6 Jan 2009
Reduce laundry drying time by 25% with dryerballs!
My reputation about becoming greener must really be getting out because all my presents this Christmas circled around the green living movement. My mom got me the most fantastic present though that helps conserve energy when drying clothes, reduces wrinkles and static. They’re called dryerballs! They’re 2 silicone like spiky balls that you throw into the dryer with your clothes. They get in between the clothes and increase surface drying area so that they don’t bunch up. I have tried them twice now and so far, I have to say they’ve worked very well and our shirts did have remarkably less wrinkles. When you first turn on the dryer, it might sound like you have running shoes bouncing around, but once they get into place, the sound will go away…or maybe I just didn’t notice it afterwards! Dryerball benefits:
- Lift and separate fabrics while relaxing fibers
- Less lint and wrinkles
- Softer clothes
- More absorbent towels
- 25% reduced drying time
- Toxic-free
- Environmentally friendly
- Guaranteed to last up to 2 years
- Eliminate need for dryer sheets – reduces waste
Nellie’s dryerballs are from a Vancouver based company specialised in environmentally friendly laundry and kitchen products. Their dryerballs retail for $19.99 USD and can be bought online, in mall kiosks or in select boutiques across North America.
These are great but for what ever reason they once shredded a towel in our dryer. Could be that the fabric was worn…never had a problem since.
Becky
January 6th, 2009 at 9:12 pmpermalink
A new twist on an old idea. To make this tip even greener, you could use a couple of old (but washed) tennis balls. Good for drying large items like a duvet.
Jim Royal
January 7th, 2009 at 7:50 ampermalink
I’ve been using these for about 18 months now… I will continue using them because they are the best available alternative to using fabric softener on children’s clothing.
That being said, 1) they do shred clothes at times (I’ve lost 2 pairs of jeans to my dryer balls), 2) they get caught up in the clothing (for example, long shirt sleeves – which they deform, pillow cases, sheets, duvet covers, etc.). 3) They do NOTHING for removing lint/cat hair. 4) If you have long hair, it gets caught up in the balls and is a real pain to remove. 5) The inside of my dryer now has blue traces all over… I don’t know if this is indicative of a problem or not….
Finally, they are also available at Zellers for about $12.
Katrina
February 18th, 2009 at 8:52 ampermalink