Credit:
Reviewed / Betsey Goldwasser
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Credit:
Reviewed / Betsey Goldwasser
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There were some drawbacks, but the Budieggs had better drying power than the rest of the products we tested. Read More
The Whitmor balls are made of thermoplastic, making them a good alternative to wool. The plastic is durable, but it's not great at softening fabrics. Read More
They were clearly high-quality and could be used over and over again, despite a few drawbacks. Read More
Although the Friendsheep were a bit of a novelty, they were also made of soft New Zealand wool and made our t-shirts and comforters soft to the touch. Read More
In our tests the laundry still felt damp after drying it. This could be changed by adjusting the settings, but they were the lower end of average. Read More
Dryer balls claim to shorten dry times and keep your clothes from clumping during the cycle. They contain far fewer chemicals, serve as a natural fabric softener, and are better for the environment than single-use dryer sheets. But do they really work?
To find out, we took to Reviewed’s lab to find the best dryer balls on the market. After multiple loads of laundry, the Budieggs Wool Dryer Balls (available at Amazon) emerged as our top pick because of their build and wool quality, as well as their ability to soften. These basic and organic eco-friendly products are the best path to keeping your laundry fresh.
These New Zealand wool dryer balls had better drying power than any others we tested.
Smart Sheep is made by women and minorities who are paid a living wage.
Shorter drying time
Highly rated
Soften laundry
Needs longer drying times
Left some items damp
Too much static
Organic wool
Chemical free
Can be used with essential oils
Poor drying power
Overpriced
Dryer balls are capable of reducing lint and pet hair, which we found to be accurate during testing.
After removing bedding from a dryer, we’ve all found sopping wet pillowcases stuck inside a dry fitted sheet. Using dryer balls should help prevent this, as they aim to prevent laundry clumping.
Adding dryer balls to your dryer will effectively separate your laundry and keep clothes from wrapping around each other. All this allows more heat in, so you can dry your clothing in less time. Also, laundry that dries evenly should have fewer wrinkles.
Using dryer balls is simple—just add them to your machine and watch them work. Keep in mind that dryer balls are not as effective on large loads, because they need space to work properly.
For small loads, three or fewer dryer balls should be sufficient. Six or more dryer balls may be needed for a large load.
Replace your wool dryer balls every 1,000 loads (or 2 to 3 years' time) to keep them working and looking their best.
When it comes to wool dryer balls versus dryer sheets, wool dryer balls win out overall. They minimize wrinkles and static when used properly. If you have sensitive skin, these are also a much better alternative to dryer sheets, as they have fewer chemicals.
Using dryer balls can also effectively lower your energy bill, too, because they can reduce your drying time by 10 to 25 percent or allow you to use lower temperatures. Using lower dryer temperatures also helps prevent damage to your clothes.
Because wet clothes take less time to dry, you should be careful about not running your dryer too long with dryer balls, which can create static electricity. We discovered that when using dryer balls, it is wise to reduce your normal drying time by 10 minutes to reduce static cling. If you’ve already over-dried your load, wetting the wool dryer balls and running your dryer for a few minutes should eliminate any residual static.
Dryer balls are capable of reducing lint and pet hair. During testing, black leggings completely covered in pet hair were completely shed free after using wool balls. Your favorite essential oils also can be added to some dryer balls to make your laundry smell better.
One downside to dryer balls is that they will make quite a bit of noise in your dryer, but because they can be reused, there’s less waste than with dryer sheets.
Wool dryer balls are heavier than plastic ones and separate your clothes better, which leads to shorter drying times. Plastic dryer balls will not be as noisy during drying, but they did not perform as well as the wool dryer balls in our tests. Overall, we found that the plastic dryer balls we tested left clothes damp, even with longer dry times.
Our lab team spent weeks laundering towels, t-shirts, and a queen-size comforter to find the best dryer balls.
Our lab team spent weeks laundering towels, T-shirts, and a queen-size comforter over and over again in a Maytag washing machine and LG dryer.
Each load was weighed before and after washing and then dried for 40 minutes on a normal cycle. For every set of dryer balls, we dried each of the three loads on a timed dry cycle and measured its post-dry weight. We used the recommended number of dryer balls based on load size. For comparison, we also dried loads with a tennis ball to see how dryer ball results fared.
In addition to the more extensive lab-testing process, our tester brought the dryer balls home and used them in her day-to-day laundry life using her GE dryer. The test load included multiple T-shirts, along with a few pairs of black yoga leggings covered in pet hair.
Cailey Lindberg
Staff Writer, Updates
Cailey Lindberg is a Staff Writer at Reviewed and full-time Dog Mom to @sandor_thebassethound. In her spare time, she writes about music and history for Mental Floss.
Our team is here for one purpose: to help you buy the best stuff and love what you own. Our writers, editors, and lab technicians obsess over the products we cover to make sure you're confident and satisfied. Have a different opinion about something we recommend? Email us and we'll compare notes.
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