Natural Alternative to Dryer Sheets

I don’t know if you’ve heard, but dryer sheets are kind of toxic. Yes, even the fragrance free kind. Of course, I know I can’t completely eliminate all possible toxins from my home. However, when it comes to easy swaps that make my home cleaner and safer I can’t think of a reason not to go natural.

What if you could have an easy, inexpensive natural alternative to dryer sheets? You’d be one step closer to a frugal, natural lifestyle, that’s for sure.

I recently posted about my one-ingredient, homemade natural laundry detergent. Now I’m sharing how I keep it completely natural in the laundry room with my solution to toxic dryer sheets.

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My Natural Laundry Transition is Complete

When I first made the change to a natural and less toxic lifestyle, dryer sheets remained one of my dirty indulgences. I won’t lie! I love the way they make my clothes feel and smell.

I tried fragrance-free dryer sheets for a time, but then I discovered that even fragrance-free dryer sheets contain toxins.

I decided to get serious about it and search for a natural alternative to dryer sheets.  There is no reason to continue to add to my family’s toxic load from sources that I can control!

Of course, I could hang my clothes to dry, right? I’m not opposed to doing that occasionally, but who has the time (or space!) to do that all the time? My family sure doesn’t.

I could simply stick my clothes in the dryer and be done with it. That’s a perfectly good solution! However, as I researched natural alternatives to dryer sheets, one option continued to pop up over and over – wool dryer balls.

I replaced dryer sheets and fabric softeners with the natural alternative of wool dryer balls and haven’t looked back.  Wool dryer balls are a natural-living must-have in the laundry room.

How Do Wool Dryer Balls Work?

Wool dryer balls are felted. Their gentle friction against your clothing as they toss in the dryer softens the clothing.  In addition, the dryer balls lift the clothes, getting heat below and between the clothing, resulting in faster drying!

With as much laundry as I have, I almost always do large loads.  I use six dryer balls per load.  Of course, the dryer balls are reusable, which is one of the benefits of using them.  They save money!

If you’re like me and miss the scent of dryer sheets, you can add a few drops of essential oils to each dryer ball.

Do Wool Dryer Balls Really Work?

Of course, knowing how dryer balls work is different than knowing if they really work. In my experience, they really do work great for lessening drying time and softening clothes as well as a dryer sheet does.

The question I haven’t answered is a very common one: Do wool dryer balls reduce static in laundry? My experience says yes and no.

I live in the southeastern US where the weather is humid most of the year. In the humid months, wool dryer balls reduce static cling in the dryer. In the winter months they don’t quite get the job done.

Fortunately, I’ve found a super-cheap and natural way to deal with dryer static in the winter. Simply make aluminium foil balls (about 2-3 inches around) and toss them in the dryer. Try 2-3 balls with each dryer load.