Update on Wool Dryer Balls

I'm still using them and still can't tell if they are really helping with dry time. But I started having an issue with static since it's cold out now and the air is more dry so here are a few of the things that all worked to combat this issue.
1. A squirt bottle full of water! This was probably the most time consuming option but worked fine. Once everything was dry I put it on a hanger and misted it with some water. Once the items dried they were no longer static cling issues.
2. Changed settings on my dryer! On our dry you can set the dryer sensor to shut off at more dry, normal or less dry. I normally have it set to normal so I switched it to less dry and this kept all the shirts from drying completely so I didn't have to stand there misting them all :-) the only problem with this is that if I had jeans in the load I'd have to throw them back in and let them dry completely because I fold up all the kids jeans and they go in drawers and when hung up to finish drying they're stiff. So then I had to start sorting all the shirts from pants while not a big deal this added another step to my never ending washing.
3. White distilled vinegar as a fabric softener! I started using vinegar in the fabric softener dispenser in the washer and everything comes out of the dryer soft, fluffy and no static.

So while I'm still using the dryer balls I have now added white vinegar to our laundry routine because unlike commercial fabric softeners it doesn't coat the machine so I don't have to worry about residue that may or may not get on our cloth diapers.

Gonna give wool a try!

So after much thought I'm going to give wool covers a try too. I have chatted with several woman who live in either Florida or Texas  who swear up and down that wool is awesome even in out hot temps. So I ordered some. I ordered 1 Sustainablebabyish knit wool cover in natural which is one of their new colors so I wont get it until mid December but that's ok since I wont have a baby to use it on until March :-) lol. While I was there I also ordered 2 of their snap less multi-fitted diapers (which are made with a heavy organic bamboo

cotton terry body with turned and top stitched leg elastic), 1 Organic Bamboo Fleece Doubler to try, 1 roll of Bummis Bio-soft Liners in small to try, 1 planet wise wet/dry bag (it has two separate pockets which I thought would work great for storing some wipes in one spot and dirty diapers in the big pocket), and of course some Eucalan no rinse wool wash. One of the reasons why I went with Sustainablebabyish is because of this: "sustainablebabyish/sloomb has partnered with Trees for the Future to offset the carbon generated in the production and care of each of our cloth diapers and knit wool covers. when you purchase a sustainablebabyish cloth diaper, a tree is planted in Southeast Asia. you know choosing cloth diapers keeps disposables out of landfills. now, your choice also reduces carbon emissions and helps reforest the planet." I love that this company does this!!
I just can't wait to get the new fluff in the mail! I only have a few more things that I want to buy for Javan that will go over his little bum so that saddens me but one of the reasons for doing cloth diapering is to save money so I can't really justify buying more than we need :-( so I guess I will savor these last few things that I need to buy (at least until he grows out of the ones we have :-D). I know I'm addicted lol

Wool Dryer Balls




So I went to my local Jo-Ann Fabric and bought 8 skeins of



 Patons Classic Wool.

I opted for this one mainly because of the way it felt. I personally know nothing about wool but it said it felts up and that's what I needed it to do :-) It was also a step up in price from LionBrand Fisherman Wool but like I said it felt nicer. Also there were these signs that said buy 5 skeins of Patons yarn get a free Patons tote :-) These totes are actually pretty nice and will be awesome for carrying around projects in!!



So let the wrapping begin! I started winding up the balls like the instructions said and let me tell you by the second one I was 1. bored and 2. while the ball was small had major issues with my hand cramping!! :-( I hung in there and wound up 6 balls in total! Here's where I changed things instead of tucking in the ends with a crochet hook (because if I'm going to go to that much trouble the least I could do was really anchor those ends) I threaded the end through a blunt needle and wound it back and forth about 6 times through the ball so I'm hoping it never unravels ;-)



I don't own a pair of pantyhose :-O so I used a pair of leg warmers and some old shoe string to tie up the balls to wash them and then dry them!

Then back to more wrapping!! I'll be ok if I never have to wrap yarn again ;-) or at least for a while! After finishing wrapping all 6 there is very little of the 8 skein left so I'm glad I did buy what I thought would be to much. Then back to the washer and I guess we'll end with the dryer and see how these bad boys work out once set loose on a load in the dryer :-) I've got my fingers crossed that all goes well and they work like they are supposed to!

Ok so I finished with the second wash and dry and here's the crappy part. I have like a bionic sniffer right now because of my pregnancy. Well the directions said just wash them with a load of laundry so I washed them with a load of my tops. Yeah my tops smell like a wet sheep now. I'm hoping once they cool down they'll not smell as bad (they smell fine now) because I really don't want to wash them again. So I'm going to toss the balls back into the wash once more but this time with somethings I wont be wearing :-) to give them another wash and see how they smell once they are all dry this time around.

(my finished dryer balls)

So far I can't really tell if they are helping cut down on dry time since my dryer has a sensor that shuts off once the clothes get dry so it's always a different time when my dryer shuts off but so far they are keeping everything soft and no static. So, so far I'm happy with the wool dryer balls I made but only time will tell.