Dryer balls- who uses them, and do they help with wrinkled clothes?

[clh2]

Hello, I feel like I am struggling (with a new washer and dryer) with clothes that are horribly wrinkled.

The washer is HE, and I literally shake each item before it goes in the dryer. I wash and dry on the “wrinkle prevention” settings. And 1/2 the time, it just seems like the clothes are too wrinkled to wear, so I will do an additional load of clothes. I feel that clothes are not tumbling properly.

So-who uses dryer balls for this purpose, does it help? And how many balls do you use, and if you know the brand, what is it.

Thanks!

 

[Deb & Bill]

Do smaller loads in the dryer and that might help.

 

[PollyannaMom]

I do use dryer balls, and like how they work. I generally use two, but will throw 3 or 4 in a big load of towels or something. I don't know the specific brand name, but you want some with a little "give" to them. - The really rigid ones are more cheaply made and don't last as long. I found mine right at the grocery store.

 

[CogsworthTN]

I use them and they work great. I also add two drops of lavender essential oil to each dryer ball when drying towels or bed sheets.

 

[ronandannette]

My dryer is a piece of junk and even on the "wrinkle-shield" function, things are a total mess. I've got a pair of rubber dryer balls (they came two to a package) that I use sometimes but honestly I haven't seen them make much difference. They are also VERY noisy banging around in there so I only use them during mid-day so as not to bother the neighbours (we live in a condo and the laundry is against a common wall).

ETA: I iron practically everything anyway because I'm weird like that.

 

[Kae]

I swear my husbands shorts and pants look just a wrinkled after washing them as they did when he took them off. It's driving me crazy.

 

[mnrose]

I love my wool dryer balls. I'm not sure they help with the wrinkles, but they make the clothes free of static electricity and "soft" like I used softener (which I do not). I think they are an essential in my laundry room these days. Mine never leave the dryer. LOL. Not sure of the brand. The are made of new zealand wool, got them on amazon, and they came six to a package. They are a bit larger than a tennis ball. I rotate them 3 at a time. For extra large loads, I toss in one or two more.

 

[LSUmiss]

I never had any luck with them. I just dry smaller loads like a pk suggested.

 

[a1tinkfans]

I only use them with my towels and even then I think they are a bit tough on them. I bought them at BBB and they are spikey looking harder type plastic.

I’m thinking maybe you should try less time in the wash, and smaller load perhaps?
And the from dryer try and remove As soon as load finishes.
My dryer has a setting for de wrinkling. I’ve never had to use it.
Hope it gets better OP, that sounds frustrating!

 

[violina]

I've been using them for a long time now, but mostly I use them to help clothes stay separated and dry better. I don't know about their ability to keep the wrinkles down; the only way I was able to combat that is to pull the clothes out of the dryer immediately when it was done (which I'm not great about timing).

I have the Kikkerland Hedgehogs that I got 5 years ago (still going strong!) and a generic plastic pack that I got off of Amazon.

 

[disneychrista]

I was using them in my clothes but I started to notice that fairly new cotton shirts where starting to look old. Now I only use them in towels, blankets & sheets.

 

[bcla]

My wife bought some a few years back, although I'm not quite sure what they're supposed to do other than supposedly help dry better. They make one heck of a racket - especially with a light load.

OK - looked it up and none I've seen claim that they help with wrinkles. More about natural fabric softening and reduction of static Maybe also speeding up drying time. Normally wool doesn't go in the dryer, but I suppose it doesn't really matter if the wool in dryer balls shrinks.

 

[Imzadi]

The washer is HE

Do smaller loads in the dryer and that might help.

Do smaller loads in the washer too and that might help. The clothes aren't swirling & swishing around in a lot of water the way they used to. If they're packed too tightly, they may just be tumbling and folding onto each other, creating wrinkles.

 

[DVCjj]

Hello, I feel like I am struggling (with a new washer and dryer) with clothes that are horribly wrinkled.

The washer is HE, and I literally shake each item before it goes in the dryer. I wash and dry on the “wrinkle prevention” settings. And 1/2 the time, it just seems like the clothes are too wrinkled to wear, so I will do an additional load of clothes. I feel that clothes are not tumbling properly.

So-who uses dryer balls for this purpose, does it help? And how many balls do you use, and if you know the brand, what is it.

Thanks!

I haven't used dryer balls yet but just wanted to tell you I hate my HE washer. There were 8 washers to choose from and only one non HE. Should have bought that one. I hate not having a normal agitator & having to jam things away from the non-existent agitator middle. Everything is exactly as you say. Totally compressed. I shake everything before drying and then put in double dryer sheets. I know I'm old but so many times, the tried and true things are the easiest and best.

I'm interested in reading about the dryer balls.

 

[nkereina]

I've used the rubber dryer balls and as a PP mentions, I'm not sure they are intended to help with wrinkles. They're more to reduce static and can take the place of dryer sheets if one desires. I haven't found my clothes to be more or less wrinkly by using them.

Does your dryer have steam functionality as well? I fortunately don't have wrinkle issues with my regular loads, and I will also use the wrinkle prevention setting which just tosses the clothes around every few minutes until you're able to pull them out of the dryer. But my dryer also has a "wrinkle free" setting where steam is generated in the dryer and then the clothes run through a cycle to remove wrinkles through that method. However, I have to have at least 3-4 articles of clothing in it or else it does not work (the user manual says this as well), and its not ideal for clothes that need to be line dried or prone to shrinking as it gets them pretty wet and then runs them through on high heat.

 

[littlejimmy]

I don't know much about dryer balls , but

 

[elaine amj]

I have used them for years. Just the cheap blue spikey ones I bought at a dollar store. They do dry clothes faster.

For wrinkles, I find it best to just do smaller loads.

I feel u guys on the hate for the newer machines though. Every once in a while my dryer decides it should stop for a bit. No clue why. And what used to take 30-40 mins in the dryer now takes 40-60 mins. The washer is annoying too. And I bought the very simplest machines I could find at Costco.

My neighbor hates her new machine too - the buttons always mess her up and ai have to go over every month or two to get her machine going again. I miss the old simple machines and have found no need for the newfangled functions.

 

[DYNSC]

I use the wool dryer balls all the time, I use 6 and the dryer time in substantially less to get items dry. I also find I don’t need to use fabric softer with most loads except very static materials. Be sure to only use the wool ones, I tried the other ones that have spike like all over and they ruined a lot of clothes. But if you want to avoid wrinkles totally be sure to take items out when slightly damp & hang up or get out of dryer as soon as dry. I love the dryer balls and very reasonable price on Amazon.

 

[pwdebbie]

I have two sets of six dryer balls, black and white. I love them and use them all the time. If a load sits a bit before I get to it to take it out, I just tumble using the last few minutes of the cycle (minimal heat) and take items out one at a time while the rest continue tumbling. No wrinkles. I have used my original twelve balls for about three years now. I do feel that they both soften and remove wrinkles. The only thing I use softener on now is hubby's whites (socks, undershirts, underpants) simply because he likes the feel better.

 

[NYCgrrl]

Smaller load and/or lower temperature should prevent excessive wrinkles.
I use clean sneakers as opposed to dryer balls to fluff items such as down quilts, pillows, and coats.