Wellness Wednesday! DIY Wool Dryer Balls

One of the most common household products that are used on a daily basis is dryer sheets. Unfortunately, dryer sheets contain a significant volume of chemical fragrances. If you or someone in your family suffers from a respiratory disease or has any respiratory sensitives, you may want to consider ditching your store bought dryer sheets and replace them with chemical free alternatives.

One study conducted by Anderson Laboratories and published in the Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health tested levels for pulmonary irritation in mice after being exposed to fabric softeners (Anderson & Anderson, 2000). Just one dryer sheet contains many known pulmonary irritants such as isopropylbenzene, styrene, trimethylbenzene, phenol, and thymol, which are also known carcinogens (Adams, 2004; Anderson & Anderson, 2000). The results should come to no surprise, but many of us never really knew that dryer sheets could cause pulmonary inflammation. After exposure, sensory irritation, pulmonary irritation, and air flow limitation was observed in up to 58% of breathes (Anderson & Anderson, 2000). See the study here .

Dryer sheets are not the only products in our homes that contain harmful chemicals. Just read the labels of products around your home such as aerosol air fresheners, candles, laundry detergent, disinfecting wipes, toilet bowl cleaner, etc. Click here for a partial list of harmful chemicals (Adams, 2004).

Let’s get rid of those dryer sheets and use something natural for fragrance and reduction of static. One of my favorite DIY projects was making wool dryer balls, which absorb static electricity. Here is the recipe from doTERRA. What I really like is that you can also add your own essential oils to the dryer balls to help freshen up your laundry. I really like to use lavender or purify blend.  I add two or three wool balls to each load, along with a wash cloth with safety pins on it, to help make the laundry smell great, as well as eliminate static electricity.

References:

Adams, M. (2004, December). Warning: Many dryer sheets contain cancer causing chemicals. Natural News. Retrieved from http://www.naturalnews.com/002693.html#

Anderson, R. C., & Anderson J. H. (2000). Respiratory toxicity of fabric softener emissions.  Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health, 60(2), 121 – 136. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10872633