Got static with your wool dryer balls?

Q: I’ve been using wool dryer balls, but they don’t seem to be reducing the static. What am I doing wrong?

A: You are, more than likely, doing nothing wrong! What I think is more to the point is what info are you missing in order to make these dryer balls work for you! Let’s see if I can help you out.

First, wool (or alpaca) dryer balls don’t directly attract or absorb static themselves. What happens is they absorb moisture from the air in the dryer during the drying cycle thereby reducing the potential for static build-up in your cloths.

How many wool dryer balls are you using? Depending on the size and how they were made, I’d use a min of 3, and a max of 6. Less than 3 and you might not see any positive results. Any more than 6 and you are risking adding too many as they won’t create air pockets to assist in the drying.

Also, Make sure that you remove all synthetic items from your load and line dry them. Synthetic materials are static conductors which increase the static in your dryer. Dryer balls won’t remedy this.

Finally, you also could be over heating your cloths / leaving them in the dryer for too long. While warm and toasty cloths are fantastic, there is a point once the cloths are dry that static will start building up. No amount of dryer balls will help this situation. What you want to do in this scenario is reduce your drying times by small increments until your cloths are dry, but not toasty, and the static should be null, or barely noticeable.

The main thing that seems to pop up a lot is the drying times. The dryer balls help reduce that time by assisting in the drying process through creating air pockets and absorbing moisture from the air.

Trouble shoot these tips and this should remedy your static situation!