Do Tumble Dryer Balls Work? | Test

In this video on Adventures in Rice we look at whether tumble dryer balls really work and if they are worth the money. Do tumble dryer balls remove static? Do they decrease the time it takes to dry your clothes washing? Let's find out!
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[@Nigel_Sharp]

Love KZbin when I have a question like this running around in my head. Thanks for the video.

[@adventuresinrice]

Any time!

[@CS-zp3to]

I just got some dryer wool balls and they work great. No static cling and they've shortened the drying time of each load by at least 10 minutes. Another big plus is that my sheets were no longer all twisted up together coming out of the dryer and dried 20 minutes faster using all 6 balls! All other loads I've used 4.

[@adventuresinrice]

I never thought to use more! I might have to try it with 6, thanks for the tip!

[@solveigvan808]

I specifically wondered if the balls were actually effective at reducing static, so seeing how it worked for you gives me hope that I can get similar results. I'm going to find some balls and try them out.

[@UndeadEyes]

I just got my first set of these and tossed two in with some essential oil for my new massage sheets I was washing for the first time. Oh, boy, the static was intense. However, that may have less to do with the balls and more to do with the sheets/blanket being new and releasing a lot of fuzz. However, I do enjoy the essential oil of a light cucumber smell because it makes my sheets smell better than just the ol' hot dryer smell they usually have. Lol.

[@reedasue]

if you use the wool balls you can also reduce the heat, which saves money and your clothes

[@valerielinares2068]

I have a set of 6 dryer balls. I've hardly used them at all since I got them. But, today I've used them with each load of washing I did. I have definitely noticed a difference in drying time and a reduction in static. You see, usually I have to run the dryer twice to dry the laundry because I have an older dryer and it doesn't dry as well as it used to. But, with the dryer balls, I've noticed I've only needed to run it once. HUGE time saver. Here's a question for you: In your situation, your two dryer balls saved you 8 minutes. I'm wondering, though, if you were to use more, if your laundry would dry faster. What do you think? Have you tried it since then?

[@adventuresinrice]

It's certainly worth a try, more balls - especially wool - would mean more moisture absorption

[@jessiexm90]

I can confirm that the woolen balls reduce or even completeely eliminate the static. Haven't tested the drying time though, but I think it's either the same or a bit less. I use 4 balls instead of 2 as they are sold in packs of 4 in my country.

[@rakeshbai2732]

Hilarious. And helpful! Lol

[@adventuresinrice]

hah Thank you :)

[@Shamiterrific]

Thank you. I bought a heat pump too. Had to convince my other half it was worth it so looking for every advantage 🙂

[@adventuresinrice]

It's better for sure, I do have footage of my old one so if I can find it I'll run the numbers and upload a video. It is scary to think about putting it on for 3 hours though!

[@ajayb2478]

Thank you!! Excellent video

[@adventuresinrice]

You are welcome!

[@leiaclark8388]

The balls definitely save you money over dryer sheets, and work better. I use mint essential oil or extract on my balls. Regular fabric softener often smells like soap to me.

[@nancyandjoel4134]

I use 3 dryer balls with lavender oil sprayed the balls. Works great. Will never use dryer sheets again. Bad for the clothes and bad for the environment. My clothes dry so much quicker and almost no wrinkles.

[@adventuresinrice]

Great tip!

[@greenalienhugz]

Thanks for this!😊

[@adventuresinrice]

No problem 😊

[@aperson2730]

Apparently the wool balls are quieter than the plastic ones when they're tumbling around inside the dryer.

[@Strafiol_98]

Bravo, grazie ❤❤❤

[@mrts5057]

Does static also depend on what type of tumble dryer you have. I used to have a condenser tumble dryer but have been using my new heat pump dryer for a couple of years and no static noticed. Might still purchase the balls if they reduse drying time as heat pump use less energy but drying time is usually longer compared to condenser dryers. Apologies, wrote my comment before you mentioned you had a heat pump dryer.

[@adventuresinrice]

Possibly. I'd say the biggest factor is the matrial of the clothes, gym equipment and nylons are the worst! Yeah the heat pump can be a lot longer, I did have footage of my old condenser dryer but lost it, the price difference was HUGE! The heat pump definitely saves on money/electricity

[@DanielJamesCollier]

Thanks for this! I would be interested to see if doubling it to 4 made any difference. I will test myself :)

[@adventuresinrice]

Did it work?

[@DanielJamesCollier]

@@adventuresinrice I tested 6 balls and took longer than 0 balls. This reproduce twice in a row with the exact same wash and the exact same clothes. So idk.

[@gurgelplus]

Have I missed a energy consumption comparison? That’s the main point!

[@adventuresinrice]

The slightly reduce the drying time so they would save "some" money but it would really depend on what kind of drier you have and it's energy consumption

[@johngaspar4425]

Well if the balls work after being stuck in there for 3 hours, they must really work then. I think you stumbled upon the torture test for static buildup with these balls. I personally will not sit there for 3 hrs and for my clothes to dry.

[@adventuresinrice]

The 3hours is the deafult "mega dry" option, but the dryer has a built in sensor that stops it when everything is dry. So a load is usual done in about 45 minutes. It's a heat pump dryer too, so they usually take longer at lower heat to save energy :)

[@johngaspar4425]

@@adventuresinrice I think the clothes softening performance of these balls comes from the lanolin (fat) in the wool. I'm not too excited about having animal fat excreted on my clothes.

[@adventuresinrice]

@@johngaspar4425 I can't imagine it has much effect, lanolin is an oil that you find all over the place, even in shampoo. And, of course, woollen clothes. But the softening would come more from the balls acting to "massage" and move the clothes around. If you're vegan or anything, you can also get rubber tumble drier balls, these often have little spikes on which help the softening even more

[@judypyle6336]

Tennis balls

[@adventuresinrice]

That's a good idea, certainly worth a test!

[@eddavanleemputten9232]

@@adventuresinrice - Tennis balls work too as far as “massaging” the laundry goes. I’ve never tested if they shorten the drying time but they do help in softening the laundry and are especially useful when washing pillows, comforters etc because the action of the balls hitting the laundry fluffs everything up. One drawback can be that some tennis balls leave brightly coloured fibers on the laundry, and they don’t last forever. After a while they separate into halves. They’re typically harder than felted wool dryer balls which means your laundry gets more of a beating. If you have scrap wool lying around, you can make your own dryer balls. An alternative for the enthusiastic DIY-er is to buy some wool roving (for spinners who process their own wool, use waste wool that is unsuitable for spinning). Or: buy roving for arm knitting. It felts well. There are lots of KZbin tutorials on how to make your own dryer balls. Advantage is that you can customise the size of your dryer balls. This means potentially having larger, heavier balls that are more compacted than the ones you can buy. Using only two dryer balls makes a small difference. Using 4 or 6 makes a much bigger difference. For anyone who doesn’t feel like buying dryer balls but wants to significantly cut down on drying time, an alternative is to stick a dry bath towel in with your fresh laundry. The towel will absorb moisture. If your dryer has a sensor on it that detects moisture levels and shuts down the machine once a pre-determined level was reached, the towel will cut down on drying time. Cheapest option, if you have a garden, is to hang your laundry outside to dry (weather permitting). Or if you have the room inside your home, a drying rack. Your laundry won’t be as soft. But that’s where an in-between measure comes in: set your dryer to a shorter cycle that doesn’t fully dry it (or set the timer to 10-15 minutes), then hang out to dry. You’ll get rid of a lot of wrinkles from the spin cycle provided you take your laundry out of the dryer immediately after it stops. Less ironing (or none!), which means saving time AND energy as that iron works with electricity too. Fold your laundry neatly and put the freshly washed items at the bottom of the pile in your closet. Lazy? Definitely. But it works. Figured that one out because I hate ironing with a passion. 😂 As long as we’re on the subject of saving time/energy in conjunction with dryers: too many people forget how important it is to give a dryer a regular de-fuzzing. Not just the filter but any part you can get at/rinse out. If a dryer isn’t drying properly anymore or has a longer drying time than it used to, give it a thorough once-over. Vents, air intake, air output, tubes, condenser, etc. Check your manual and go for it. You’d be surprised at how much more efficient your dryer is when you clean out more than just the filter on a regular basis. Not to mention the surprisingly large amount of compacted fibre that you’ll get out of it!

[@marthavillanueva5505]

Woolen ones are quieter.

[@randypq4671]

Holy shit... 2+ hours to dry a load of laundry? Thanks for the explanation because it definitely had me scratching my head. I wash a LOT of sheets (about 6 sets of fitted, spread and one pillow case) per load because of our massage business and they tie up in crazy knots much of the time... drives me crazy. Any experience with that or ideas?

[@adventuresinrice]

It sounds crazy right! Because it's a heat pump drier it takes A LOT longer, but does actually use significantly less energy over all (I think I have the raw footage for a video somewhere). It's annoying that it takes so long, but it's cheaper and more efficient :) I have found duvet covers twist up a lot regardless of what you do though, which drives me mad when a Tshirt gets stuck inside

[@stevehadfield5963]

​@@adventuresinrice Easy cure for that, button/fasten up your cover.

[@jamicanshakin]

How long do they last?

[@adventuresinrice]

I still have the same ones over a year later and they look as good as new!

[@jcoopes5604]

They’re made from felted wool they’ll pretty much last forever! My pitty chewed one in half and it’s still useful!

[@eddavanleemputten9232]

@@jcoopes5604 - That’s so typical Pitty! 😂 I’ve got a Pitty/Amstaff mix (with some other bits thrown in for funsies). His bame is Zen because nothing fazes him except me potentially ignoring him. I’ve often considered re-naming him Shredder.

[@sitinoraishajuraimi9946]

Is there a difference in the benefits between top load versus front load.

[@adventuresinrice]

I don't know for sure, but I imagine front loading is faster as the drum flips the bottom clothes to the top where as in a top loader - as far as a I know - the bottom clothes stay at the bottom and they just go around so you'd get less air/heat circulation

[@P78081]

England gave up their guns and their dryers and technology are crap. Buy a real dryer. That 2 hour camper size dryer. Man im watching from canada laughing my butt off.

[@adventuresinrice]

I'm not sure if you caught it, but these heatpump driers use A LOT less energy, mine has a sensor so will usually stop after about 1.5hrs no matter what setting I put it on, I always just set it to 3.5 to make sure :)

[@BuiltUponARock1]

Zzzzzzzzzzzz get to it already yes or no!?!?!