Dryer sheets or dryer balls for myLotters?
@JamesHxstatic (29410)
Eugene, Oregon
December 13, 2016 11:04am CST
We have used unscented dryer sheets for a long time now due to Anne's sensitivity to scented things. I never liked the flowery scents they used much anyway.
But there is a bit of alarm around now about various studies showing that dryer sheets, whether scented or not, are loaded with chemicals, some of which are cancer causing. You can access many articles about that with a simple search.
Partly due to that, we were in a store last week that had these balls that can live in your dryer and accomplish the same thing as dryer sheets with no chemicals (beyond those used in the synthetic balls, I guess).
So, I wonder about what the myLot community was using. Sheets? Scented? Have you ever tried the balls?
15 people like this
15 responses
@Morleyhunt (21741)
• Canada
13 Dec 16
I've been using dryer balls for about ten years.....the first pair of dryer balls are ready to be replaced. No dryer sheets in this house....no liquid fabric softener either.
2 people like this
@JamesHxstatic (29410)
• Eugene, Oregon
13 Dec 16
They lasted a long time. We have not used liquid for many years.
1 person likes this
@hereandthere (45628)
• Philippines
14 Dec 16
here it's common to use downy, but personally i only use a little of it, sometimes none. i don't think dryer sheets are available here, yet, though i've read about them online. we've been given dryer balls before but didn't recognize them then, and now i don't know where they are. i've also read online about using tennis balls.
1 person likes this
@hereandthere (45628)
• Philippines
15 Dec 16
@JamesHxstatic i've also read about using balled up aluminum foil. it's interesting the things you stumble upon online.
1 person likes this
@JamesHxstatic (29410)
• Eugene, Oregon
15 Dec 16
@hereandthere That is something I have been intending to try. I heard someone talking about it.
1 person likes this
@JamesHxstatic (29410)
• Eugene, Oregon
15 Dec 16
I heard about tennis balls too, but never tried them.
1 person likes this
@PatZAnthony (14749)
• Charlotte, North Carolina
7 Mar 17
Wondering what you think about these now that you have had more time to form an opinion. We make our own softener, but would rather just use these if they work.
1 person likes this
@JamesHxstatic (29410)
• Eugene, Oregon
7 Mar 17
We like the balls a lot. That is all we use now, in fact.
1 person likes this
@PatZAnthony (14749)
• Charlotte, North Carolina
8 Mar 17
@JamesHxstatic Good to know. We will look for these.
1 person likes this
@crazyhorseladycx (39503)
• United States
13 Dec 16
i tried the balls when my world flipped 'pside down 'n t'was allergic to most all thingies. the noise 'lone nearly drove me nuts. i use vinegar/bakin' soda whilst'n the rinse cycle 'n then a dampened cloth with vinegar'n the dryer.
1 person likes this
@crazyhorseladycx (39503)
• United States
15 Dec 16
@JamesHxstatic yes sir, works purty good :)
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@JamesHxstatic (29410)
• Eugene, Oregon
14 Dec 16
That sounds like a very organic idea that probably works.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (381906)
• Rockingham, Australia
14 Dec 16
I've never used anything but I've only had a dryer for - I was going to say a few years but it's actually 13 years since we moved here. 
We hardly need dryers here as mostly we can dry our washing outside on a line or on the verandah on a line. I'm not sure why you use them. Are they supposed to make clothes softer?
We hardly need dryers here as mostly we can dry our washing outside on a line or on the verandah on a line. I'm not sure why you use them. Are they supposed to make clothes softer?1 person likes this
@JamesHxstatic (29410)
• Eugene, Oregon
14 Dec 16
They do the same as dryer sheets minus the chemicals and that is a good thing. They bounce around and "make the drying stuff fluffy," (Anne) and do away with static electricity in most fabrics.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (381906)
• Rockingham, Australia
14 Dec 16
@JamesHxstatic That's interesting. Getting rid of static electricity would be good.
@teamfreak16 (43577)
• Denver, Colorado
14 Dec 16
My girlfriend makes up scent crystals that I have to run to the Laundromat across the street and add to the rinse cycle.
1 person likes this
@JamesHxstatic (29410)
• Eugene, Oregon
14 Dec 16
That takes timing for sure. Do they work?
1 person likes this
@teamfreak16 (43577)
• Denver, Colorado
14 Dec 16
@JamesHxstatic - The clothes do smell good.
1 person likes this
@KrauseHome (36445)
• United States
7 Mar 17
Well, anymore when you do a research on almost any product you will see many things posted. But these are supposed to be a Big thing. There are definitely different kinds out there. Might want to do your research on them or get these from places where everything organic comes from.
1 person likes this
@JamesHxstatic (29410)
• Eugene, Oregon
7 Mar 17
I am not sure there would be natural products that would do what these do. I am sure they are better than the dryer sheets which contain a variety of chemicals. We got these from Bed, Bath and Beyond.
@changjiangzhibin89 (17239)
• China
14 Dec 16
I have never used it before.I search it online,you may as well try to make home-made dryer sheets
Dryer sheets are thin sheets used to eliminate static cling in clothes. Besides this, dryer sheets have host of other uses...
1 person likes this
@JamesHxstatic (29410)
• Eugene, Oregon
14 Dec 16
We might try that if the balls son't work out. Thanks!
1 person likes this
@carebear29 (32002)
• Wausau, Wisconsin
13 Dec 16
I use dryer sheets but i don't know about dryer balls yet. Waiting to read more reviews
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (128831)
• Gainesville, Florida
14 Dec 16
I quit using dryer sheets many years ago when the studies first started coming out about them possibly being cancer-causing. For a while I switched to liquid Downy in the wash, and then I stopped using any type of dryer sheet or fabric softener altogether.
1 person likes this
@JohnRoberts (109841)
• Los Angeles, California
13 Dec 16
Oh man, cancer from dryer sheets? Is there no escape from chemicals and cancer threat? Actually did get some wool dryer balls from a place in Wyoming but they don't take away static electricity.
1 person likes this
@JamesHxstatic (29410)
• Eugene, Oregon
13 Dec 16
These are synthetic and don't entirely avoid static on all fabrics, I'm told.
@Hannihar (130150)
• Israel
6 Jul 18
@JamesHxstatic
That is very interesting and a good idea. I do not use them or not sure we have them in Jerusalem.
1 person likes this
@amitkokiladitya (171988)
• Agra, India
13 Dec 16
I never use dryer balls. These are not common in india...I have heard about them for the first time.
1 person likes this
