How To & Extra Reasons to Use Wool Dryer Balls?

Wool dryer balls are compacted wool made into a dense ball that you throw in with your wet laundry when using your dryer.   Wool dryer balls are a natural and biodegradable alternative to dryer sheets and fabric softeners. They reduce drying time and static in laundry. Made from 100% wool, these balls are eco-friendly, reusable, and chemical free.

I have recently discovered the existence of wool dryer balls and now use them every time that I use the dryer. My preference is to line dry my laundry outside. However wet weather and time constraints with a busy household means that our dryer is used regularly. 

What do wool dryer balls do?

Wool dryer balls help separate laundry by bouncing around and allowing hot air to circulate around the items of laundry. This speeds up the drying process. Wool dryer balls also help reduce static and soften towels and clothing.

How to use wool dryer balls?

Simply throw you dry wool dryer balls into your dryer along with your wet washing and dry as normal. You should find that your dryer load won’t take as long to dry your clothing so adjust the timer down and check in towards the end of the cycle so as not to increase static from over drying.  Use 2 to 6 wool dryer balls depending on the size of your dryer load.

• For small to medium sized load use 2 to 3 dryer balls
• For larger and full loads use 5 to 6 dryer balls

Recharge wool dryer balls – how and why?

Over time dryer balls may look a little tatty and will reduce in their effectiveness of reducing your drying time.  Recharging will rehydrate the natural wool fibres and remove lint and fibre build up and to ‘re-felt’ the ball.

You can recharge the balls by hand washing them in hot water and then leave them to dry by naturally airing them. Alternatively you could include the balls in a mesh washing bag and add to your next hot water washing machine cycle.  Doing this from time to time, at around every 100 uses, will keep them doing their job for you.

How long do wool dryer balls last?

The general rule is 1,000 dryer loads per wool dryer ball.  Depending on how many dryer loads that you do per week this would equate to 2 to 9  years.  Over time the wool fibres will start to wear and the ball will start to fall apart. 

My wool dryer balls will last around 5 to 6 years based on using the dryer 3 or 4 times per week. I have a long time to wait and see how they will break apart and need replacing.

When your wool dryer balls reach the end of their life you can pull them apart and add them to your compost or bury them in your garden. They provide a zero-waste outcome, how good!

Benefits of using wool dryer balls

Save drying time and use less electricity

The benefits are two-fold here – you reduce drying time and reduce electricity consumption.  Wool dryer balls can reduce drying time by 20 to 50% which provides a time-saving benefit especially for busy households like mine that have multiple loads of washing to dry. 

Using the dryer for less time will reduce your electricity consumption which is better for the planet and saves you money. The dryer balls help create space between the items of clothing allowing more air to pass by them which dries them faster.

Sustainable and biodegradable

Wool dryer balls are made 100% of sheep wool which is a natural and biodegradable fibre.  After around 1000 dryer loads the wool ball can be composted, where it breaks down quickly and adds nutrients to your compost soil.

Wool is nitrogen rich and acts as a slow release fertiliser when either buried or added to your compost. There is no need to add to landfill waste which is where dryer sheets or plastic dryer balls are destined to end up. 

Softer clothes and towels

The movement of the balls against the fabric during the drying cycle helps to naturally soften the clothes. This does away with the need to purchase fabric softener. I used to forget to include the fabric softener in the washing load when washing towels and I have stopped buying it years ago.

Our towels are so much softer and fluffier (in a good way) when I dry them with wool dryer balls, especially considering they are pretty old and have had good use over the years. I really notice a difference in softness compared to the sun-stiffened line dried towels, especially as we don’t use fabric softener. 

Less Static

Disposable dryer sheets have been the go-to when looking to reduce static in clothes. Dryer balls do just as good a job without the waste. The secret lies in their ability to absorb moisture from the clothes as they dry. 

Static cling occurs when fabrics become charged with static electricity, causing them to stick together. By absorbing excess moisture, the dryer balls help to prevent the buildup of static electricity. Try using no dryer sheet or ball for a dryer load, then compare to the amount of static using a wool dryer ball. You will notice less static for sure.

Another tip to reduce static is to not over-dry your clothes. It is easy to do this as you put the load on and then get on with the next chore.  I’d recommend you shorten the usual dryer cycle time while you are getting used to using dryer balls.. Towards the end of the cycle check the load as you can always add more time if needed.

If possible dry synthetic and natural fabrics separately.  For my cloth nappy inserts I dry the micro-fibre and cloth wipes in a dryer load. For the natural fibre inserts (hemp and bamboo) I use a separate sensitive cycle.

Save money by not using dryer sheets and fabric softener

Who doesn’t like to save money?  The initial cost of a set of wool dryer balls is more than a box of dryer sheet. You will save money in the longer term as you will not need repurchase bottles of liquid fabric softener for your washing cycle or boxes of dryer sheets.  Depending on how many dryer sheets that you use per dryer load, the wool dryer balls could ‘pay for themselves’ after a year to a year and half.  

Let’s do the math.  The life of a wool dryer ball  is 1,000 dryer loads, so how many boxes of dryer sheets would you need for 1,000 loads?  If using an average of 200 sheets per box, we would need 5 boxes of dryer sheets per set of wool dryer balls. This assumes that you only use one dryer sheet per load.  Here is the money-saver – 5 boxes of dryer sheets cost at least double the price of a 6 piece set of wool dryer balls.

Chemical-free and hypoallergenic

Our skin is our largest organ and absorbs chemicals from our clothing and bedding. Chemicals used in fabric softeners can include phthalates, galaxolide and fragrances. The chemicals used can be endocrine disruptors, can cause skin irritation and are highly toxic to marine life.  The safest option is to skip fabric softener altogether or opt for some safe and hypoallergenic alternatives such as:

• an eco-friendly fabric softener with no synthetic fragrances
• wool dryer balls
•  You could also make your own homemade fabric softener  

Traditional dryer sheets include chemicals labeled as ‘fragrance’ with the exact blend of chemicals used not disclosed to us, the end consumer. The additives on the dryer sheet melt once exposed to heat in the dryer and coat your clothing with scent and make them softer. Some people experience adverse effects from exposure to the chemicals used including skin irritation, asthma and migraine headaches.  Wool dryer balls are hypoallergenic and do not contain any chemicals so are safe for everyone in the household.

Intentionally you are not adding chemicals to your clothing by eliminating traditional fabric softener and dryer sheets from your laundry routine.  Less chemical exposure is better for our bodies, especially our babies and children.

Less Waste 

Fabric softeners are usually packaged in plastic bottles.  These bottles may be recycled or thrown in the landfill once the bottle is empty.  Dryer sheets are disposable and generally cannot be recycled or composted.  Wool dryer balls provide a low waste option when compared to these alternatives. They can be composted or buried in the garden at the end of their life.

What we put into our washing machine, in terms of additives and detergents, is added to the water that ultimately goes down the drain.  The gases emitted out dryer, in the form of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), pollute the air. Some of these VOCs are carcinogenic.  The waste created from a disposable product and it’s packaging is easy for us to see. We also tend to focus on the monetary cost of the products that we use.  However, we don’t see the impact to our waste water or to our air quality from the products we use.

Conclusion

I hope that I’ve provided you with a solid overview about all things wool dryer balls. Wool dryer balls are cheap to buy and save both drying time and money. I love how eco-friendly they are and are super easy to use and take care of.

Using wool dryer balls is one small change that I’ve made to my laundry routine that I’ll be sticking to. I’ll be using mine for years to come before they will be retired to the compost and eventually to the garden beds.

Thank you for reading. Please reach out if you have any questions or just want to say hi.

Over and Out,

Eddie