Find a Dryer Sheet in Your Mailbox? Here’s The Real Reason It’s There

(KMDL-FM) It seems as if every day we're reporting to you about some quirky action or inaction that you should be paying attention to. You've probably heard about boots on a fence post or the meanings of the different porch lights. And God forbid you be caught in a Walmart when you hear the words "Code Brown" come over the loudspeaker.

Sometimes these quirky actions are just social media fads. Other times, they warn of more sinister issues and consequences that families in Baton Rouge, Houston, New Orleans, and Dallas just don't need to have in their lives. And no, these quirky occurrences are just confined to our larger cities in Texas and Louisiana.

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In fact, most of the stranger occurrences of "hard to explain actions" seem to show up in our smaller communities. One such "hard to explain action" has been reported in recent weeks in Carencro, Louisiana, Orange, Texas, and also along the Mississippi and Alabama Gulf Coast. That "hard to explain occurrence"? Finding a dryer sheet in your mailbox.

What Can People Legally Put in Your Mailbox?

Your authorized Postal Service Agent or Letter Carrier can put items in that meet their mailing requirements. However, folks who want to drop in flyers, political advertisements, or other materials without postage into a mailbox are violating federal law. That includes handmade advertisements for lawn and garden services, garage sales, lost animals, and fly-by-night roofing companies.

You'll notice there were no restrictions regarding dryer sheets in the mailbox. The reason why there isn't a particular restriction noted is that there is a very strong likelihood that the dryer sheet was placed in your mailbox by your letter carrier. 

Many letter carriers will place a scented dryer sheet in certain mailboxes in the interest of safety. It's a case of altruistic hedonism; it's true they want to keep you safe, but they're actually doing it for their own benefit as well.

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Why Would You Put a Dryer Sheet In Your Mailbox?

The dryer sheets have been shown to ward off insect infestations in the mailbox. I don't think any of us wants to reach in and grab a letter and get stung by a wasp or bitten by an ant. The sheets aren't foolproof, and some pest control experts doubt their usefulness, but they must work for somebody because as the influx of summer insects descends on the South, we're seeing more and more questions about dryer sheets in the mailbox.

And now you know. Do you put a dryer sheet in your mailbox? Did you know they're quite useful in other ways too? In fact, there are a lot of products that we use in ways other than their intended purpose. And in many cases, those alternate uses are why the product is so successful.