I’ll admit that when it came to switching out non-toxic household products, dryer sheets were one that kind of slipped my mind. Maybe because they’re not a liquid like detergent or surface cleaners? Either way, I’m glad I realized all the potentially harmful chemicals dryer sheets are made with and that I discovered dryer balls.

Some of you might say I’m late to the party on this one, and that may be true, but all good things take time, right?

So what are dryer balls? Basically, they’re wool dryer sheet alternatives. They’re completely natural, organic (in most cases) and the most important, non-toxic. Oh! And environmentally-friendly. If you’re worried they don’t perform the same duties as your regular sheets do, here’s what you can expect from them:

• Eliminate static electricity
• Will help dry your clothes faster
• Good for 1000+ loads
• Acts as a fabric softener
• Reduces wrinkles

This is the set I use and have found all of the above things to be true. There is one trick, though. The balls come in a set of six and I have no idea why six is the magic number, but that’s how many you need to use to see the above benefits in your clothes. I didn’t understand this at first and only used two. It didn’t work out. So just be sure to use all six balls whenever drying a load of clothes.

One more tip: the balls don’t come with any scents because they’re all-natural wool fibers. If you prefer a little lavender or dash of eucalyptus, all you have to do is take your favorite essential oil and drop five or so drops onto the balls. Easy no?

Have you tried out dryer balls? Did you find them to work just as well as dryer sheets?