8 Reasons You Should Switch to Wool Dryer Balls

Wool dryer balls – the greatest thing to happen to laundry since the invention of the washer and dryer!

Ellie’s Best Wool Dryer Balls

I love finding eco-friendly products to keep my home and family happy and healthy.  Laundry products are a big area where your choices can impact not only your and your family’s health but the environment too.  Like you, I want to make wise choices, but I don’t want to sacrifice quality or efficacy when looking for eco-friendly cleaning solutions.  Wool dryer balls are the perfect combination of eco-friendly and effective.  In fact, they are BETTER than their chemical-laden alternatives.  If you haven’t tried them, you owe it to yourself and your laundry to get some!

What’s Wrong With Regular Fabric Softeners?

1. They are full of unnecessary chemicals – waxes, heavy fragrances, dyes, etc.  Even if you are not sensitive to these chemicals, they are not necessary to soften your clothes, so why expose yourself to them?
2. If are on a septic system, liquid fabric softener is definitely out (it’s not great for your municipal water system, either).  All the waxes gunk up your plumbing and clog your septic tank and lines.  A major NO NO!
3. Dryer sheets coat the sensors in your dryer with a waxy film.  Unless you wipe the sensor strip(s) down before every load, your dryer can’t tell if your clothes are dry or not.  It then runs waaaay past the point it needs to.  Hard on your clothes and your wallet.
4. Fabric softeners coat your clothes in a waxy film that can affect how they perform – towels lose their absorbancy, sports fabrics can’t wick and evaporate moisture away from you, etc.

Is There Anything Out There That Softens Clothes Safely and Effectively?

I recently saw an advert for wool dryer balls and thought, “what the heck is that?!”  Never heard of ’em.  A few minutes on “the Googles” told me they are all the rage, and for good reason.  I was skeptical, but I bought a set of 4 to give ’em a whirl, and immediately bought 4 more after using them.

These babies are little woolen miracle balls!

What are they?  Wool dryer balls are tennis ball sized dealios made of felted wool.  You pop them in the dryer with your clothes (4 for a small load, 6 for a medium load and 8 for a large/bulky load).  I am lazy, so I just leave all 8 in my dryer, no matter what.  : )

How do they work?  They tumble around with your clothes, absorbing a bit of moisture, but mostly keeping your clothes tumbling freely.

8 Reasons You Should Switch to Wool Dryer Balls Forever

1. Your clothes will dry faster. The dryer balls keep your clothes from clumping and twisting together.  Free-tumbling clothes dry faster.  Faster is not only cheaper, but it’s better for your clothes because the most wear and tear your clothes receive is in the dryer.
2. Your clothes come out WAY less wrinkled.  Again, this is because your clothes will be tumbling much more freely.  I hate wrinkles and religiously iron, and I can’t believe how much less ironing I’m doing!
3. Your clothes come out softer than with fabric softeners.  Not kidding – baby bunny soft!  Even jeans and towels.
4. They are safe to use on towels and other items that should NEVER be treated with fabric softener.  The balls don’t coat your laundry with anything, so there’s no need to separate out loads by what can and can’t have fabric softener.
5. No need to constantly stop the dryer to untangle stuff.  There’s nothing worse than taking out a set of sheets to find half of them dry and the other half wadded in a damp ball.  Major time waster!  Even our king sized flannel sheets tumble so much better.
6. No need to clean the dryer sensor strips each load to eliminate wax buildup.  Wool dryer balls deposit nothing on your clothes or your dryer.
7. 100% eco friendly and a renewable resource. No petroleum products, no perfumes, no waxes, no trees leveled, no plastic jugs, no greasy goop going into your or your town’s septic system.
8. Way, way cheaper than fabric softener.  These babies last for hundreds of loads.

Wait, What’s the Catch?

None.  There are no “downsides” that I can think of.  I was a little concerned they would “beat up” my clothes, but haven’t seen any evidence of that.  I’ve been using them for several months, so I think I would notice if that was happening.

I was also afraid they would be hard on my dryer or make a ton of noise.  They are very soft and very light.  Yes, you can hear them if you are near the dryer, but they are no way clobbering your machine or making a racket.

I bought Ellie’s Best brand dryer balls, but there are many brands, even some handcrafted ones on Etsy.  And if you are crafty, you can probably whip up some for yourself.  However you get them, GET SOME!  Even if you don’t care about the eco benefits, this is a superior product.  Full stop.

Peace lovelies! E <><