. 

Cyndi Bray was also tired of her sheets getting tangled up every time she tried to dry them. So, she decided to come up with an inventive solution, and designed the Wad-Free (which you can get on Amazon). This simple, yet effective, sheet-detangling device that was featured on Shark Tank is shaped like a square with a notching and sliding tab in each corner.

Simply push fabric near one corner of the sheet through the notch, covering the tab, and then slide the tab down to secure it in place. Repeat for the other four corners, and you're ready to put them in the dryer. You'll need one Wad-Free for each sheet. There's even a heavier-duty Wad-Free for Blankets and Duvet Covers, to keep those from getting twisted up too.

The Wad-Free is a popular pick among customers. It holds a 4.1-star rating based on over 7,000 reviews. One happy user reported, "They actually work! I tried them because I was so tired of wasting my time and electricity by having to dry sheets/blankets two or three times before they were actually dry because they always get wadded up. These are simple, effective, and well worth the money!!"

The burrito effect in the dryer is often the result of the pillowcases and the top sheet getting trapped inside the fitted sheet. So, if you can prevent these other bedding items from getting inside the corners of the fitted sheet, you should be able to better prevent everything from getting all twisted together. A simple solution is to use clothespins, to "seal" off the sides of the fitted sheet. You could also try the RICHCO Original Sock Clip, which is specifically designed for use in the dryer, in place of a traditional clothespin.

Fold the fitted sheet in half, lining up the sides and corners. Then, grab your clothespins and get to work. You need to make sure to use enough to avoid leaving any gaps large enough for a stray pillowcase to find its way into. Having a few additional clips down the side can also help in case one or two come loose during the dryer cycle. Spacing them out every 6 inches or so should do the trick. After clipping the fitted sheet, place it in the dryer, followed by the top sheet and pillowcases. You could give your top sheet a few loose folds too, to help keep it from tangling around or somehow finding its way into a gap between the clothespins.

There are lots of mistakes to avoid when washing and drying your sheets, but who would have thought that putting them in the dryer in the wrong order was one of them? When you think about how a dryer just tumbles everything around, you might assume that the order you add your fitted sheets, flat sheets, and pillowcases won't make a difference since everything is just going to mix around anyway. However, some purposeful placement can actually help keep those pillowcases from getting trapped in the fitted sheet. The key is to start these two bedding items as far away from each other as possible.

Distancing them starts when you load the washing machine. You want to put your fitted sheet in first, carefully spreading it around the agitator if your washer has one. This will keep it from getting all lumped up. Next, add the flat sheet (and any blankets or other flat bedding items), also wrapping them loosely around the agitator. Finally, add your pillowcases, evenly distributing them around the drum. Once the wash cycle completes, move the items to the dryer in the same order: fitted sheet, flat sheet, and other flat bedding items, then pillowcases. You can further simplify your laundry routine by adding the dirty sheets into your basket in the opposite order that you want to put them in the washer. So, toss in the pillowcases first, then the flat sheet, and finally the fitted sheet.

Many people use tennis balls to speed up their laundry drying time. However, it often isn't enough to simply toss them in with a load of sheets, since all the different bedding items always seem to get tangled up anyway. However, one quick routine change can allow these little neon balls to continue working as your laundry lifesaver.

Instead of simply throwing the balls in when loading your sheets in the dryer, try placing them in the corners of the fitted sheet. You'll just need two tennis balls, one for each diagonal corner of the sheet. Tuck them in the corner and give it a little twist before putting the fitted sheet in with the rest of the load. With the tennis ball closing off that corner, your pillowcases and other small laundry items won't be able to get trapped there either.

Another idea is to tie a loose knot towards the middle of your fitted sheet to help prevent the dreaded burrito. Tying bedding in a knot to prevent it from tangling might sound illogical. However, once you think about this hack, you can understand the potential it holds to prevent your sheets from wadding, balling, and twisting about during a dryer cycle.

If the fitted sheet is knotted, there will be much less loose and open material circling around in the dryer. This means that there will also be fewer openings and little nooks and crannies to trap your pillowcases and prevent them from fully drying. You can also try knotting your flat sheet, blankets, duvet covers, and other bedding items to further reduce the likelihood of everything balling up.

You might have thought that the fitted sheet was the biggest cause of tangling and balling in the dryer. Then, you washed that new duvet cover and realized that it was an even bigger problem maker. A duvet cover is essentially an extra-large pillow case that goes around a duvet or comforter. It has a wide opening on the bottom to make it possible to stuff a duvet inside, but this also means that sheets and pillowcases can get trapped in it during a drying cycle. And, of course, anything that gets trapped inside ends up all twisted and comes out of the machine still damp.

Fortunately, you can prevent this major frustration by spending an extra few minutes getting your duvet cover ready to go in the washing machine. Most covers have a zippered or buttoned closure that is designed to keep the duvet in place. Well, after you unsnap or unzip the closure to remove the duvet, take the time to reclose it. The cover will still get clean, but your pillowcases and sheets won't have the opportunity to get trapped inside of it.

As we've highlighted, that wide opening in a fitted sheet is what makes it more likely to snatch up pillowcases and other laundry items. The Laundry Buddy Sheet Detangler from Andiamo Home is designed to close off the opening, keeping your fitted sheet from holding your other laundry items captive. It is made from a plastic material that's safe to place in both the washer and dryer and can be used with any wash cycle as well as with all of your dryer settings.

Using the Laundry Buddy is easy. Start by loosely folding your fitted sheet so that the two longer elastic sides are lined up. Then, take one of the clips and slide it over the two ends. Each pack comes with five clips, so you can evenly spread out the remaining ones for larger sheets, or only use one or two extras if you're washing something small, like a crib sheet. As you're attaching the clips, be sure to push them all the way onto the fabric so they're secure. Once on, you're ready to wash your sheets and shouldn't need to make any adjustments before moving them to the dryer.

"Got tired of battling the sheet burrito. Tried these little clips and problem solved. Bonus — the sheets are half-folded when they come out of the dryer. I started with one set of five to use on my king-size fitted sheet. I quickly purchased a second set to use on the flat sheet," shared one customer. With a 4.3-star rating based on more than 140 reviews, others seem to share a similar opinion about the Laundry Buddy.