Thrifty Thursday: Woolzies Dryer Balls Review

Disclosure: I was sent a box of Woolzies Dryer Balls to try out.  All opinions shared in this blog post are my own.

Even though I’m (mostly) an empty nester, I seem to have far more than my share of laundry being done at my house.  I probably wash some items, like bed linens, more often than most people because of my allergies and because of sharing my bed with a big stinky German Shepherd. And that same dog, along with the cat that I’ve inherited from my daughter, seem to make an awful big mess around here – tracking in mud and dirt from outside and so on. Finally, each time my daughter and her husband come home for a weekend, they seem to bring more and more laundry to do at my house.  So, I go through a lot of laundry supplies like detergent, dryer sheets, and the like around here.

Naturally, when I was presented with the opportunity to try out these reusable Woolzies Dryer Balls, I was intrigued.  Guaranteed to last for at least 1000 loads, these could certainly save a lot of money and be a better choice for the environment – assuming of course, that they work as advertised.  A box of 6 extra large Woolzies is priced at $32.99 on the Woolzies website. A leading brand of dryer sheets sells for about $6 for 160 sheets (160 loads).  You would need just over 6 boxes of these to take care of as many loads as one box of Woolzies – for a total of $37+.  I realize that’s a small savings but as you’ll see below, they have saved me on the cost of electricity as well!

Claims made by Woolzies Dryer Balls:

• Softens fabrics naturally – I found to be true with 98% of my laundry.  It was only the oldest and roughest of towels that were resilient to the Woolzies BUT to be fair, the only way I can usually get them anywhere close to soft is with a combination of both liquid fabric softeners and 3 dryer sheets per load.
• Reduces drying time by 25-30% – True.  The agitation of the balls throughout the load helps to naturally separate and create space around your laundry and this helps it to dry faster. I found I was able to turn down the dryer to a lower setting and to set it for less time and still have my laundry come out dry. This is another way this product is saving me money.
• Reduces static and helps eliminate wrinkles – True.  I find that they work just as well as dryer sheets in both of these respects.  They suggest that if you find you need further static reduction, you can just add a rolled up ball of aluminum foil (about the same size as one of the Woolzies) to the dryer load of laundry.  I don’t do this with every load but with things like bed sheets that tend more towards a lot of static, I did find that suggestion effective.

According to information in the box and on the Woolzies website, because they are made of 100% Pure New Zealand wool, they are chemical free.  A case is made for the danger of the chemicals in regular fabric softeners and dryer sheets, both for the environment and for people who might have sensitivities to them.  I’m not a doctor or a scientist so I don’t really know enough about these claims but being someone with quite a few allergies, I do know that the possibility of reactions to chemicals is a very real one.  I also know that since I started using these, my skin isn’t nearly as itchy and I’m not having as many issues with dermatitis or eczema.  It might be a coincidence but at least for now, I’m willing to attribute it to the Woolzies. They also say that these dryer balls are hypoallergenic and safe for people with wool sensitivities because the wool doesn’t directly touch your skin (I suppose you can wear gloves when you have to handle them?) and they don’t shed.  I don’t have a wool sensitivity so I can’t personally attest to that claim.

Now, remember that stinky dog I mentioned above?  She’s cute right? She doesn’t always smell so cute though and that smell permeates the fabrics around this house. So, I was concerned about doing without scented fabric softener.  Here’s a little tip they gave on the package:  once your laundry is completely dry, remove two of the balls from the dryer and apply some pure essential oil to each of them.  Put them back in the dryer with the laundry and the other 4 balls and run for 10 minutes on the Air Fluff setting (no heat). It adds a lovely scent to your laundry that lasts for up to a couple weeks.

Overall, I’ve been using Woolzies Dryer Balls for a few months now and I can certainly say that I’m quite pleased with the results.