What are dryer balls? Do dryer balls really work?
A few months ago I added a product link to dryer balls on my Energy efficient dryers page. I had seen these dryer balls listed by several merchants whose products I offer, and each merchant mentioned an ‘independent study’ showing that the dryer balls cut the energy used to dry laundry by up to 25%.
Dryer balls are air-filled rubber or plastic balls covered in bumps, which you toss into your dryer along with a load of laundry. In theory, these balls fluff your garments more during tumbling, which softens clothes, and keeps them from clinging together, so that more air exchange occurs between the clothes, leading to faster drying times.
That’s the theory, anyways. I should have been more skeptical. I once spent $80 on a set of plastic laundry discs that were supposed to make laundry detergent obsolete. My friends and I were convinced these discs saved on detergent, reduced water pollution, eliminated unwanted detergent smells from our laundry, and did as good a job cleaning clothes as Tide.
Dryer balls from Gaiam
No longer for sale on my site
But eventually we noticed that our clothes were getting grayer and grayer, which is what would have happened if we had washed our clothes in plain water. I later heard that a Consumers Reports study found no difference between washing with laundry discs, and washing just in water. But they’re still for sale all over the place.
Challenged by a visitor
Given my past experience with laundry discs, I should probably have done a dryer balls review before posting the product on my website. I don’t want site visitors to buy something through me that doesn’t actually save them energy.
A couple of weeks ago I received an e-mail from Svein Medhus, who had found my quote about independent testing of these dryer balls. Svein asked me for evidence of the claim. I went looking for confirmation of the “25% reduction in drying time” statement, and found that hundreds of websites sell this product and quote the claims, but no site provided the independent test results.
So I fired off an e-mail to Nellie’s All Natural, who are the distributor of Nellie’s Dryer Balls, the product I featured. Within a day I got back a Microsoft Word document containing the test results.
The independent test report
Dryer balls test report
The test document states that no part of it may be reproduced unless the entire report is reproduced in full, so I won’t quote it, but can send it to anyone who wants a copy, and I can paraphrase conclusions and measurements within the report. Here are some interesting points:
- The report is in MS Word format, a modifiable format. While I don’t believe anyone would tamper with the original report conclusions, we can’t exclude the possibility that the report has been modified to improve the case for these dryer balls.
- The report is not signed by an individual. The report is dated, but there are two dates: Date of this report: 12-Jul-04, and Date testing completed: 19-Jul-04. Odd that the report was written before testing was completed!
- The report was produced by Technicare Services Limited of Leicester UK, if anyone wants to contact them and ask for more details.
- The report concludes that drying rate is 15% to 25% faster compared to no dryer balls, when drying clothes to a given humidity level.
- The report shows a table with ‘Percentage increase over dry conditioned weight’ at starting time, and 15/30/45/60 minute intervals.
After reading Svein’s challenge to the report, and looking at the timed results more closely, I agree with him that there is a problem reconciling the data with the testing company’s conclusions. Let’s look at a chart showing percentage increase over dry conditioned weight for the four loads tested (two with, two without dryer balls). I’ve rebaselined this so that the Y axis denotes percentage of dry weight, instead of weight increase; so the 160 line means the laundry at that point would have weighed 160% of dry weight, or 60% more than dry weight.
Dryer balls test results chart
As you can see, the two loads that used dryer balls definitely had a bit of an advantage in terms of having a lower total weight through most of the drying cycle. But can we really conclude a 25% speed-up in drying time? From the graph, it looks like the runs with dryer balls made it to the finish line by the 45 minute mark, while those without dryer balls didn’t make it until the 60 minute mark, which seems to support the theory that the dryer balls shortened drying time by 15 minutes or 25%.
Except that we really don’t know when, between the 45- and 60-minute marks, each load achieved 100% of starting dry weight, because the loads were only weighed every 15 minutes. Suppose we tried to smooth out the chart lines on 5 minute intervals, predicting each unknown 5 minute interval so that the overall line from previous points stays smooth. Then our chart would look more like this:
Drying rate with and without dryer balls after smoothening
Notice the vertical section at the bottom of each line, which suggests when we can reasonably expect each load to have reached 100% dry. As you can see, the loads with balls probably reached 100% of original dry weight (i.e. dry) around 43:30 minutes and 45:00 minutes after start, while the loads without dryer balls probably reached dry state around 48:00 minutes and 50:00 minutes respectively. If we average each pair of runs we get:
49m00s / 44m15s = 49.00 / 44.25 = 1.107.
In other words, while the loads with dryer balls did dry faster, they only dried about 10.7% faster – nowhere near the 15-25% claimed in the report or the ‘up to 25%’ claimed by the company selling these dryer balls. And with only four runs total, it’s hard to draw any statistically significant conclusion from such a narrow gap between the runs with and without dryer balls.
Admittedly, my guess at when they did become 100% dry is speculation – but it’s clear that the original tests simply don’t support the conclusion of a 25% or even a 15% reduction in drying time. The test report even includes a statement that the improvement in drying time is ‘not significant’ but is ‘real’. We can at least agree with the ‘not significant’ part of the conclusion.
Home testing
After he had reviewed the test report, Svein decided to do a test of his own, with a set of dryer balls he bought from a different company.
He ran four tests, as with the original, independent tests. He used a typical laundry load consisting of socks, underwear, t-shirts, towels, jeans, pants and a shirt. In each test he washed the laundry in a front loading washer and ran it at a spin speed of 1500 RPM to extract most of the laundry water.
Svein weighed the laundry items at the start and end of the drying cycle, and used an electricity meter similar to the Kill A Watt meter to measure kilowatt hours used by his electric condensing dryer (a dryer that uses a heat exchanger and water to condense moisture out of the air in the dryer). Here are Svein’s results:
| No dryer balls |
Dryer balls |
|||||
| Run 1 | Run 2 | Average | Run 1 | Run 2 | Average | |
| Wet weight (g) | 4296 | 4220 | 4258 | 4230 | 4210 | 4220 |
| Dry weight (g) | 2926 | 2948 | 2937 | 2950 | 2950 | 2950 |
| Kwh used | 1.85 | 1.65 | 1.75 | 1.68 | 1.65 | 1.67 |
| Kwh per liter water removed | 1.35 | 1.29 | 1.32 | 1.31 | 1.31 | 1.31 |
| Drying time | 1:04 | 0:47 | 0:55 | 0:59 | 0:58 | 0:58 |
From the averages, you can see that the drying time without dryer balls was actually faster than that with dryer balls, while the amount of energy used per liter of water extracted was virtually identical.
So, are dryer balls worth the money?
Does it really make sense to buy dryer balls? Do they work? Will they really save you energy or money? Here are some things to consider:
- The claim that ‘independent testing’ has confirmed up to 25% reduction in drying time isn’t supported by the evidence the report provides. This may be why the ‘independent testing’ isn’t linked to from any site I found that sells these products and sports the claims.
- Svein’s results show no significant difference in drying time and energy used between runs with and without dryer balls
- The independent tests did identify some increase in softness and a reduction in lint production, which may be another reason some people like these dryer balls.
- Consumers who have bought these dryer balls report a range of reactions, from early breakage, to no noticeable difference in dryer time, to people raving about how much energy the dryer balls save.
There are also some differences between Svein’s tests and those done by Technicare Services:
- Svein used a condensing dryer, which works differently from the standard tumble dryers used in the test. It’s possible that the dryer balls may have a different effect on drying time or energy use in a regular air-venting dryer.
- Svein used dryer balls from a different manufacturer. It is possible that Nellie’s Dryer Balls do actually reduce drying time more than the dryer balls Svein bought, although we must remember even Technicare admitted that the improvement was not significant.
- Svein used mostly 100% cotton laundry. The Technicare tests used mostly polyester fabrics, which doesn’t seem like a typical fiber mix for the 21st century.
Again, if you really want to save money and energy on laundry, the best place to start is with an energy saving washer that washes your clothes with less energy, and extracts more of the water during the spin cycle, and then to use a clothes line or clothes rack, or make sure you have an energy efficient dryer to dry your clothes.
Why do so many sites promote dryer balls
Remember that, once someone has bought a product, unless they are unhappy with it, they tend to sing its praises to reassure themselves that they’ve made a good purchase. That’s what my friends and I did with our laundry discs, and it may be what’s behind many of the positive reviews of this product elsewhere.
Also, the sites that promote these dryer balls are just trying to earn a commission on their sale. There’s nothing wrong with websites earning commissions from product sales – if websites like mine didn’t earn money on product sales and advertising, we wouldn’t be able to operate. But webmasters do have a responsibility to make sure they’re not selling false hopes or products that don’t live up to their claims, which is why I’ve removed the dryer balls for sale from my site, and instead written this dryer balls review.
Svein has written his own review, dryer balls save no energy, on his blog, which is called The Urge for Less Energy Use.
If you have an experience with dryer balls, please comment on this page. Don’t forget that people being happy with their dryer balls doesn’t mean they actually save energy. I used a plastic laundry disk for over a year and swore by it – a teaspoon of detergent was all I needed, although our laundry did come out a bit grey. Turns out you can get exactly the same grey result with a teaspoon of detergent without the overpriced laundry disks! It would be great to hear from others who have actually measured the effectiveness (or lack thereof) of their dryer balls.
I like my dryer balls. They seem to work and are certainly less expensive than buying dryer sheets. Also I’m allergic to many, many additives so these are great for me. One problem I have is that in my large front loading laudromat dryers, the balls make the door locks pop. In the smaller laundromat dryers, they work fine.
Do they turn the dryer blue inside?
I hate to admit it, but without my knowing it, my wife bought some of these dryer balls from a local ‘green’ store. She has used them a few times. I have not tried to collect evidence as to whether they work or not, but they do not turn the dryer blue or the clothes blue.
I just wanted to relate my experience with dryer balls. I have stopped using softener since I already have softened water. I started using the dryer balls a month ago and I have seen a noticeable difference in my clothing in the form of less wrinkles and greater softness. My husband has also commented that his underwear feels softer. So whether or not they save energy, they do save money in eliminating softener and time by having less ironing.
I saw the advertisement at a time I was wearing identical type work clothes daily. Saturday was my wash day. Identical size load month after month. My first wash load went into the electric dryer and the second load into the washer. I had to wait for the dryer to finish to place the second load in to dry. I do not remember the length of time but when I first used the dryer balls the dryer was finished after the second load of wash was out of the washer. When I calculated the difference in time , it was better than 30% saving.
When I first saw the ad. I knew it had to make an improvement but I did not expect that much. Anything that will make a pathway for airflow between the laundry allows for faster removal of the moisture. Very elementary. I should have thought of that years before.
One more thing. I have found tennis balls do almost as well and may cost less. The more balls, the better the circulation. If you need to use a dryer, don’t forget the balls. It will seve you a lot of money. You can prove it for yourself.
Love my dryer balls that I’ve used for about three months. But after two months the stuffing came out. I replaced it with some home sponges. Now the green plastic has started to crack up. Do I have any choice except buy more which I doubt I will.
I have been using dryer balls for about eight years, ever since a fabric softener spill at a container terminal in Halifax, NS. When the clean-up crew had to wear hazmat suits, I felt it was time to check out fabric softeners! They are the cause behind many skin problems, i.e. itching and allergies. I love my dryer balls. Energy savings are just an added benefit.
The UK Consumer Association investigated these balls and reported in August 2010 that they lead to slightly longer drying times on a full load, and gave no benefits with respect to softness or wrinkles.
I save 100% of the energy cost by hanging the clothes on a line to dry.
If you want towels like sand paper that’s the way to go
It’s true that drying towels on a line does make them really stiff. I work around that by drying them partway in the dryer to fluff them, and finishing them off on the line.
I just bought some of the plastic bumpy kind at a second-hand store for ultra-cheap, so I’m not out any significant money, and I haven’t been using fabric softener sheets because of the ongoing price, as well as because they can add a bit of goo that builds up on your lint trap apparently. I haven’t had a chance to try them these yet, but any improvement in drying time, softening, lessening of static buildup, or wrinkle-reduction will be a plus.
Something to consider is that I know that especially for clothing such as down jackets or comforters that need fluffed, it’s always been recommended to use a tennis shoe with them when drying — surely this is the same action in the dryer? Also I read on another website that it probably makes a difference if one has a dryer that changes directions during the cycle, or if one has a dryer that rotates one direction only, because the clothes is more likely to tangle and keep a wet spot in the center with the latter that dryer balls may break up. This would impact the testing.
A tennis shoe is quite a bit bulkier than most dryer balls, and may do a better job of fluffing up jackets or comforters. On the other hand dryer balls won’t make that annoying thumping sound. In any case, while dryer balls might help fluff certain items, the key is to bear in mind that there is no validity to the claim that they save any energy. As long as people buying them are aware of that. I don’t think there is actually any real harm in using them.
I just bought some white dryer balls and hoping I have good results to get away from the dryer sheets also. Your right, when drying some items with down in them and winter jackets, a tennis ball is suggested to fluff them up again and help with drying time and it certainly works well. Hoping for success with the the dryer balls that I bought for a mere $5 for 4 and these are medium soft so will be quiet while I’ve seen some really hard and don’t want to listen to the noise in the dryer.
I have just received some dryer balls, that I brought of the internet, they are Sunbeam. On the packaging it says this product contains chemicals known to the state of California to cause cancer, birth defects and other reproductive harm! What does this mean?
This statement is the result of California’s Proposition 65, a ballot initiative voted on by the public and passed into law in 1986 that requires manufacturers to list the warning on any product that contains chemicals known to be harmful in some way.
The warning does not single out a particular chemical and applies to a great many of them, and the context of use is important too – for example if a baby bottle contains one of these chemicals you probably don’t want your kid drinking out of the bottle, but if a bottle of window cleaner contains that same chemical the risk might be much smaller.
The warning appears on a great many products, and if you are concerned you can always contact the manufacturer and ask which chemicals prompted the warning. In the case of dryer balls the chemical is probably polyvinyl chloride, a highly toxic substance that you really don’t want to ingest (for example, avoid buying vinyl toys for your dog) but the risks are smaller for dryer balls. Of more concern is the fact that the dryer balls don’t actually do anything to decrease drying time or energy use.
Also consider the fact that the manufacture of polyvinyl chloride is a pretty toxic business. From an ecological perspective the best thing to do is not buy products made of this material, and if you find you have bought one and can still return it to the place of purchase for a refund, do so quickly.
Haven’t you heard, it is difficult to sell anything in California without that label on it?
It’s only harmful in California… so if you live in another state, you’re fine.
I was searching the web for some data on dryer balls vs drying time and came across this article. Overall a good article, but the test engineer in my is screaming – I have issues with the ‘home testing’. The problem is the inconsistency of the data. With dryer balls, the drying time was consistent (within 1 min). With out dryer balls, the time to dry the same wet load of laundry varied by 17 min without any explanation. This makes the test results inconclusive. You need a consistent data set to have good data – so that test is not useful.
we use alpaca fleece made dryer balls, set of three. They works wonder indeed. jean dry faster and softer and eliminate the statics in nylon dress. No more fabric softner or sheets needed. Recommend this to all.
I’m glad you find them helpful. Note that short of doing the kind of scientific test done by Svein as described in this article, you can’t really be sure if your dryer balls are actually speeding things up. Even then, they may be speeding things up without making the dryer use less energy. I think the key is you don’t need to use fabric softener or dryer sheets – that will save you a bundle.
The first thing I noticed was they make my clothes softer than even fabric softener does.
I have some questions! How many dryer balls were used in the tests? (all of the tests) Also, what kind of dryer balls were used? Since there are those plastic/rubbery ones and also wool ones. I feel like we could expand this experiment to include loads using different amounts of dryer balls and different types of dryer balls. If we did would the results be different? I’m with the others who have commented- I find my clothes to be softer and more wrinkle free, which is enough of an incentive for me since I do not use fabric softener.
I’m afraid I don’t have answers to the question of how many dryer balls the testing company used in their tests. From reading Svein’s post I gather he purchased one package of two balls. Someone could indeed do several tests with different numbers of dryer balls or different objects used in place of dryer balls. But the fact remains that everyone who likes these things seems to like them because the balls do seem to reduce wrinkling and make the clothes softer. There’s nothing wrong with using dryer balls for that. But the manufacturers shouldn’t be claiming energy savings when there’s no conclusive evidence they save any money.
I’ve been using Nellie’s all-natural Lamby dryer balls and my clothes come out with so much static and it doesnt soften my clothes at all. And I’m using their detergent that claims to soften the clothes too. But I think it dries a little bit faster, that’s all.
I have a set of the Nellie’s plastic dryer balls and they sort of work for some fabrics, not so well on others. Plus, they have taken on a “funky” smell after several uses. If I wash them, will it affect their performance?
Good question. Since I don’t use them or recommend their use I can’t comment. It would depend partly on what they’re made of. The blue plastic ones should be washable.
Of course they do. It does not take rocket science to see that the hot air circulates more effectively and hence clothes dry more evenly due to less clumping.
You wouldn’t buy a washer with no spinner, would you?
Your comment suggests that it is self-evident that dryer balls make drying more efficient, but what appears obvious does not constitute evidence. In this case the only evidence we have are (1) the original study, commissioned by the manufacturer/supplier, which fails to show any statistically significant relationship between use of dryer balls and efficiency, its own claims not withstanding, and (2) Svein’s more impartial experiment which also concluded that the dryer balls have no effect. Do not confuse obviousness with truth.
The main advantage I see with dryer balls is when I am drying sheets. Queen size sheets tend to wrap around themselves and each other in the dryer, and then the middle area doesn’t get dry. Dryer balls (at least to me) seem to keep the sheets from tangling around each other, and therefore improve drying time because I don’t have to wait until the dryer finishes, untangle the sheets and then restart the dryer.
Has anyone noticed any damage to clothing from the dryer balls?
I noticed that my sweaters got those little fuzz balls on them, so I don’t use them on my sweaters any more.
Is there any issue with using them with a natural gas dryer?
There should be no difference between an electric heat dryer and a natural gas heat dryer since they both provide the same level of heat. The only issue is that there is no demonstrable benefit to using them in either an electric heat or natural gas heat dryer.
As a green enthusiast I am very pleased to have accidentally encountered this disscussion.
For several years I have always included two dryer balls when dealing with the laundry telling myself that they MUST work.
On the other hand, my wife has NEVER used them, saying that she cannot stand the irritating clatter etc.
In the future I shall pop in an experimental tennis shoe. simply to satisfy myself. I shall not mention this. But thanks to your enlightening discussion I now feel content that we are both justified
Technicare Services was taken over by BV in I think 2004 (might be 2007) and is now BV Technicare. They are credible in fabric testing, but I cant find any evidence of their credentials for this kind of testing. One of the other comments I’ve seen is that the UK Consumer Association (aka “Which”) has concluded they make no difference. Thats the closest to conclusive evidence I have been able to find during my internet research. The comment in here about the home test results is also valid; I think the only conclusion we can draw is that drying times can be variable, depend on many factors, and it would take a shed load more testing and proper statistical analysis to prove anything (which is what Which has a reputation for doing, from the consumers perspective, rather than the manufacturer/retailer perspective). From a pure physics perspective, most of the claims about getting air into the load etc dont male sense. The only possible physical effect I can see doing anythin positive, is that the balls have a significant surface area; they will take moisture from the clothes, and allow it to evaporate over a larger surface. But the effect will be tiny. I reckon adding a dry towel to the dryer load will add considerably more area, so should work more effectively. Maybe I’ll try an experiment one day. Surely the loading level is most important: dont overload the dryer so air can get to the clothes, and dont underload cos thats just an inefficient use of the warm air.
Instead, I bought a condensor dryer which takes about 50% longer than my old dryer, but still uses HALF the energy (measured at the socket). Its also allowed me to block up the big vent hole in the side of my house, saving on heating bills, rather than just sucking out warm air from my house, heating it up, getting it damp, and throwing it outside. Rather the heat from the condensor dryer stays in my house, further reducing my heating bills (win, win, win!). If balls makes people feel their clothes are softer, or they dont need to use conditioner, thats great. Otherwise, there are better ways to save energy and money.
Hello Robin,
I am trying to prove a point to some friends. I know these dryer balls don’t live up to the claims, but I am specifically looking for scientific studies done on them (rather than home studies like yourself). Do you know of any besides the one you have linked above?
There are two studies I’m aware of – the home study by Svein, and the independent test report that Nellie’s All Natural provided to me. That report makes it clear that overall there is no evidence the dryer balls work, but Nellie’s seems to have cherry picked from the non-significant results and cited only data that supports their claim of energy savings.