Friendsheep Wool Dryer Balls Review | Zero Waste Dryer Balls
The Top Line:
DEFINITELY a buy. We love Friendsheep Eco Dryer Balls. The 100% wool dryer balls are eco-friendly and reusable. While costing more upfront, you make it up in 3 months compared to Downy dryer sheets. We expect wool dryer balls to last for years, reducing carbon footprint significantly over time, and not contributing to landfills. These fun dryer balls (there’s pandas, ladybugs, bumblebees and more!) are a perfect gift for someone trying to be more green.
Updated to include drying time benefits.
The Breakdown:
Cost & Products: $28 for 6 wool dryer balls - from sheep to pigs to solid pastel colors! The plain white and grey ones are $25 but also come in a 4-pack at an even lower price of $18.
How ‘Clean’ Is This? Clean! No plastic and made of wool!
Packaging: Comes in a lokta bag! It’s a type of paper, you can read about it on their website.
Purchasing & Shipping: Free shipping over $35, website is straightforward
What’s Your Impact? No more dryer sheet thrown into a landfill. And no more plastic film covering your clothes (traditional dryer sheets deposit a film over your clothing).
The Good:
✔ Eco-friendly, made of 100% wool
✔ Use them over, and over, and over again (counted in years)
✔ Could add whatever essential oil scent you’d like
✔ Zero-waste, no plastic use here
✔ Extremely affordable over time
✔ Reduces drying time - reducing your energy bills!
The Bad:
✗ Some static remains
✗ Pricier upfront - but pays for itself in less than 3 months!
The Experience
Context: We have used Seventh Generation, Bounce, and aluminum balls (We thought aluminum was fabulous, but we would have to change the ball every 10 loads because it was falling apart). We have also been using Smart Sheep Dryer balls for over 3 years now, we haven’t even used the other 3 balls that came in the set!
Here is what we thought about Friendsheep Wool Dryer balls:
Using 3 balls per load (about the same size as the Smart Sheep)
Helps with tumbling clothes
None of that waxy chemical stuff
Not the most amazing for static removal, but it’s tolerable for us
Can add a scent by adding essential oil to the balls
No waste since they are used over and over again
Reduce drying time for clothes, by at least 30%
These are super cute and make a great gift
The Cost
We assumed that the average family of four will do laundry 365 times per year (yikes!). Even though we have had ours for over 3.5 years (~4-6 loads a week) and are in super condition, we are going to assume that Friendsheep Wool Dryer Balls only last 3 years for the average family:
Money Report: Not bad! Even if you think that 3 balls only last 3 years (we think it’s much, much longer), then using Friendsheep’s Wool Dryer Balls are a much more economic option than standard dryer sheets!
Our Recommendation:
DEFINITELY a buy. We love Friendsheep Eco Dryer Balls. The 100% wool dryer balls are eco-friendly and reusable. While they cost more than dryer sheets up front, you get paid back by using them for 3 months when compared to Downy dryer sheets. We expect them to last for years, reducing carbon footprint significantly over time. Given all the fun patterns (there’s pandas, ladybugs, bumblebees and more!), these dryer balls make a good gift.
We're on a mission to reduce our personal carbon footprint with small, hopefully easy, changes in our home to fight against climate change. This means we're looking for products that may be all natural, ideally zero waste, reusable or compostable -- while still being affordable!
