Educate me about wool...

jcwinsto

So, another lurker coming out of hiding. Sorry! But I have questions occasionally so I thought I'd just jump in. My baby boy is 7 weeks and we've been CDing from the get go mostly (but that's another story).  I have 2 questions about wool.

1. Dryer Balls - Do they really work?  Do they work better than just throwing a dry towel in with the dipes? Can you make your own?

2. Wool Covers - I know we (you guys) love them but I don't really know what they do or why we love them so much so can you educate me?

Aurora_Borealis

Dryer balls are awesome. I haven't used dryer sheets or fabric softener on any of our laundry in almost 8 years. I've never made my own, nor can I speak to it being better than using a dry towel.

For DD, wool covers were great when she was a crazy overnight wetter. She would end up with wet pjs in anything other than a TTNN fitted, extra hemp insert and a wool cover. Properly lanolized when paired with a sufficiently absorbent diaper underneath wool covers are great at preventing leaks. Plus some mamas like them because they are a natural fiber and very breathable. If we hadn't had problems with ON leaks with other diapers, though, i probably wouldn't have used them since I prefer just tossing everything in one load for diaper laundry.

lunarrainn

Dryer balls. I made my own, they were fun to make, but didn't really work well for us. They became baby toys. I suspect the yarn was the culprit. You just put a ball of yarn I'm a nylon , tie it off wash and agitate it several times.
Wool soakers saved us when we were trying to solve ON leaks. Sheep have lanolin in their wool to help keep them dry, using lanolin on a wool product give a similar result. Wool soakers are kinda waterproof and kinda absorbent at the same time.

lunarrainn

Mapleme said:

lunarrainn said:

Dryer balls. I made my own, they were fun to make, but didn't really work well for us. They became baby toys. I suspect the yarn was the culprit. You just put a ball of yarn I'm a nylon , tie it off wash and agitate it several times.
Wool soakers saved us when we were trying to solve ON leaks. Sheep have lanolin in their wool to help keep them dry, using lanolin on a wool product give a similar result. Wool soakers are kinda waterproof and kinda absorbent at the same time.

You're up early! (Or late, more likely). I bought my dryer balls, so I can't speak to yarn material, but I recommend using lots of balls (you may have been, it's just something else I thought of). They recommend 6 large balls for a regular load, which seemed like a lot to me at first.

Just have a break from sleep. My pregnancy insomnia never fully left. I might need more balls. I had 5, but they weren't that big ( golf ball to baseball) and left lots of static. I opted to use a wool blend in some because I knew the color wouldn't bleed. They are relaxing to make.

jcwinsto

Good deal! I wish we lived nearer to a large city where I might score some deals. No one here CD 's so the only deals I get are online. I guess I won't worry about a wool cover unless I need it but I might invest in some dryer balls. Thanks for the insight.

Thankfully I didn't have pregnancy insomnia but I think my baby made up for it in just the first two weeks after birth!

lunarrainn

Yay trading!