There are very few things I love more than when an eco-friendly product is cheaper, works better, and is more convenient than its conventional counterpart. It doesn’t happen all that often. Heart Felt wool dryer balls are an example.
Dryer balls are an important part of any ethical wardrobe, as they reduce the wear and tear on your clothes and can help them last longer.
Wool dryer balls are exactly what they sound like. Little wool balls you throw in the dryer.
We use Heart Felt Naturals because they are made in an ethical way, using eco-friendly New Zealand wool. And, they were recommended by other cloth diaper families. And, most importantly, they work.
The benefits of Heart Felt Wool Dryer Balls
They reduce drying time.
When you load up your dryer, your clothes will move around and stick to each other, slowing down the process. Throw a few dryer balls in, and they will get in between the clothes and pull them apart. This allows more air to flow through, helping the dryer heat and dry your laundry faster. The laundry is more aerated, so will feel dryer when it is done. They should reduce dry time by 30-40%.
They are easier on your clothes.
Because your clothes are spending less time in the dryer, they will last just a little bit longer! Also, they eliminate some of the static, which is tough on your clothes, help get out some (not all) of the wrinkles, saving ironing time and wear and tear, and reduce lint.
They are toxin and fragrance free.
They are made with 100% pure wool, and are completely toxin and fragrance free. Dryer sheets and fabric softeners coat your clothes in basically a toxic slime, creating an illusion of softness. These actually soften your clothes. Without toxins and nasty chemicals
You can always add a few drops of your favorite essential oil.
I love lavender for day to day use, a little tea tree for our towels, and an occasional drop of cinnamon, just because.
They are cheaper than dryer sheets.
I did a quick cost comparison. Amazon sells 240 dryer sheets for $8.94. According to Heart Felt, my favorite dryer ball (well, truthfully the only ones we’ve used! I can’t say that they are so much better, but more about Heart Felt below), these should last for 1500+ washes, for $16.45. This is a cost of about 4 cents per load for sheets versus about 1 cent per load for the dryer balls. Win!
Our favorite use is with our cloth diapers. They save an incredible amount of dry time on these.
Why Heart Felt Wool Dryer Balls?
100% New Zealand Merino Wool.
There are quite a few dryer balls available, and I am sure many of them are awesome! We chose Heart Felt because they are filler free (we noticed that some brands have other materials, but these are 100% New Zealand merino wool).
Ethically sourced and produced.
This was the most important part in brand comparisons. When looking around, Heart Felt was the only company that I found (at the time) that had information about their sourcing and their production on their website. I am sure there are other ethically produced and sourced brands, but none were as transparent on their website. They are handmade in Nepal. The company pays fair labor wages. So, they meet my ethical criteria.
High reviews.
They have high reviews on Amazon, especially from people who cloth diaper. And this is why we started using dryer balls in the first place! I wanted to make sure I was getting something that worked, and these do.
Bonus use:
Laundry Ball!
Keeping toddlers busy while you do laundry!
Before we met, my husband was about half in on the eco-friendly/toxin-free home journey. After we had our first baby, he became quicker to embrace some of my more “crunchy” habits and ideas. I think that these dryer balls may be his favorite eco-friendly home addition. I will sometimes forget to use them on my own laundry, but he loves them and uses them every single time. And, they are absolutely a necessity when it comes to cloth diapers. Without them, it seems like it takes forever for the inserts to dry.
Have you tried them? What are your thoughts?
And, for more reviews, take a look here. Also, let me know if there is anything you’d like reviewed. If I’ve already used it, I can let you know and tell you what I think! And, if I haven’t, maybe it is something that I’m interested in trying!
