Do It Yourself Wool Dryer Balls with Essential Oils

Do It Yourself Wool Dryer Balls with Essential Oils

Have you been hearing about dryer balls, but have no idea what they are or what they do?  This is the place for you.  They can help you reduce wrinkles, shorten your drying cycles, decrease your toxin load, save money, soften your laundry, and reduce static.  If you add Young Living essential oils, dryer balls can be even more beneficial as they help your laundry stay fresh longer and smell delightful. I’m going to walk you through the process of making your own Do It Yourself Wool Dryer Balls with Essential Oils, so you can enjoy these benefits yourself.  

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Wool dryer balls were one of the first items I made after deciding to reduce my home’s toxin level.  I learned dryer sheets are full of chemicals and toxins, and they take a long time to break down in landfills.  Wool dryer balls speed up dry time, making it less expensive and saving energy. After making a whole herd of them and listening to them thump around during the dryer cycle, I discovered I rarely ever had static cling problems and my clothes weren’t wrinkled! Now, that is worth talking about.

Let’s gather our supplies:

100% Wool Yarn

Panty Hose

Young Living Essential Oils

 

I found these adorable yarns as I was searching:  orange and red ombre self-striping, blue and purple ombre self-striping, royal blue, mustard, rainbow ombre self-striping, and this one has lots of different colors. 

The first step is to find one end of your yarn, and wrap it around three of your fingers.  Keep wrapping about ten times around, but not too tight.  You will need to get your fingers out soon.  

Next, slide your fingers out and keep the loops you just made.  Wrap yarn around the middle of the loops about four times.  

Now, fold the ends back together.  

Start wrapping yarn around to make a ball.  

The dryer ball will shrink later, so make it a little larger than you actually want the dryer ball to end up being.  Mine are a slightly larger than a tennis ball.  When they are big enough, I tuck the lose end under a few strands and back into the ball so it won’t unwind.  You might want to use a pen to push the end inside the ball.  

Depending on how many dryer balls you have made, you may only need a single thigh high leg of panty hose or you may have enough to fill both legs of a pair of panty hose.  My embarrassing admission is that I use compression hose because I get blood clots regularly, and that stuff works fantastic for this.  Place one ball into the toe of the panty hose, and tie the hose right next to it.  You can use yarn (not wool), ribbons, or just tie a knot in the hose to separate each ball.  Keep dropping the wool balls in the hose and tying the hose in between so they don’t felt together.  When you have the hose full, tie the end so  last wool ball doesn’t come out.  

Finally, run your panty hose with the wool balls inside through your laundry a few times.  I just cycle them through the washer and dryer with my regular laundry for at least three full times.  Sometimes I get impatient and check the dryer ball on the end.  It should be felted together, so that it won’t come unwound in your subsequent laundry loads.  If it isn’t felting together, you may want to run them in a very hot wash and dry cycle.

You can make as many or as few wool dryer balls as you want. Less than five will probably yield a disappointing result.  The size of your dryer should also be a factor in your decision.  I have about twelve in my dryer currently.  They will make a thumping noise, but I’m used to it now and don’t even notice.  

This is my favorite part. Time to choose your Young Living essential oils!  I love warm, non-toxic, aromatic laundry. My top choices are Purification, Thieves, Lavender, Lemon, and Orange; but don’t let me limit you!  I drop them directly on a dryer ball (4-5 drops), and bounce two of the dryer balls together until the oil is absorbed.  I only apply oils to two or three of the dryer balls, and I reapply when I can’t smell them any more.  Apply the oils when they are finished felting, after removing them from the panty hose.  

***Now, here’s a word of warning.  I do not know what will happen with oils that aren’t pure.  They could react differently in the dryer or leave spots on your freshly laundered clothes.  

Feel free to visit my Young Living page to explore essential oils and the oil infused products Young Living has to offer, find my email address, or order products to use with your dryer balls. Please let me know if you have any questions or if you want 24% off your oils!  My YL Independent Distributor ID is #11346760. You can also follow me on Instagram. 

**These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. Nothing in this post is intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent disease. Consult a physician before starting any weight-management or exercise program.

 
 

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