Wool dryer balls

What It Means

Wool dryer balls are firm balls of felted wool that go into the dryer with a damp load. As the drum turns they knock against the clothes, which keeps items from clumping and lets warm air reach more of the load. People use them as a reusable swap for dryer sheets, though the American Cleaning Institute (ACI) says they don't give many of the benefitsBenefits packageEverything an employer offers on top of wages, such as health insurance, paid leave and a retirement plan, which can be worth thousands of dollars a year. See more a fabric softener or dryer sheet does.

How It Sounds at Home

• "Throw the dryer balls in with the towels."
• "I switched from dryer sheets to wool balls."
• "These balls are rock hard, time for new ones."

The Breakdown

How to use them

1. Check the care label. Wool balls only help with items that are allowed in the dryer.
2. Load the damp laundry and add two or three wool dryer balls, the number Consumer Reports suggests.
3. Run the cycle the care label calls for.
4. Clean the lint filter after the load, as NFPA and the U.S. Fire Administration advise for every load.
5. Leave the balls ready for the next load, and check them now and then. Once one feels scratchy and hard, which Consumer Reports says often happens after a year or two of regular use, replace it.

Try it today. Put two or three wool balls in with your next load of towels or sheets, then check how evenly the load has dried when the cycle ends.

Pillows. Consumer Reports also mentions trying dryer balls when drying pillows, to break up clumps of filling. Check the pillow's care label first.

Good to Know

Keep expectations modest. The American Cleaning Institute says dryer balls may speed drying a little and may reduce some wrinkles, but the benefits are usually small, and they won't do much of what a fabric softener or dryer sheet does. Consumer Reports found plastic and rubber versions far less effective than wool. Whatever goes in the dryer, the lint filter still needs cleaning after every load, which NFPA and the U.S. Fire Administration name as a basic step against dryer fires.

Related Terms and Categories

• Laundry sorting

  Dividing dirty laundry into loads that can be washed together safely, by color, how dirty it is, lint and the care each fabric needs.

• Dryer vent cleaning

  Clearing built-up lint out of the duct that carries a clothes dryer's hot, damp air outdoors. NFPA advises cleaning the vent pipe at least once a year.

• Line drying

  Drying laundry by hanging it on a clothesline, rack or bar to air dry, indoors or outdoors, instead of using a tumble dryer.

• Towel washing frequency

  How often to wash towels. Cleveland Clinic advises at least once a week for bath towels, and more often in a humid bathroom or when someone is sick.

• Pillow washing

  Washing the pillow itself, not just its case, which Cleveland Clinic puts on a cycle of every few months to every six months.

Chores, cleaning and home care