Dryer Balls: Do They Work or Not?
Only $9.99 for two dryer balls! Think of all the money you will save on electric bills and fabric softeners and dryer sheets! They are non-toxic, allergen-free, all-natural and proven to work. The premise is that the little spikes lift and separate the clothing in the dryer, allowing the heat and air to circulate more freely. As an added bonus, there would be less lint and fewer wrinkles.
I was fascinated by the idea. I like saving money, who doesn't?
I liked the idea of tossing two rubber balls with spikes on them into my dryer and saying "Take that, dryer sheets, you've been replaced!"
I wanted to be able to tell my dryer, "Fifty minutes? You are only getting 35 minutes today. Have some dryer balls!"
So I ordered my dryer balls. They are indeed two spiky rubber balls approximately 3 inches in diameter. Presumably they are also non-toxic and free of allergens.
I faithfully used my dryer balls according to the directions. I started out setting the dryer at forty minutes. The clothes weren't dry, so I decided to try forty-five minutes the next time. Most of the time, the dryer was taking its usual fifty minutes to dry a normal load of laundry.
Static electricity was another problem. My husband was starting to complain about his clothes sticking to him, and began using Static Guard every morning.
Fewer wrinkles? Not that I noticed. I am normally very careful about getting the clothes out as quickly as possible to avoid wrinkles. I didn't see a reduction. My husband still ironed his shirts. I still rubbed wrinkles out of cotton t-shirts.
I didn't measure the height of a stack of towels before using the dryer balls, but I was really looking forward to using fluffier, softer towels after my shower. After two weeks, I had to concede that the towels felt remarkably similar as in the days before the dryer balls.
I was really disappointed. I had really tried to talk myself into seeing improvements. But since I was using the same amount of dryer time, and was using dryer sheets again, and my towels weren't fluffy, I came to the conclusion that they didn't really work for me.
We don't have a dog, either, so I don't know how well they work as a chew toy. But my daughters love playing with the "prickly balls".
Published by Marsha Raasch
I am a 44 year old mother of two girls. I am recently divorced and dealing with single parenting, being a working mom, and sending the girls to public school for the first time. View profile
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44 Comments
Post a CommentI am glad to read this article and the comments. I decided not to buy these. One article I read today suggested it is a big money saver. It must have been written by some reporter who got paid by the manufacturer.
I got them from menards. i think the dryer ball is very loud not sure if they work or not.
Is it true there is lead in some of the dryer balls available at such places as Menard's etc.?
Dryer balls SAVE YOU NO ENERGY. I have done the scientific test. You can get all the details in my blog if you like: http://urge4lessenergy.blogspot.com/2009/03/dryer-balls-save-no-energy.html
Hello, I do have dryer balls but they are wool and all natural (no yucky plastic). They actually work better and no smells. I use 6-8 and they are quieter than the plastic ones. If you want to look at some take a look at this shop I found selling them online.
http://www.etsy.com/shop/greenbelledesigns
I got some for christmas. On a scale of 1 to 10 I would give them a 7. I had 4 of them in the dryer at a time. It says you can use 4 or 6 it you want. I also had one break on me today only after 3 months, that I wasn't real happy with. I thought they would last longer then that. They do work when you use more of them.
Sorry, I have to agree so far with Marsha from the article above. Now I have just recently purchased them and have only done a couple loads so far. Maybe they need to be "broken In." Although I have not had the issues with static or starch feeling. I just haven't had less dry time and a noticiable difference in softness
Hi, I'm shocked to hear the prices you pay for little plastic balls. Try a dollar store. $1.30 maybe, if not a dollar.
We use them and I love them. The drying times are less - where I used to have to run a second short cycle to get my clothes completely dry, now they are dry the first time through. Our clothes are soft and static free. And I don't have any static, fraying, or denting issues either. As for using tennis balls or old tennis shoes instead - have you ever SMELLED an old tennis shoe? Yuck! And both tennis shoes and tennis balls smell like hot rubber when used in the dryer. No thanks. I'll keep using my silicon dryer balls for now, and I plan on making myself some wool ones over the holidays - so I can add essential oils for a lovely fragrance w/o chemicals.
The dryer balls are great. My clothes are soft and not covered in chemicals like they were when using fabric softener! That alone is worth every penny. One time cost, no obnoxious scents, non-toxic clothing. Done deal.