People are increasingly learning more and more about the use of dryer sheets, specifically why they should avoid using them. This is because it is coming to light that many commercial dryer sheets contain chemicals that are harmful to the human body.

These chemicals include Dipalmitoylethyl hydroxyethylmonium Methosulfate, a substance that is becoming increasingly concerning as it has been linked to respiratory illnesses also becomes toxic when in contact with water. Other harmful substances found in dryer sheets include “fragrance”, which is an assortment of many different, unlisted chemicals that have been shown to cause skin irritation, allergic reactions, damage to the nervous and respiratory system and acute aquatic toxicity.

With all of these harmful chemicals that are found in dryer sheets, are these really things that you can put in with your laundry, so they can rub all over your clothes and deposit these chemicals onto them? If you are like most people and decide that you need an alternative, below you will find the perfect solution for your problems.

DIY Essential Oil-Infused Wool Dryer Ball

Essential oil-infused wool dryer balls are the perfect solution to finding a natural, harmless alternative to commercial trying sheets. Here is how to make them.

Requirements

Two to four skeins of 100% pure wool yarn

Pantyhose

Crochet hook (or anything long and pointy)

Essential oils (of your choice)

Instructions

Wrap yarn around your index and middle finger ten to fifteen times. Slide it off of your finger after wrapping and start from here

Start wrapping the center of the yarn and continue until you make a tiny ball

You should start to see a decent-sized ball start to form after wrapping for a few minutes

Keep wrapping, allowing it to grow bigger and bigger, make sure to wrap from all different angles

Stop once it is the approximate size of a baseball

Grab your crochet hook (or long pointy sticks) and push the end of the yarn inside the ball

Push your wool ball into the closed end of the pantyhose

Tie the open end of the pantyhose tight so that the ball is completely wrapped (picture an onion stalk)

Place them in the washer with a load of towels or by themselves on the hottest setting available. Then put them in the dryer on the hottest setting. This is called “felting”, which is the process of changing wool into felt

Remove the felt balls from the pantyhose and add in a few drops of essential oils of your choosing. This will add a nice fragrance and will also provide you with the many health benefits found in essential oils. Use these felt/wool dryer balls just as you would use normal dryer sheets.

Sources:

http://www.ewg.org/guides/cleaners/1600-BounceDryerSheets

http://liverandomlysimple.com/diy-wool-dryer-balls-with-essential-oils/

Image Sources:

http://pinningjunkie.files.wordpress.com/2014/08/dryerball6.jpg

http://noveltystreet.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Smart-Sheep-Wool-Dryer-Balls-Things-for-Drying-Garment.jpg