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I love liquid fabric softener. Before I became a frugal mom and realized I was a horrible housewife, there was nothing more heavenly than sleeping in until 11am snuggled in the Downy softness of my comforter with my black lab and husband.
After the birth of my sensitive skinned, allergy ridden baby girl, fabric softener was one of the first things to go. She had horribly itchy eczema patches. I forgot about the whole eczema thing a couple of months ago when I bought some fabric softener to remove wallpaper. I had some leftover when I switched from the softener wallpaper removal method to steam!
While sitting next to my unfolded laundry on our laundry couch, a friend of mine asked, “Wait?! You are using fabric softener? What about Pea’s eczema.”
Oh–that is why it is acting up again.
I bought spiky little dryer balls. They do help with the static but my clothes come out smelling kind of blah.
When I started using Young Living Essential Oils, a friend suggested I start putting a drop or two on a [easyazon_link identifier=”B00GA9P5P0″ locale=”US” tag=”scrugcorne-20″]wool dryer ball[/easyazon_link]. I balked at the price.
Wool dryer ball=a felted ball of wool yarn.
Really?! People pay others to wind a skein of 100% wool into a ball? (Please feel free to email me if you would like me to perform this very difficult and labor intensive service for you. I will provide you with a quote. Oh–and don’t read the rest of this post.)
Materials:
- [easyazon_link identifier=”B003D7QY9I” locale=”US” tag=”scrugcorne-20″]100% wool yarn[/easyazon_link]
- cheap or old [easyazon_link identifier=”B0000ZFS4I” locale=”US” tag=”scrugcorne-20″]panty hose[/easyazon_link].
- Essential oil(s) of choice. I like [easyazon_link identifier=”B0015KQUO4″ locale=”US” tag=”scrugcorne-20″]Purification[/easyazon_link]. It has a fresh clean smell and the blend includes citronella oil which is a mosquito repellent. Win!
Since I am a yarn hoarder collector, I did have a skein of pure wool yarn. I had to go to the dollar store to find some panty hose. It’s been YEARS since I last wore pantyhose.
Instructions:
Wind the yarn into as many balls slightly smaller than a softball as you can.
Tuck in and secure the loose end inside the ball using a crochet hook or yarn needle.
Put each ball into a piece of pantyhose. Tie off the ends so that the yarn is completely in the pantyhose.
Wash the balls in very hot water.
Dry on high heat.
Remove from the pantyhose.
Put two drops of Purification oil on each ball and toss in the dryer with your next load.
The clothes come out soft and smell great! The wool balls also help reduce drying time, which saves money.
I always pour a bit of vinegar into the fabric softener dispenser of the washing machine. Along with the wool balls, this is an awesome replacement for fabric softener.
Have you tried using wool dryer balls yet?
If you want to learn more about essential oils, register now for my free 14 Day email course: Essential Oils 101
More Resources:
Essential Oil Laundry Detergent Recipe for Hard or Soft Water
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Thank you for this information, like you I have wanted some for a long time but refused to pay the price and never thought of making my own. My question is how tightly to I need to wind the balls? Do I want a loose wrap or a tight wrap? Approx. how much do the balls shrink? I was unable to find a white so I have off white and a light tan will they work?
As long as they are 100% wool they should work. They shrank about half an inch around if I remember. I wrapped quickly so it wasn’t too tight. Did you get roving wool?
Yes I have Roving wool but it is an off white color as I couldn’t find any white 100% wool
Off white is fine! I made white ones as gifts but my personal wool balls are off white.
Awesome, thanks
How long do the wool balls usually last? And, do you put the police on before each wash?
Karen you have police on your mind! My homemade ones have lasted for over a year. I put a drop on one or two balls each load. At first, I put a drop or two on each ball but since I use them so much the oils have infused in. I don’t even have to use a drop a load. I can skip one and still smell it.
Brilliant! Thanks for sharing with us 🙂
XOXO
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How cool! I’ve seen wool dryer balls from Econuts.com, but I didn’t even think to try to DIY them!
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The “roving” yarn works best for this project! I love them. They cut drying time and help my clothes smell nice.
We stopped using fabric softeners of any kind when we started cloth diapering. Now we use a hodge podge of dryer balls and vinegar when I think of it. I’ll have to try using a little essential oil. We are hopefully nearing the end of diapers… but
I think we are going to stick with the dryer balls!
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IT’s much cheaper than buying fabric softener for sure! I like to use Purification or a mix of lavender and peppermint!
Love this! I just started using vinegar in our washer, LOL! Great minds think alike!
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Don’t you just love when ideas are simple and brilliant?!!
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