Do Dryer Balls work?

mccristo

Hey all,

Drying clothes is costing me a fortune as we have small children and limited uniforms! Our DD is allergic to softeners so I found these branded Dryer Balls here:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Organic-Environment-Softener-Handmade-naturally/dp/B07BF82RH8/ref=sr_1_1_s_it?s=grocery&ie=UTF8&qid=1523137692&sr=1-1&keywords=Klaisen&dpID&dryer&balls&wool=41qUk33YP2L&preST=_SX300_QL70_&dpSrc=srch

Can't find much feedback on them and just wondered if they work? They seem a decent price and I was wondering if they really do fluff clothes and reduce drying time? Does anyone use them?

Cheers!

Callie22

Honestly, I'm not sure. I bought some of the woolly balls recently and I really don't think that they make much difference. I can't say I've noticed a huge difference in drying time or creasing. The biggest thing I noticed with them was the noise - with six of them in the dryer it really did sound like I'd thrown a couple of house bricks in there as well! I also found that with things like bedding they tended to get stuck in the corners and make a racket there too. The only thing that they do help with is drying things like down gilets, but some cheap tennis balls would probably work just as well. I will say that I've got a condenser dryer so I don't know if they work better in a vented dryer.

rach_k

I found that they work well. We have a washer-dryer so drying times are longer than a standard dryer, but 6 of the balls (9kg machine) usually reduce the drying time by about 25% and the physical action of bashing stuff around does seem to soften things a bit too. You have to remember to allow them to dry out between uses - they're wool which is why they speed up drying (by absorbing the moisture) but once they're damp they won't work as well until they're allowed to dry out, so consider buying two sets if you do a lot of drying. Or you could try putting an old but absorbent dry towel in with your drying to see if that speeds things enough - less space efficient though!

I wouldn't buy them just for their softening effect - they mostly help with drying and the bit of extra softening is a bonus. Try water softener if you want softer washing. Calgon is stupidly expensive but supermarkets sell their own powdered 'limescale prevention powder' which is much cheaper and works just fine. I even notice the difference when washing in soft water.

mccristo

That's brilliant advice thank you! Luckily our machine is in another room so I'll be shutting that door extra tight lol. I can't see tennis balls working that well though, plus the dye and stuff in the fluff :S Quite liked the natural idea of these.

I'll buy two bags of them and give it a shot!

mccristo

Well I was worried that those ecology dryer balls were gimmicky but I did a load yesterday and I managed to knock 20 mins off a load :T

Rach was exactly right about the softening, they do seem to fluff the clothes but not quite as soft as with fabric softener. Though much better than DD scratching herself to bits lol.