Okay, so this is totally not a photography post. But if you get to know me as a person, you will know there is more to me than just photography. I am multi-dimensional. So there, ha! And, even though, I will be the first to admit, I am pretty obsessed with photography, I am also a wife and a mother. And the bottom line is that it is my job to take care of my family … so with that…let’s talk wool dryer balls.

Once you start reading ingredients and trying to be more informed about the food you consume or the products you use, well, it can be eye-opening and frankly rather depressing. Take my warning, once you start, there is no going back! I started reading the ingredients to food products years ago but now I have extended that to personal, cleaning, and home products as well. It is really shocking to discover how many chemicals surround us in our own home on a daily basis … an environment which we consider to be “safe”. I decided I wanted my home to actually be safe and clean for my growing kids. We live in a world where honestly chemical exposure is so rampant and widely accepted that I am not going to be able to eliminate it completely but there are things I can do to minimize it. So here is my slow but persistent and affordable plan to get to a wholesome, clean home … one dirty swap for one clean swap per month.

Month One: Synthetic Dryer Sheets

Okay, so who does not love clean smelling fresh laundry? I know I do. In the past I used Downy dryer sheets to help my laundry smell nice. Well, first of all, why do we need fresh laundry to smell like well anything? Let’s be honest, if your fresh clean laundry smells like nothing you succeeded in getting it clean. Does clean really have a smell? No, it technically doesn’t. Just a little food for thought. But back to loving pretty smelling things…

Nothing against Downy or any other dryer sheet manufacturer for that matter, but I started wanting to know what ingredients my dryer sheets contained. I mean I was throwing them into my clean clothes. So what prompted my curiosity? Well, I noticed that when I first threw the sheet into the dryer it was stiff and rather sticky, but when I took it back out at the end of the cycle the sheet was soft and limp. So whatever that difference in texture was … it was rubbing off on my clothes. That means it was is now right next to my skin and my children’s skin. So what was it? Time to do some research.

I googled ingredients to Downy dryer sheets and kudos to Proctor & Gamble for being so honest and transparent about the ingredients in their products. I expected a much more difficult time in finding answers but they had every ingredient for every product listed on their website. So even though I am currently not a dryer sheet advocate I was impressed that they had their ingredients so readily available. So here are the ingredients they listed: Dipalmethyl Hydroxyethylammoinum Methosulfate (a softening and antistatic agent), Fatty Acid (softening agent), Polyester Substrate (carrier), Clay (Rheology Modifier), and Fragrance (link to a long list of other multi-syllable chemicals). If you are interested in reading the ingredients yourself, here is the link I viewed from Proctor & Gamble, Downy Fabric Softener Dryer Sheets. Okay, so are you familiar with all of those? Yea, me neither so back to Google. Man, what did we ever do without Google? Seriously though?

The first stop for me is Snopes. Here is the article, Static Sting. so the interesting little tidbit that Snopes points out is that, although they recognize the use of chemicals in dryer sheets, they are “generally recognized as safe.” Honestly the term “generally” is not something I am a huge fan of because it is very hard to prove the long-term consequences of a lot of these everyday “chemicals”. Its one of those things that basically means none of the chemicals could be proven to cause harm within the time confinements of localized testing. Sometimes it takes years and years to realize that yes there are in fact negative consequences that build up and impact our health with long-term exposure. There is one thing that is very clear … dryer sheets are not natural and chemicals are present.

The one thing that Snopes did call out as a concern is the one ingredient most of us can identify, fragrance. In fact, they highlighted a study of dryer sheets and laundry softeners where the “results discovered more than 25 VOCs emitted from dryer vents, with highest concentrations of acetaldehyde, acetone, and ethanol (two of which are considered carcinogenic).” In fact, because fragrances are considered to be trade secrets, the FDA does not require their individual ingredients to be listed or revealed.” (FDA Fragrances and Cosmetics) And even though the FDA privately regulates the ingredients in fragrance to be honest that doesn’t make me feel any better. It is still a synthetic fragrance derived from chemicals and not naturally sourced. Not to mention, a lot of fragreances can cause skin irritation and exacerbate eczema, which both my girls have.

But anyways, even if all the the other ingredients are safe, how do you feel about Dipalmethyl Hydroxyethylammoinum Methosulfate on your skin? On your baby’s skin? yea, whatever the heck that is … I don’t want it on my skin! The bottom line is that film that was on the dryer cloth is transferred to your clothes.

If you are interested in some additional reading, a great resource I found on Dryer Sheets is from the blog, the Super Food Mama, Dryer Sheets. And from the website, Well Good, Ingredient Intelligence: What You Need to Know about Fragrance on fragrance.

Alright, got it, so out with dryer sheets but what is the alternative?

Alternative: Wool Dryer Balls

So the alternative that I found, and love, are organic wool dryer balls. Seriously, they cost $10 and you can re-use them pretty much indefinitely. So not only are they a healthy natural option but they save money and are a greener less wasteful option. Love it. They bounce around inside your dryer separating the layers of wet clothes allowing the hot air to circulate. The friction against your clothes as they bounce makes your clothes softer while the additional air circulation allows your clothing to dry faster. As far as static…I have not noticed any since switching to my wool dryer balls.

Now if you are like me and want nice smelling laundry but don’t want the synthetic chemicals, just drop one or two drops of essential oil to each ball. Let the oil dry for a few hours prior to using. Some oils may stain your balls. Don’t worry about this as it does not change their functionality. I use lavender oil and love it. Essential oils are an all natural way to get that fresh smelling scent.

Okay, and do you know what is really great? Because you can use these balls over and over and over again…you are saving money on having to rebuy disposable dryer sheets. Yay! Since leaving my full-time job and effectively cutting our income in half, money conservation has been key to our financial stability as a family. So this one I like. Let’s break it down. A box of 120 Downy dryer sheets on Amazon cost $5.36. Most people do an average of 30 loads of laundry in a month. So you will buy one box every 4 months or spend about $16.08 a year on dryer sheets. Now your wool balls have an average lifetime expectancy of about 3-5 years. So potentially your dryer sheet savings would total somewhere between $48-$80 total. Not a lot of savings but, hey every bit helps! Well, and in addition to saving some dollars, it only gets better … since you are not just THROWING away your dryer ball like the dryer sheet after EVERY load of laundry you are also being kind to our environment. Another great benefit. So save money, better for the environment, and healthier for you….and, really, the ones I bought from Amazon were only $10. A no brainer, right?

Oh, and if you have extra dryer sheets lying around that you are no longer going to use in your laundry, there are other uses for them. Check out my article on how to Prevent Flyaway Hairs in a Photo Session for a great way to use up those dryer sheets to smooth some of those fine little hairs that like to stick, uhem, straight up!

So what are your thoughts? Are you going to make a switch?