Answers to a few questions about Dryer Balls

There were a few questions about the dryer balls I posted about yesterday. Here are the answers that I have.

Bobbi, I have noticed that there does not seem to be as much static in my clothes. I have a couple of fleece blankets and normally when I pull them out of the dryer you can hear the static in them, but Sunday I did not notice any static.

Janelle, supposedly they work by creating more space between the clothes for air to flow through thus shortening the drying time. As far as how they make the clothes softer and stuff I honestly have no idea. From what research I have done online it seems like because they do not have the chemicals that dryer sheets do that build up a residue on your clothes and prevent them from being soft and fluffy. Expecially with the towels the residue causes them to be less absorbent.

Nellie's Dryer Balls: A Review

I have been reading a lot about using dryer balls instead of fabric softner sheets for the past few months. Supposedly they reduce drying time, lint and wrinkles, make towels more absorbent and clothes softer and of course they are better for the environment because they reduce waste. You spend less money on energy as well. Like the no-poo (which I am still doing by the way) I had to give it a try.

There are people that make their own out of wool, and then there are the rubbery plastic type ones like I got. ALDI'S had them for $6.99 for the 2 pack, so I picked some up last week. After getting home from camping I had a TON of laundry to do. I washed my first load and then threw them in the dryer with my new balls.

The results? Since I have an older dryer I always have to let it finish one complete cycle then turn it on for another 30-40 minutes. With the dryer balls I am only having to add on an extra 10-20 minutes. Honestly I have not noticed if my clothes are any softer or my towels more absorbent, but for me the energy savings plus the fact that they are reusable instead of disposable makes them a winner in my book.

Shampoo-less

I have been reading since I was in high school, about using baking soda as shampoo. I have never gotten up the nerve to actually try it though, until last week.

I have recently begun trying to limit the impact that I personally have on the environment, as well as trying to reduce my expenses. Trying this does both. Granted it does not have that much of an impact, as my husband and son still use shampoo, and their bottles will go in the garbage, but I do not want to force them to try/live the way I do. Who knows maybe Jeff will eventually try it.

What do most people pay for shampoo and conditioner? Somewhere between $1 to $10 depending on what brand and where you buy it. (Unless you do the CVS'ing and Rite Aiding etc and can get it for next to nothing) What do you pay for a box of baking soda? Between .50 and $1.50. If you want to add a conditioner of apple cider vinegar, that only costs about $3. So I can wash and condition my hair for a grand total of $4 for several months, as opposed to roughly $10 every month or so.

Now for how it is working for me so far. I read this post last week and then this one, and the one that answered the most of my questions, this one. After reading these, I thought, why not? I can at least try it.

So I whipped up a mixture of 1tbsp baking soda and a cup of warm water and a tsp of honey. I put all that in an empty conditioner bottle and shook it up really well. I hopped in the shower and proceeded to squirt some on my wet head. I was fairly impressed with the results once I got out. My hair did not feel yucky or dry!

The next day I grabbed some tea tree oil and apple cider vinegar on my way home. I mixed a cup of the vinegar with a few drops of the tea tree oil to use as my conditioner. When I washed my hair that night I added the vinegar rinse. I was disappointed to see that my hair looked a little greasy once it was dry. I had read that you can go through a "detox" phase but was hoping that I was going to be one of the few who did not. That was not to happen though.

For the next few days I continued to stay with my routine and did not stray even though I was not 100% happy with the results. I wanted to give it a good try before giving up. I did some more research and decided to try making a past out of the baking soda instead of using a cup of water. and left out the honey (adds extra moisture). A lot of people said that seemed to work better for shorter hair. They seemed to be right! I tried it before meeting Jessica for lunch. My hair still seemed to be a little greasier than I would have liked, but was a lot better than it had been during the week.

Then I decided to cut back on the "conditioner." Several of the blogs and articles I had read said that a lot of the time you do not need to use it every day. Looks like they were right too. I tried not using the rinse this morning, and was pleased with the results. It was not greasy looking at all this morning and it still felt nice and soft.

I am hoping that eliminating all the chemicals in the shampoo and conditioner I was using, that it will help clear up the breakouts on my face as well. There has been evidence to show that sometimes the chemicals can cause hairline acne as well as acne on the back, shoulders, and arms from the shampoo and conditioner being rinsed out and coming into contact with these areas.

This may not be for everyone, but I for one am happy with the results. I will continue to play with the "doses" and see what works best for me.

Homemade Laundry Detergent

I mixed up a batch of homemade laundry detergent yesterday, after discovering that Meijer's carries all the ingredients needed. I tried it out today on the items that I hand wash, like underwear, socks, hand towels, etc.

One of the first things I liked about it was how easy it was to make. Took maybe 10 minutes and that included grating the soap.

It smells wonderful. Kind of lemony, and I do not normally like citrusy smells, but this smells fresh and clean.

I was kind of skeptical about not needing to use fabric softener with it, but I tried it. The clothes did feel a lot softer than they normally do. I will let you know how they feel after they air dry. I hate how hard clothes are when you air dry them!

I have not tried it in the washing machine yet, as we still have some Tide left. Once that is gone I will be using the homemade detergent.

So far, I like it.


Homemade Laundry Detergent (Powdered)

1 cup washing soda
1 cup Borax
2 cups finely grated soap (I used Fels Naphtha, but you can use any spare bits you have around the house.)

Grate 2 cups of chosen soap. Combine all ingredients. It is recommended that you give it a whir in the blender to chop all the pieces of soap up really fine, so they will dissolve better, but you do not have to if you do not want too.

Amount needed per load of laundry varies on where you live, and the water quality. Generally 2 Tbsp will work for a normal load. If the clothes are really dirty you can add a bit more. Some people say that the 2 Tbsp does not get their clothes clean enough, and other people say they do not have to use that much. It will require some experimentation to discover what you prefer. I used 2 Tbsp on the hand washables and they seemed to be just as clean as with store bought detergent.

I highly recommend checking out Little House in the Suburbs for more great home made ideas. They also have a recipe for liquid laundry detergent if you prefer that over powder. Go here for that.