Nellie's drier balls?

[guysgal]

I'm trying to find a good alternative to drier sheets and thinking about purchasing Nelie's PVC free drier balls. Anyone have any experience with these? Any thoughts?

Thanks,
Heather

[kittyninja]

hmm haven't heard of these. I was looking at the Mystic dryer balls and came real close to getting them and then read reviews on Amazon how the PVC isn't any better especially when heated up.  I will have to take a look at these ones. kn

[kittyninja]

ok I went over to amazon and the ORIGINAL ones (PVC) got mixed reviews-main complaint that they fell apart. I found this site http://www.greenfeet.com/itemdesc.asp?kw=Nellies-PVC-Free-Dryer-balls&ic=5502-00070-0000&eq= (can't remember how to make it so you can click on it sorry.) and they have the PVC free ones and it got all good reviews. Still researching though...highly interested.

[guysgal]

amazon is where i first saw the nellie pvc free balls.

i'll check out the link.

[herbs girl]

Homemade foil balls work pretty good too!

[kittyninja]

hmmm i was thinking about the ol tennis ball trick then read a big fat warning against that. stuff inside balls are bad when heated.

[guysgal]

Homemade foil balls work pretty good too!

What does a foil ball do? I've never heard of that.

[mykidsmom]

I've been using the Mystic washer and dryer balls for a few months now and LOVE them!  Our cloths are literally whiter (don't ask me how) and it definately takes about 20 minutes less to dry them.  There is also almost no lint which I would think is a good thing since that is fibers coming off of clothing/towels.  I keep trying to find out about the PVC thing but don't seem to be getting anywhere.  Do you know if the mystic balls have it?  At this point, I'm so chemical free in our life I'm not sure I'd worry about it, but I'd still like to know.  At least to make an informed decision.  KWIM?

patti

[herbs girl]

I posted about it here....

I have found that heavy duty aluminum foil made into balls helps keep clothes static-free and soft. No need to buy those boughten dryer balls. You need to add a little more aluminum foil to them once a week or so, but it works really good! I do not use any fabric softner on stuff to go in the dryer, usually just put them in with dryer balls, ect. Fleece, sweaters and flannel still have some static, but all other clothes do really well with the dryer balls. It saves alot of money and does not have chemicals like fabric softener!herbs girl
  
No the dryer balls do not melt into clothes. You will find tinyt pieces of aluminum foil in your lint holder in your dryer...I just remove the lint and its fine. I have found that certain brands of aluminum foil work better than others. HEAVY DUTY is very important, but I cant tell you for sure which brand is best yet, because I didnt mark the balls. But there are a few that are holding up great. I love it that I no longer have to buy any softner!!

Except I use a tiny bit of softner for my dresses I hang wet up to dry, otherwise I dont use any usually for stuff I put in the dryer. Saves money and no chemicals.

Like I said before, you have to add more foil to them after while, but when you do, be sure it is a very large amount you add because they pieces tend to work themselves off of the balls if they are too small. Also, the balls get smaller and compact the more you use them. I would start with a piece of aluminum foil big enough to make a 6-8" ball if I could do it over. They shrink so much, and they stay together better with one peice of foil, so the larger the ball you start out with (within reason of course..  you dont want 6 basketballs in your dryer!!!   )

I think aluminum foil dryer balls work in a few ways

1) fOIL conducts heat, so it helps the clothes dry faster

2) They become heavier with time as you add peices to them, so they help fluff the clothes and get them wrinkle free

3) They prevent static on almost all clothing. The clothes that still have static, are fleece, sweaters, and slips. Otherwise most everything else looks great!

I am still doing trial and error on the brands of aluminum foil that works best for this
  
Quote from my posts on Merryheartmedicine.com

http://merryheartmedicine.com/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=365&start=0



And here is how to make your own dryer balls with wool yarn...

http://howtomakedo.net/154/make-your-own-wool-dryer-balls


An update, I lost/ stop using my balls, but now I have static like crazy in my clothes.