First-Play Fluff Balls, Multi-Colour, 65 mm

Product Information

Any fabric can bobble or pill—aka form patches of fuzz balls—as the fibres stretch and break as a result of friction. Clothes rub against themselves while you’re wearing them, and against other fabrics during the washing and drying procedure. The areas worst-hit by pilling are the parts of clothing that receive the most abrasion in day-to-day wear, such as the underarm area and the side of jumpers and cardigans.

Yes! Dryer sheets and liquid fabric softeners will no longer be necessary if you start using dryer balls. Dryer balls are a natural and chemical-free alternative to dryer sheets and often prove to be much more affordable in the long run as they don’t have to be replaced very often. Do dryer balls damage the dryer?

Both should last for more than 1,000 washes and are aimed at reducing drying time by between 30-40%. They are also hypoallergenic and plastic-free.

For a helping hand keeping bobbles at bay, try a pill-remover such as the Gleener Fuzz Remover from Lakeland. Otherwise, lay the affected garment out flat on a clean surface then use a razor with blades (the sort you shave your legs with works fine) to gently and carefully shave away the pills. Use your free hand to keep the garment flat and, to ensure you don't damage the structure of the fabric, apply the least pressure possible. We've found you get the best results using light, short strokes of the razor. Manufacturers of wool dryer balls usually say that they can be used about 1000 times, but you might need to ‘recharge’ them every 100 cycles or so. Scent: If you're using wool dryer balls as a replacement for fabric softener or dryer sheets, you might miss the subtle scent these products leave behind on your laundry. Look for dryer ball sets that include a bottle of essential oil or consider buying your own favorite essential oils separately. Just a few drops on each ball before you drop them in the dryer should be enough. In the Good Housekeeping Institute Cleaning Lab, we research, test and write about hundreds of cleaning appliances and cleaning and organizing products every year. During judging for our latest Cleaning and Organizing Awards we tested over 200 products in three months, recruiting other GH Institute experts and over 1,000 of our GH+ consumer testers to gather data. We've tested dozens of laundry detergents, the best stain removers and even a few laundry hampers.Material: Some dryer balls are made entirely from wool while others have a hard center that is wrapped in wool or another soft fabric. While this likely won't affect a dryer ball's ability to bounce around the dryer, it could produce more noise than a dryer ball constructed entirely from soft wool. Many brands tout New Zealand wool as the best type of wool for dryer balls, but our Textiles, Paper and Apparel Lab Executive Director Lexie Sachs says this is not likely to make a difference in the quality of the balls. There are also plastic and rubber dryer balls that work the same way and will not unravel after a couple thousand loads like some wool dryer balls do. The best way to narrow down the best option for you would be to consider a handful of key things. Are you environmentally conscious? It is important to keep in mind that while dryer balls can fluff up garments and help keep garments separated during a dry cycle, they do not have the fabric softening ingredients dryer sheets and fabric softeners have, so garments will not come out of the dryer feeling as soft. They do fluff up garments which makes them feel softer than using nothing at all. No! Dryer balls are generally soft and are unlikely to cause any damage to your machine, especially the woollen ones. The woollen ones are also known to be silent in your machine and will not make any sounds when they hit the sides, which the plastic ones may.