Felted wool dryer balls

[frugal-one]

Went to a free class at a local library that supplied all the materials. Put them in the wash today to felt. It was super easy and am looking forward to trying them out. Supposedly, they reduce drying time and static cling??? If they work, I will make some for friends. It was super easy and fun for this non-crafty person!

[Simplemind]

Please keep me posted. I was going to buy some from Amazon.

[nswef]

I bought them and love them! They don't seem to shorten the drying time, but my clothes feel softer. I never used fabric softener, so this is a way to get them softer without smells.

[iris lilies]

What is the science behind this?

[Simplemind]

Kinda like the science of putting tennis shoes in with your down comforter :)

[rosarugosa]

I am interested in whether they help with static. I've pretty much stopped using fabric softener sheets and static is my one complaint. I've never felt that my clothes needed to feel softer.

[Tammy]

I remove paints and shirts from the dryer when barely damp. This avoids both static and the need to iron. The rest I dry completely but I never have static. I wonder why ...

[Teacher Terry]

I don’t dry any of my shirts and my pants only half way. Haven’t used dryer sheets in years.

[nswef]

I get static if I have acrylic or polyester things. Otherwise no. I looked on like at how to make them, then saw the for what I considered a reasonable price compared to finding wool yarn. I am happy to have them. They do shrink though because I see lots of lovely fluff in the lint screen. I put it in the compost.

[Zoe Girl]

I am interested to hear if they work in a super dry climate. I deal with static if I do not have dryer sheets, and it is significant. I use the fragrance free ones, but without them my clothes are a ball of cling.

[Selah]

I've done a complete switch re: laundry. I switched from dryer sheets to felted balls and rolled up balls of tin foil. I switched from fabric softener (DH is very fussy about his "softy-ness"!) to distilled vinegar. My results: vinegar works just as well as fabric softener. Dryer balls with a few drops of essential oils put on them per load (I let DH pick) does the job nicely in terms of leaving the clothes un-bunched-up and smelling nicely. Neither felted balls alone nor when accompanied by tin foil balls does anything about static cling. However, putting the clothes on the "less dry" dryer setting seems to help a bit. And yes, plastic clothes (acrylic, nylon, etc.) produce far more static for me, too.

[tiranda]

I don’t dry any of my shirts and my pants only half way. Haven’t used dryer sheets in years.
I don't use dryer sheets at all because they cause dryer filters to close up. You can test this next time you clean the filter: run some water through and see how fast/slow it drains. Or doesn't drain at all. When i tested my old dryer, 95% blocked. Had to wash it with a brush to remove the coating. Never used them in the new dryer.
I tried those plastic balls, kind of loud! Recently I found some wool dryer balls at walmart, i think it was, they do a good job.

Well, i do use the dryer sheets, to wipe baseboards and Venetian blinds, to repel dust. Works ok.

[Simplemind]

Bought the balls, hate the balls. I swear they put even more static in the clothing. They get caught up in pant legs and duvet covers. Lesson learned.

[KayLR]

I bought some from a 4H group fundraiser. The kids had made them from the animals they raise. They do shrink some, and try to escape into my DH's cargo pants pockets. I haven't noticed as much static as I used to, but still a bit. I like listening to them bounce around in there. They keep things fluffed up, too, rather than clumping together.

[ApatheticNoMore]

I have wool dryer balls. I bought them to decrease drying time. They do seem to (this is of course a question of if I need to run a second round of the dryer just to get clothes dry or not).

[rosarugosa]

I have a set of dryer balls that my sister gave me. I honestly don't know if they help, but they aren't really hurting anything, so why not? I almost never use dryer sheets anymore. I air dry the things most prone to static (e.g. fleece shirts in the winter). I air dry a lot of my clothes anyway to avoid excess wear and shrinkage.