Zero Waste on Etsy, Part II: Wool Dryer Balls

I did some more shopping with my Etsy gift card, this time purchasing wool dryer balls. The purpose of these balls is to replace your dryer sheets. The main reasons to consider a change from dryer sheets are they are made from polyester (see my earlier post about plastic microfibers in your laundry) and people with allergies or fragrance sensitivities wanting to move to more natural materials.

How they work: the wool causes friction when rubbing against your clothes, acting as a fabric softener and reducing static. An extra benefit is the wool soaks up some of the moisture, reducing dryer time.

(Image from FiberFeltnMore)

I got my 3 pack from seller FiberFeltnMore for just over $11 including shipping. They are simple felted wool, 3" diameter balls. I went for the plain offwhite - there are tons of designs out there.  Some makers even put cute little sheep faces on them!

T and I do about 3 loads of laundry each week, so I was able to do some tests. I put one ball in per load (though some people put in multiples). Sure enough, the clothes came out soft and wrinkle and static free. And, our regular dryer time is 56 minutes; with the balls it dropped by 7-10 minutes. Woot!

T's biggest complaint? He likes the fragrance from dryer sheets. He associates it with fresh and clean. You are supposed to be able to add a couple drops of your favorite essential oils to the balls for a bit of frangrance, so I'm going to play around with that.

Without doing the math for how much electricity my dryer uses, here's the overall weekly impact: 25 minutes of time and electricity and 3 sheets of single use disposable plastic. Win!