Laundry Balls!

We are a staticy family (well, our clothes are). At least once a month my poor husband finds an article of clothing stuck in his pant leg as he is walking around work (it is usually a pair of my underwear, my poor hubby is in the army so you can imagine how embarrassing it is for him to have a pair of hot pink women’s underwear sneak out of the leg of his military uniform). To combat our static problems we have always used dryer sheets. On average they would cost us about $3 a month, not too much, and they saved us total embarrassment (think pink panties and combat boots, not a good combination). Then one day I decided to look up what exactly in a dryer sheet, as you can guess it is not pretty:

Benzyl Acetate (linked to pancreatic cancer), Benzyl Alcohol (known to cause upper respiratory tract irritant), Ethanol (a chemical listed on the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Hazardous Waste list and capable of causing central nervous system disorders), A-Terpineol (another cause of  respiratory problems, including fatal edema, and central nervous system damage), Ethyl Acetate (a narcotic on the EPA’s Hazardous Waste list),  Camphor (it causes central nervous system disorders), Chloroform (a lovely neurotoxin, anesthetic and carcinogen), Linalool (a  narcotic that causes central nervous system disorders), and  Pentane (a chemical known to be harmful if inhaled).

Like I said it’s not pretty. So what is a staticky family to do? The answer is something I am very excited about, Dryer Balls!

A dryer ball is ball that when placed in your dryer with your wet clothes helps to lift and separate the clothing, reducing static and drying time, and leave your clothes soft and fluffy-without all of the horrible toxins (the technical explanation for a dryer ball is that it improves the circulation of heat and air through the wet clothing).

Dryer balls run about $10 on average and last approximately one to two years, a much better deal in the long run than those toxic dryer sheets. Even better they reduce drying time by up to 40%. This will cut the cost of your energy consumption and your electric bill!

I don’t know about you but I think that toxin free and economical are two great reasons to make the switch. There are many different dryer balls out there, our favorite are Bouncing Woolies! Not only are they free of chemicals, these are 100% natural wool. Even better they can come scented so that your clothing smells amazing when they come out of the dryer!

To purchase Bouncing Woolies check out www.bouncingwoolies.com or check out http://www.ahappygreenlife.com/ where you can find woolies scented to match your favorite laundry wash!
-Amanda