I listen to 102.7fm The Peak Vancouver and every hour or two they play a snippet from The David Suzuki Foundation's "Queen of Green". Usually, she says something that seems somewhat obvious to me. And I suppose this was no different.
Today, she mentioned harmful chemicals in fabric softener and dryer sheets. Well, I already knew this, and right now I'm not using anything in my dryer. Sure, my clothes are super staticky when they come out, but at least I'm not contributing to the landfill or releasing nasty toxins. I had tried Method's dryer sheets, and they worked okay. But they come in a plastic wrapper. Those dryer balls would probably work, but they're plastic, too. They also claim to only last 100 loads or so, anyway, so they're practically disposable. Not any better than dryer sheets, really.
It was the Queen's solution that caught my attention. Felted wool dryer balls! Works just like the plastic ones, decreasing drying time, reducing static and softening clothes, but completely biodegradable! She mentioned that you could purchase them here and there, but I happen to have a very talented sister who just so happens to felt.
I texted her immediately to request a set, and she's now on a mission. She is going to use me as a guinea pig and if all goes well, she might even try to sell them.
For those of you who don't have a talented friend or relative (or self), you can get them on Etsy.com. $20 for a set of 4 seems pretty standard. But for me, I'm very excited to get my hand-made, felted wool dryer balls in the mail!
You can also use 1/4 cup of vinegar instead of fabric softener in the washing machine, it'll kill bacteria, aids in rinsing out any detergent (which softens the clothes) and the vinegar smell dissipates so you won't be craving fries all day. Plus, if you happen to have some old (clean!) tin foil around, scrunch it up into a small ball or two and toss them in the drier, will help get rid of static... just have to keep reforming them and adding to them every so often :)
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