About a month ago, I was introduced to these wonderful laundry balls from my wonderful friend, Stacy in Texas. About a week ago, I bought my wool, make my balls and put them to use. I LOVE THEM!! My laundry smells clean & wonderful coming out of the dryer and they feel fluffier. Safe & Natural. Thank you Stacy for sharing!! Enjoy!
(Click on the link above to read more of Stacy's posts on creating toxin-free homes)
Natural Fabric Softeners
Advertisers would have you believe that each dryer sheet or bottle of fabric
softener you purchase will lead to such pleasant
experiences as frolicking through a field of flowers with a cuddly
teddy bear, or falling blissfully backwards onto a soft (and surprisingly
springy) pile of blankets. If only the dreamworld of advertising did not
conflict with the sober realities of ordinary life. Sigh.
Consumers have been so conditioned to think
only about the soft, cozy, smell-good side of softer laundry, that many don’t
realize that those soft, good smelling commercial fabric softeners also
contain toxic chemicals that can have a serious impact on their
health.
Fabric softeners come in all different shapes
and sizes, and have scents that range anywhere from “Tropical Breeze” to
“Lavender.” But you should be aware that lavender-scented fabric softener
actually contains no lavender—only chemicals that have been blended to give you
an impression that you are smelling the real deal.
In one study, scientists found that some
commercial fabric softeners emit mixtures of chemicals that can cause sensory
irritation (SI), pulmonary irritation (PI), and reduce midexpiratory airflow
velocity in normal mice. These scientists believe that these results provide a
toxicological basis to explain some of the issues and reactions humans have to
fabric softener emissions.
Substituting these chemically driven fabric
softeners for an all-natural, toxic-free alternative is much easier and
affordable than you might think. Follow this step-by-step tutorial to
make your own 100% natural wool dryer balls that can last for many years, and
best of all, can easily be scented with dōTERRA essential oils to leave your
fabrics soft and smelling fabulous.
What You Need:
- 100% Wool Yarn Or Other 100% Animal Yarn
- Pantyhose (Upcycling Idea: Reuse
pantyhose with runs in them)
Directions:
1. Take the end of the yarn and wrap it around your middle and index finger
10 times. Remove it from the fingers and then wrap 2-3 times around the middle
(it should look like a bow). This will be the start of your ball.
2. Keep tightly wrapping the yarn around the start, working toward making a
round shape. Once your ball is roughly the size of a tennis ball, cut the yarn
and tuck the ends into the sides of the ball. Repeat this process until you
have created four or more balls of yarn.
3. Cut one leg off of the pantyhose. Place one ball into the bottom of the
leg and tie a knot right above the ball with the pantyhose to secure it in
place. Repeat until all the balls have been added and secured.
4. Once the balls are tightly secured in the pantyhose, put
them in the washer (can be with a load of your dirty laundry) and wash on the
hottest setting. This will allow the yarn to felt. Felting will make the yarn
fuse together, resulting in a solid ball. Once it has been washed, dry it
thoroughly in the dryer at the highest heat setting.
Other Laundry Tips:
- Crumple up aluminum foil into a ball and and toss it in the dryer with
the wet laundry to get rid of static cling.
- For an even extra burst of essential oils in your clothing, place a wash
cloth with a few drops of essential oil into your dryer. It was come out
smelling beautiful! No fake lavender smell here!
- Add a few drops of Lemon essential oil to your wash cycle to help remove
grease and oil from fabrics.
- For extra soft clothing, add 1/2 cup vinegar (a natural fabric softener) to
your washer with each load. Don’t worry, your clothes will not smell like
vinegar once dry. Give it a try!
