Saying Goodbye to Fabric Softeners

I had to tweak the title of this blog a bit because originally it was just "Dryer Balls" and... well... that could have a double meaning for some readers. Even "Saying Goodbye to Dryer Sheets" was a bit suspicious... so... here we are.

We gave up dryer sheets (e.g. Bounce) last year. When my Dad passed away, he left us with a half-empty box of Bounce sheets and we used it up. But, after that, we didn't buy anymore. So many reasons:

• they are NOT compostable - dryer sheets are made from thin sheets of polyester (plastic) and can not be placed in your compost and/or recycle bin.
• they make your dryer lint uncompostable as well - because of all the chemicals and fragrances that are used to coat the polyester sheets
• all those chemicals are NOT good for our health or the health of our pets and the environment

Plus... they aren't exactly cheap... 200 Bounce sheets go for $10.98 at Superstore... which means 1000 loads would be about $55... keep that number in your head for later...

Sooo... dryer sheets are a definite no go. But... without dryer sheets, our clothes always came out of the dryer in a big static blob. We were forever losing socks and then finding them days later when we'd reach up a pant leg and pull a sock out. Not so good unless you're training to be a magician.

And, in truth, for many years we managed to handle all of our drying by using the clothesline outside, or a variety of drying racks inside (during the rainier months). That, of course, is the ideal. Skip the whole dryer business and go old school and let the clothes air dry. It worked really well for us until we turned our basement suite into an AirBnb. We can't really afford the luxury of waiting for mountains of sheets and towels to air dry... not to mention we don't have the space for it! And... for whatever reason... the last year has seen us leaning more heavily on the dryer for our own laundry load as well. It's just easier some days... Sooo... the dryer it was. But... what to do about static and wrinkles?

We knew about dryer balls and found three at various garage sales last year. They work... meh. Our clothes still had a static charge and wrinkles were still in evidence. I did a bit of digging and turns out we may be over-drying our clothes. Using dryer balls apparently reduces drying time by about 10% so that needs to be factored in when using the dryer. But still... the plastic ones don't seem to work all that well. Or... we may just not have enough balls... apparently you need at least three balls for small-medium loads... and more balls for larger loads.

But there is another option... wool dryer balls. I had never heard of them... but now that I have, I think we'll be investing in a triad. They use eco-friendly wool... they are definitely compostable when they wear out (after 1000 uses or 3-5 years) and they aren't as noisy as plastic dryer balls bonking around in the dryer. Plus... you can put a few drops of essential oil on them and have that fragrance on your clothes or sheets... And they reduce drying time by up to 25%. Plus... there's less static and wrinkles as well. The wool dryer balls absorb moisture during the dryer process and then release it near the end of the drying cycle. That little bit of moisture is what helps eliminate static cling and wrinkles. Huh... who knew... And no... we are not so vegan that we object to wool sweaters or wool dryer balls...

So... I did a bit of looking and Canadian Tire sells a few options... three wool dryer balls for $14.99 or $17.99. I did some digging and the Frank Dryer Balls made by Gleener apparently use ethically sourced NZ wool.

Tru Earth, a Vancouver company, uses Organic NZ wool and four balls go for $22.95. But you can get 8 balls for $39.95

ULAT, another Vancouver company, uses organic Alberta wool and three balls go for $30. Both Tru Earth and ULAT offer free shipping. But... ULAT gets the David Suzuki stamp of approval as well and is partnered with the Disability Alliance of BC.

And, not to be outdone, Costco sells Nellie's Lamby Wool Dryer Balls, made from NZ wool and... they come in a metal tin that doubles as a piggy bank (cute!). You get 4 balls for $24.99.

At first, I thought these were all a bit pricey... but they all say that their wool dryer balls last for 1000 loads which means they are actually cheaper AND more eco-friendly that Bounce sheets (remember... $55 for 1000 sheets). What's not to like?

But... geez... there are a lot of choices. It's kind of like... close your eyes, spin around in a circle and just pick one!

I think we are going to go with Tru Earth, for a few reasons:

• They are local - made in Vancouver
• They sell 8 balls for $39.95 - that works out to $15 for 3 balls or $20 for 4 balls
• They recommend three balls for small-medium loads, but 5-6 balls for larger loads - given we do a lot of large dryer loads, particularly for the AirBnb... it seems good to have more balls rather than less

Sooo... done deal. I am ordering them. And our plastic dryer balls can go to the thrift store where someone else might get some use out of them...