Wool dryer balls have been gaining popularity over the past years. This uptick in popularity has made a lot of people wonder about them. One of the main questions people ask is: how long do wool dryer balls last?
Wool dryer balls typically last for 1000 loads of laundry. Which for the average household, means they last 2-4 years. Wool dryer balls can be ‘recharged’ by washing them in hot water on a gentle cycle. This rehydrates the wool and gets them ready for more loads.
If you take good care of them, wool dryer balls can last a very long time. Keep on reading and I’ll tell you everything you need to know about making them last and what to look for to know when to retire them.
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How Long Do Wool Dryer Balls Last?
Wool dryer balls last around 1000 loads of laundry. Depending on how many loads of laundry you do in a week. This could last you 3 years or as many as 10 years.
But what makes them wear out in the first place?
Wool dryer balls are made from felted wool. When wool felts, all the wool fibers contract a squish together which is what causes felted things to shrink.
When wool dryer balls begin to reach the end of their lives, the dryer balls will become even more compact and harder than when they were new. In other words, they are becoming more felted.
If your dryer balls begin to look like this, don’t worry, this is when you can recharge them to make them last longer.
To recharge your dryer balls, just wash your dryer balls in hot water on the gentle cycle. If you don’t want to waste any water you can certainly throw them in with a regular load of laundry.
Then just dry them as normal and they should be as good as new and ready for more drying action.
Now, if your dryer balls look different than what I’ve described, you might want to start thinking about retiring your dryer balls.
Read on to find out how to know when to retire them.
When to Retire Your Dryer Balls
If your dryer balls appear shrunken, you can recharge them. However, there is another way they often wear out.
Instead of shrinking, your dryer balls will begin to expand and the wool fibers will start to lose their grip on one another.
If your dryer balls are getting old and you’ve used them well, this is unfortunately irreversible and your dryer balls need to be retired.
However, if your dryer balls are not very old, it could be they weren’t felted enough when they were created. You can try to felt the dryer balls again to see if you can save them.
To do this, you would follow the same steps as you would to make dryer balls from scratch. Except you’ll use the ones you already have instead of forming new ones from raw wool.
Here’s how to make wool dryer balls.
It’s pretty simple, just put your dryer balls through the wash and dry cycle on high heat. If it’s got some life left, this will re-felt the wool.
If this method doesn’t get your dryer balls looking like they’re supposed to, then, unfortunately, it’s time to say goodbye.
But, don’t cry too much, there are some great things you can do with old dryer balls so that they won’t be wasted.
Check out this awesome post about recycling wool dryer balls.
Wrap Up
Wool dryer balls are incredibly useful little things. They can cut down on the static build-up, help keep your clothes from getting wrinkly, and cut down on drying time.
With all those great things, you’ll of course want to make sure they last as long as possible.
Normally, wool dryer balls last about 1000 loads of laundry which can mean they last as few as 2 years and as many as 10 depending on how many loads of laundry you typically do.
If your dryer balls begin to wear out, you can try to recharge them by washing them with a load of laundry.
When it’s finally time to retire your dryer balls, instead of just throwing them out, you can repurpose them into a fun craft or a dog toy.
Have fun using your dryer balls, and go make something awesome!
