Woolly Wonderful’s In The Making

Open Grazing

It all starts with the Merino sheep. Cared for in the most loving and greenest way here in Michigan.

Three Bags Full

Ready to be washed. We wash our wool using organic soap, boiling-hot water, and a lot of elbow grease.

Coated In Lanolin

On raw fleece, you will find lanolin. Sheep secrete lanolin to protect their skin and wool from the effects of sun, wind, and rain.

Carding The Wool

When carding, our wool is not sprayed with synthetic oils, as most wool mills do during this process, causing many allergic reactions.

Shoring Day

The ranchers shorn or shear the sheep by hand with no stress or harm done to the animal.

Rolling The Roving

Once carded, the carding machine forms the wool into a continuous ribbon of wool; we cut it into 36 ft lengths and roll it into a dryer ball.

Why Are Woolly Wonderfuls Wonderful?

Three Balls Per Cotton Pouch

Removes & Keeps Fur Off Fabrics

Fluff Fabrics & Reduce Wrinkles

100% Merino Wool from Michigan

Fragrance Fabrics with E.Oils

Handle Bulky Loads in a Snap!

Biggest Balls with 20 Years of Use!

Cut Drying Time, Save $2.24 Load

Leaves Fabrics Country Line Fresh

Yes, We Have Big Balls. And, Size Does Matter!

So Does The Type Of Wool They Are Made Of!

Woolly Wonderfuls are hand-made out of 100% Merino wool sourced from storybook-like farms in Michigan that take pride in a low carbon footprint and humanely caring for their sheep.

We make each ball from 36 feet of solid Merino wool roving, with no other materials or objects in its core, unlike most other wool dryer balls.
i.e., filler cores of other wool dryer ball brands are known to use: Junk wool, Styrofoam balls, plastic balls, even tennis balls, chunks of metal, and plastic trash.

The magic of any wool dryer balls is the wool’s capability to wick moisture. Each type of wool has different levels of wicking capabilities. Alpaca is known to have no wicking capability, while Merino is known to have the highest wicking capability. All other types of fleece and wool fall in the range between the two.

Merino wool is also the softest known wool. Its softness and high-wicking capability make it the wool of choice for dryer balls, wool socks, nautical-, athletic-, outdoor- wear, hunting gear, and issued Military wear.

The structure of a Merino wool fiber is unique. Each fiber can absorb and release up to 30% of its own weight in moisture while still feeling dry to the touch. This is referred to as the wool “breathing”; each fiber is hollow with side vents that draw in moisture from your wet fabrics. Then air passes through, releasing the moisture quickly, cutting your drying time.

The larger the dryer ball, the more vents; the more vents, the more of a drying time cut. Our finished 4” in diameter balls can offer up to a 50% drying time cut on average, whereas others, at best, only minor aeration to 25% cut.

Based on this science, the more wool dryer balls you have in your dryer, the greater the drying time cut is. Woolly Wonderfuls are so large that 3 are usually sufficient for small to midsize loads.

On average, according to Michigan's main Energy Company, Woolly Wonderfuls will save $2.24 per dryer load.

As moisture continually moves through the core of the wool fiber, Woolly Wonderfuls naturally soften and fluff fabrics, eliminate static via the wool fibers’ structure, and reduce wrinkles.

After 3-6 months of continual use, Woolly Wonderfuls will change the Electromagnetic polarity of your fabrics, so the fabric will repel pet hair as you hug up your fur babies. No more lint rollers! This does not harm fabrics or dryers; it happens because of the type of wool we use and the size of our Wolly Wonderfuls balls. As a bonus, Woolly Wonderfuls remove pocket tissues, lint, and pet hair, which all go onto the lint screen, not the balls.

Being made out of wool allows you to add your favorite aromas to fabrics by putting essential oils on the dryer balls. Most folks like to use six total balls: four balls without aroma to cut drying time, one ball for lavender essential oil, with the dryer on air fluff, to fragrance pajamas and pillowcases for a calm-me-down mood before bed. Then they will use another ball, for morning fluff and citrus essential oils to fragrance morning towels and work clothes for a pick-me-up mood.

Woolly Wonderfuls will last 20-plus years with an annual hot water wash, paying for themselves within months of their initial use.

Frequently Asked Questions About Woolly Wonderfuls

Please remember these Questions and Answers pertain to Woolly Wonderfuls and not all wool dryer balls are the same. If you have any questions, please email or call us.

  • Most can. Wool itself is hypoallergenic. There are typically three reasons people are allergic to wool.

    1) They are allergic to the lanolin on the wool. Woolly Wonderfuls are washed six times, leaving little if any lanolin on the Wool.

    2) Most wool mills spray a man-made synthetic oil on the wool to control static when they are carding (combing) it. These synthetic oils cause many people to have allergic reactions to them.

    3) The person's skin had contact with just plain itchy wool that irritated their skin.

  • Yes. Dryer sheets or fabric softeners leave toxic residue on anything they touch, including your skin and the air you breathe! This residue will also plug up the special vents in Woolly Wonderfuls’ wool fiber causing them not to be able to wick moisture from wet laundry and create their wonderful magic.

  • Cold Turkey! Replace your dryer sheets and/or fabric softener completely with three or more Woolly Wonderfuls dryer balls. Once you make this replacement, use your Woolly Wonderfuls for four weeks then wash them. Repeat this for the first four to six months. Upon completion of this time frame, use Woolly Wonderfuls continually and wash them once a year.

    If you have never used dryer sheets or fabric softener disregard the step, use Woolly Wonderfuls continually, and wash them once a year.

  • Use the leg from a pair of pantyhose. Tie the toe into a knot. Place a dryer ball into the nylon and tie the open end so the ball is tightly snug in the nylon. Cut the nylon off above the second knot and repeat so each ball is snug in a piece of the nylon.

    Once you have them all done, throw them in with a load of hot water laundry – we recommend some towels. Wash as you normally would, adding laundry detergent and 1/2 to 1 cup of white vinegar, but no bleach. The white vinegar will re-balance the Ph in the wool. It will also deodorize, soften, and sanitize the fabrics and washer drum but it will not leave them smelling like vinegar.

    When the load is done, remove the dryer balls from the pantyhose and put them in the dryer with that same load.

    All done. Try to remember to wash them like this once a year or every other year.

  • We guarantee you will love your Woolly Wonderfuls and with an annual hot water wash, they should last at least 20 - 30 years!

  • They should not come apart with normal laundry use. If one ever does, give us a call, and we will replace it free of charge upon receipt of the defective one. They should not shed wool fibers either but they will remove lint and pet hair off of fabrics.

  • Nope. The wool has been thoroughly and organically washed at the mill, removing grime and the majority of natural lanolin from it. Then we wash it multiple times during the felting process. This leaves Woolly Wonderfuls not only without any wool scent but without any scent.

  • Nope. Unlike tennis balls, plastic spiky dryer balls, or other smaller wool dryer balls, Woolly Wonderfuls' overly large size allows them to be quiet and unheard in the dryer as they tumble around with your laundry.

  • Woolly Wonderfuls will remove lint and pet hair from the fabric. So make sure to check your lint screen regularly. Neither lint nor pet hair will stick to Woolly Wonderfuls. It will go onto the lint screen.

  • You should have NO static when using Woolly Wonderfuls! They do work the best in eliminating static in natural fiber fabrics though.


    If you have a few items of synthetic fabric in with your natural fiber laundry or live in a colder climate, we recommend you securely pin a few large safety pins well onto the surface of the Woolly Wonderfuls. The safety pins will act as a conduit for the static. We don’t recommend using an aluminum ball in your laundry because aluminum has been questioned in connection with harmful health effects in humans. We would rather you be safe than sorry.


    If the safety pin doesn't remove a satisfactory amount of static, we recommend you wash and dry your synthetic fabric separately from other natural fabrics. When you dry a load of synthetics only turn your drying time down 75% and temp to low heat or air fluff. Adjusting these two things should eliminate all static from synthetics.

    We do recommend you use White Vinegar in your wash cycle to help cut down on static and aid in additional softness to your laundry.


    Don’t forget to set your timer back on your dryer so as not to over-dry when using Woolly Wonderfuls. Moisture sensing timers will automatically react to the shorter time. But, even so, check your laundry load when using a moisture sensor. We have found that even with sensors they can also be set to half the time.

    If you still have static, call us at 248-667-6366, and we will try to figure out why and how to eliminate it with you. You shouldn't have any!

  • Yes, you can place a few drops of essential oil on one or more of the wool balls, depending on the strength of the aroma you would like on your laundry. Depending on the quality of the oil and how dry your fabrics are when you add the oil (the drier the better), you should be able to get 2 to 3 loads of aroma.

    If you add the oil after your fabrics are dry to get the strongest aroma make sure your dryer is set to “air fluff or no heat” as adding heat to fabrics that are already dry will cause static.

    We recommend using three or more Woolly Wonderfuls without essential oils to reduce your drying time and achieve all the other great benefits Woolly Wonderfuls provide; setting aside one to two balls for aroma use only.

    For Instance, we have heard from our customers that they will keep one Woolly Wonderfuls with Lavender essential oil on it and one with a "pick-me-up" essential oil, such as Lemon or Citrus aroma. Before they go to bed they will toss their pajamas or pillowcases into the dryer with the Lavender scented Woolly Wonderfuls for a few minutes on air-fluff/no heat. The Lavender aroma will aid in falling asleep faster and obtain a night of more restful sleep.

    In the morning, folks will toss their clothes for the day in the dryer for a few minutes, on air fluff/no heat, with the Woolly Wonderfuls that have the chosen pick-me-up essential oil aroma to get a fresh step aroma to start their day.

  • With over 250,000 Woolly Wonderfuls out there, we have yet to hear of essential oils staining fabrics. Some oils will leave a spot on the Woolly Wonderfuls but it will eventually disappear.

  • Yes, because they are tumbling around with your clothes they will form small pills on their surface just as a well-loved sweater will. This will not affect the wonderful results they will provide. If you don’t like the look of these small pills, they can be cut off in the same manner you would remove them from any other fabric.

 

A Few Reasons to Ditch Your Dryer Sheets and Fabric Softener

  • Dryer sheets and fabric softeners pollute the environment inside your house AND out.

    The chemicals that both have absorb into your skin, when heated, the fumes are also toxic. These toxins go straight to your brain’s most sensitive neurological centers and wreak havoc.

    They cause hormone imbalance, neurotoxicity, respiratory problems, and even cancer!

  • When you use dryer sheets, you are coating your fabrics with artificial chemical perfumes. These fragrances are known carcinogens that cause liver damage and cancer in mammals. A recent international study showed vapors emitted from dryer vents to have extremely high concentrations of acetaldehyde, acetone, and ethanol (two of which are considered carcinogenic).

  • This chemical has been linked to disorders of the brain and nervous system, loss of muscle control, depression, and headaches.

  • Benzyl acetate has been linked to cancer of the pancreas.

  • This upper respiratory tract irritant can cause central nervous system (CNS) disorders, headache, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, and dramatic drops in blood pressure.

  • Neurotoxic, anesthetic, and carcinogenic. All three are very toxic to human brains. Inhaling its vapors may cause loss of consciousness, nausea, headache, vomiting, and/or dizziness, drowsiness.

  • Another fabric softener ingredient that is on the EPA’s Hazardous Waste list and linked to CNS disorders.

  • Ethyl Acetate causes headaches and is on the EPA Hazardous Waste list.

  • In studies, this chemical caused loss of muscle coordination, nervous system and brain disorders, and depression.

  • Pentane causes headaches, nausea, dizziness, fatigue, drowsiness, and depression.