Google+ The Duda Homestead: Woolzies Dryer Balls - Review & Giveaway - Sweet Summer Giveaway Hop!

Saturday, August 17, 2013

Woolzies Dryer Balls - Review & Giveaway - Sweet Summer Giveaway Hop!

Welcome to the
Sweet Summer Giveaway Hop
hosted by
and

From August 17-31, you can visit all the participating blogs listed below and enter to win their wonderful prizes to top off your summer in a sweet way. Each blog is offering a giveaway prize of at least $25.00 and you might be lucky enough to win them all!

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"This set of six handmade pure wool dryer balls are special in several ways. They deliver the same benefits for laundry as conventional fabric softeners WITHOUT all the nasty chemicals. They save everyone a lot of money by eliminating the need to continuously spend on fabric softener liquid and sheets. They cut down on the time it takes to dry a typical load by at least 25% thereby saving everyone even more money and cutting down on fossil fuel usage. Finally, being as that they are handmade in the democratic republic of Nepal, they provide a steady source of income to the desperately needy women of that developing nation."

After learning what dryer sheets actually contain (All D's & F's according to the EWG) and what they do to your clothing (animal fat anyone?), I stopped using them and looked to alternatives. I also stopped using fabric softener and replaced it with distilled white vinegar. Our clothes and towels were still soft and felt even cleaner! Perhaps it was in my head, but I loved knowing they weren't coated with toxins and gunk. I was noticing some static cling issues and would occasionally throw in a dryer sheet with the towels...while making an "eww" face. 

First, I read that you can roll up a ball of tin foil and throw it in the dryer as a replacement for dryer sheets. And although the Woolzies product insert actually recommends doing that along with their dryer balls, I feel I need to do a bit more research first to see if anything comes off on the clothes at high heat. I'm sure it doesn't, but since the ball does wear down over time, I'm just not sold on it. In my mind Aluminum=bad (I'm a new mom researching vaccines...and deoderant). Then I started seeing ads for wool dryer balls.

My first thought? "Psh...I could make those and save a ton of money! I'm a super-wife!" But then I saw that a skein of pure wool yarn costs about $8, and you'd probably use almost a full skein per ball. Even if you only needed 4 skeins, that's still $32ish. Then you have to roll them and felt them which required a few runs in the washer and dryer. Woolzies will only cost you $35 and they're already made for you. Yay! So this is a case where I'd prefer to purchase over DIY (which is rare for me!). Since I'm newly a work-at-home momma, I'm also always looking for ways to save while reducing toxins and waste. These were a fantastic solution for us!



Woolzies sent me a box of their dryer balls (6) to try out and review (they were also awesome enough to sponsor this giveaway!). I started using them right away and took some notes on drying time since they claim to reduce it by at least 25%. I didn't do the math, but it did significantly reduce the drying time, even for towels. I was able to use the "less dry" setting on every load of laundry from clothing to towels to our comforter, and they came out dry, soft, and fluffy. I use low heat on clothing (which is better for them, too!) and they still come out dry on the "less dry" time setting. I'd occasionally find a thick collar or wasteband still damp, but would rather let those air dry than wear out the rest of our clothes.  

Now let's think about this...if you have 6 balls rolling around in your dryer, they are going to break up the load. This allows more air to flow between your laundry. Hence the recommendation to throw in a few tennis balls with a large comforter. Guess what? Tennis balls stink. Bad. (Are they loud? Our laundry room is in the basement and our living room is right above it. We can watch TV without hearing them. When the house is quiet, yet we do hear them. But unless you sleep next to your laundry room, I wouldn't worry about the noise. It also depends on how large of a load is in the dryer). Woolzies dryer balls work very well for large bath towels, are awesome at breaking up large loads of little baby clothes, and are a HUGE help when I can't hang dry my cloth diapers and need dry inserts and flats STAT.

A couple of examples to give you an idea of the size. The hubby pointed out that not everyone would know what an Oball is. Though if you have a baby, you should. We love this thing.

So do I recommend Woolzies dryer balls? Hellz yeah I do. 
  • Reduced drying time?  Yes
  • Left clothes/towels all snuggly soft?  Yes
  • Reduced static? Yes
  • Save $$$? Yes (A box of 160 sheets will cost you around $11 for 240. Dryer balls last at least 1000 loads. So dryer sheets = $.05/load. Dryer balls = $.03/load. Woolzies Dryer Balls will save you $15 over those 1k loads. That adds up!
  • Left animal fat and, let's just say crap, all over my laundry?  No, no they did not. (If you do want a scent to your laundry, you can use some pure essential oil to put a drop on a ball or two). 
Enter the giveaway below for your chance to win a set of 6 dryer balls from Woolzies! Giveaway runs through the 31st!
(Woolzies sent me this product for free in exchange for my honest opinion and review. A positive review was not required.)

37 comments:

  1. I am concerned about ingredients in my detergent. Don't like lots of scents--walking down the laundry aisle will give me a headache! I use either Tide Original or make my own

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    1. I'm totally with you on the laundry aisle! I hate breathing in all of those chemicals. I've been using Nellie's laundry soda from Amazon and love it! I believe it is cheaper than Tide, too :)

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    2. Smelling the detergents is called outgassing...I hate walking down the cleaning product aisle also as so many are toxic! TERRIBLE for asthmatics!!!

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  2. I use rolled aluminum foil to dry my laundry and tide to wash in

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  3. I use an all natural laundry detergent that I purchase online. Made a HUGE difference in skin rashes and itching when we switched over 10 years ago!

    Barrie

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  4. I use Gain to wash my laundry. I don't worry about what's in it for our clothes, but for my 2 year old and 2 month old I do. i don't want anything to bother their skin.

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  5. Yes. I use Country Save detergent. I have very sensitive skin and this one is great for all my laundry.

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    1. I've been interested in trying Country Save! I have only found it in bulk on Amazon though. And I'm with you...I'd much prefer to have one detergent for all of our laundry!

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  6. I usually use Purex but I will use whatever I can find a good deal on (Or is easy to stock up on).

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  7. I use Tide or Gain....Yes I worry but I feel my options are limited~~~Lori Jackson is my rafflecopter name

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    1. Amazon has great deals on detergents if you are hoping to switch! (And no, I'm not an affiliate of Amazon at the moment, just a fan!)

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  8. I do worry about ingredients! I have been making my own laundry soap for a couple of years, and really like it. I recently switched from Fels Naptha soap to Kirk's Castile Bar Soap because of the strong fragrance in the FN--even it was bothering my lungs. Going to start adding Thieves cleaner from Young Living pretty soon for extra cleaning/disinfecting power. Good stuff!

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    1. That's great! Definitely cost efficient! I agree with the scent in Fels Naptha, and have recently read that Castile soap (while awesome for laundry) can eventually build up on cloth diapers so I have to figure that one out. It seems great for everyday laundry though!

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  9. we have been using rockn green or charlies. Ingredients concern me and sometimes make me very itchy,

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  10. I started making my own so that I don't have to worry about the ingredients. I tried 3 or 4 different recipes I found from Pinterest until I found one that worked well for us. It is even cloth diaper friendly!

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  11. Yes, I do worry about that. I use Wisk.

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  12. Yes! I've resorted to making my own.

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  13. I use Xtra - cheapest option. I don't use dryer sheets because of all the nasty stuff in them.

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  14. I should probably worry but I don't. I use Tide Pods and Costco laundry pods.

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  15. Yes I do worry about it. We use All Free Clear. I don't use fabric softener or dryer sheets.

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  16. I have been using Purex lately,I do worry about ingredients, but I need to buy whatever I have a coupon for right now.

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    1. Totally understandable! Have you looked into making your own? It seems to be the most cost effective option and you can make 5 gallons at a time that will last you up to 6 months!

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  17. I have to be careful because my husband and kids are sensitive to fragrances. For a long time I used Country Save but I didn't feel like it got stains out well. I've switched to Tide for sensitive skin and the clothes are cleaner and so far no one's broken out from it.

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  18. I do worry about chemicals in my laudry detergent as well as fabric softener. I use Ecover.
    sressell@earthlink.net

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  19. I have just started going "green" about the past 6 months. I now make my own laundry detergent with a recipe I found on Pinterest.

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  20. I definitely think about it, but I wouldn't call it worry. The thing is I want my laundry to SMELL clean and fresh. I use Gain HE and I love the way it smells! I sure hope I win this one! I have entered so may giveaways for the Woolzies! Thanks! Kathleen on the RC

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    1. Good luck! If you do win or purchase, you can add a couple drops of an essential oil to a dryer ball or two at the end on a no heat cycle (heat breaks down essential oils) to add a more natural scent to your laundry!

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  21. I don't worry about my detergent since I use an all natural plant based detergent. :) Been a lifetime shaklee user.

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  22. I do worry, so I make my own detergent. diesel_had_my_baby@yahoo.com

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  23. Thanks for adding my link to your RC form. You Are Amazing! :)

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  24. I have recently been reading about using Vinegar and/or baking soda in the washer and I would like to try it. The idea of using natural ingredients appeals to me and it's more economical. I use whatever detergent is on sale.

    Thanks :)

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    1. I am telling you, I notice a big difference with vinegar! I put it in the fabric softener dispenser (instead of fabric softener) and things feel cleaner and softer. I haven't experimented much with baking soda just yet, but I plan to!

      Good luck!

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  25. Yes, I'm very aware of what goes in my laundry - 7th Generation.
    Thanks for the contest.

    slehan at juno dot com

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