Imagine you are a cute and fuzzy sheep living in New Zealand. You spend your days eating grass and wandering across the fields. By early spring your coat is thick and starting to be too warm for the upcoming summer months. It may even start to get itchy which no one wants. One cool spring morning your shepherd comes, heards you and your friends all together, and gives you a nice hair cut so you can be cool and comfortable come summer while having enough time to grow a new fuzzy coat for when the cold winds of winter come once again. Once your shepherd is done you go back to grazing on grass while your coat is collected. Your shepherd might make items for their own use or sell your wool to others. Your wool could be used for many purposes or turned into a wide range of products, everything from blankets to socks to wool dryer balls.
While many of us may be more familiar with cozy wool products that keep us warm on long and chilly winter nights, wool can be useful throughout our homes including our laundry rooms. One such example is the use of wool dryer balls to decrease the environmental impact of keeping our laundry fresh, clean, and soft.. Unlike traditional fabric softeners which are filled with chemicals and irritants, that can harm the planet as well as our bodies, wool dryer balls are all natural coming from grazing sheep in New Zealand. The same sheep you just imagined yourself to be. I know I would rather cuddle up with some warm wool than with a bottle of chemicals and your clothes agree.
How Long Do Dryer Balls Last?
Dryer balls can be used up to 1,000 times or in other words you could do 1 load every week for almost 20 years or you could do 20 loads a week for about a year. That is a lot of laundry and sure is a lot more than you would get from any bottle or box of traditional fabric softeners. You can just imagine how much space such products would take in your home. I bet that does not bring you joy.
Since wool dryer balls last so long they also save you money in the long term. Wool dryer balls are one of the most cost effective ways for you to dry and soften your clothes. In addition since these dryer balls are all-natural, unlike traditional fabric softeners, they do not leave residues that can build up and shorten the life expectancy of our clothing. This both saves you money because you do not have to buy as many new clothes and reduces the amount of stuff going into the waste stream.
Caring For Dryer Balls
If you want your wool dryer balls to live up to their full potential it is important to care for them. Sometimes after lots of runs in the dryer the heat over dries your wool dryer balls, they become extremely dry and incapable of absorbing humidity like before. An easy way of restoring them is to "recharge" your dryer balls by washing them in hot water on a gentle cycle and then dry on high heat. This will regenerate the wool and give the dryer balls a fresh recharge. “Recharging” is an easy step to increase the lifespan of your wool dryer balls.
When To Replace Dryer Balls?
You might wonder how you will know when you should replace your dryer balls since you are not planning on counting 1,000 loads. The simple answer is you will know it is time to replace your wool dryer balls when they start to look scraggly and pieces of wool start to tear off. Just a quick look is all you need. Also note that even if it is past time to replace them, they will not cause any harm. The worst that will happen to you and your laundry is wool yarn fibers might begin to appear on your clothing.
Benefits Of Dryer Balls?
Dryer balls naturally hasten drying time, soften clothes, reduce static, and save us money. Switching to wool dryer balls is as easy as can be, and is a great place to start tackling the negative environmental impact of our homes. So use wool dryer balls and support sheep, provide another income stream for shepherds, while pampering yourself and your clothes. You will thank yourself for taking this step towards a more eco-friendly sustainable household.
