Dryer Balls - what have you used, what do you like?

[mmace]

I want to get a set of dryer balls. A friend told me about Nellie's, but I did a search and found tons of different brands, ranging in price from $8.95 up to $20ish. I only want to buy them once, so if Nellie's are the best I'll gladly go for it, but if the other brands are just as good I'll go for them....

Sooooo - who has a recommendation for me?

[mgilleran@earth-co]

I've also heard of people using tennis balls in the dryer to make clothes fluffy & get rid of static.

[celestialdreamer]

I tried ones a few years ago that were blue with little spikes all over. I seriously did not notice ANY difference in my laundry. I'm just glad my MIL bought them and I didn't waste my money. I'd try a bit of vinegar as fabric softener instead. Its cheap and works great.

[chel]

I heard al foil keep the static down

[moonrunner]

I'm using the blue spikey balls right now. I got them at BB&B for about $10. This past week my oldest dd and i saw them at Wal-Mart for $9.68. I like them, they're a bit noisy in some loads. My towels are soft but that may be the baking soda to wash. I like the no fragrance and no chemical thing.

[JodiM]

I used the BBB spikey blue balls, and the *only* difference I've noticed is that the clothes don't seem as wrinkled.

[ustasmom]

I think that their purpose is to separate the clothing so that there is more air circulation, leading to a quicker dry time.

I have an extra large dryer to match my frontloader, so I use 2 sets. Granted, between 1-4 balls are missing at any given time, though.

I do at least 20 loads of laundry per week and I need every spare minute of available dryer time that I can get.

[CJ 5]

I got the spikey ones that are like the walmart ones. I have a 5 year old high capacity dryer. I usually use the automatic cycle so that it turns off when the clothes are dry. Before the balls I had all kinds of problems because my dryer turned off still damp and I would turn the dryer back on and run it WAY too long because I forgot to check the clothes. For me these have significantly drying time as my dryer works perfectly and drys the clothes completely before shutting off. I really love these things and I am not one for gimmicks.

[mmace]

Thanks everyone! I ordered two sets from ebay - they should be here tomorrow or Monday. I'm anxious to see how well they work!