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If you’re looking to transition to plant-based laundry products but are afraid you’ll be stuck with clothes that feel rough and stiff, we have good news: Swapping out your liquid fabric softeners and dryer sheets for L’AVANT Collective natural wool dryer balls won’t just make your clothes soft–you’ll also have less static and a shorter drying cycle. Here’s why wool dryer balls are your best bet for softer clothes. 


Wool dryer balls don’t create “faux” softness 

You’ve probably never thought about why your clothes feel softer after using conventional fabric softeners and dryer sheets. After all, isn’t that what they’re supposed to do? But the chemicals that are left behind by dryer sheets and softeners don’t actually make the clothes softer, they just deposit onto fabric a film of chemicals that are heated up in the dryer. As Patric Richardson of The Laundry Evangelist tells Huffington Post, “It’s the coating that goes on fabric that feels soft. It’s the equivalent of putting a thick layer of lotion on your hand. Your skin isn’t actually softer, it just feels softer.” And as it turns out, that coating doesn’t just contain fragrance and other ingredients that can irritate skin, lungs, and cause migraines, but it can also prevent your fabrics from performing as they were intended. 

Wool Dryer Balls

Wool dryer balls help keep your towels absorbent 

Over time, the same chemicals that create that “faux” softness in your towels will create a film of fragrance and fatty compounds on the fabric. This film will actually begin to prevent absorption of moisture, reduce moisture-wicking ability, and may even disrupt the fire retardants in children’s clothing, all while simultaneously trapping in odors and stains–quite the opposite of what you want from your clean laundry! What’s worse, these lipids and fragrances will stick around in your machine and may, over time, cause the sensors to work improperly, which can extend drying times when they’re not needed. And if you share a machine with others, they will be subject to these same compounds. Not great news for anyone with sensitivities to the chemicals in dryer sheets. 

L’AVANT Collective natural wool dryer balls, on the other hand, help to keep fabrics soft and absorbent by rubbing up against fibers to physically soften them and help them perform as they should. As they bounce around in the dryer, they fluff fabric and reduce static, as well as help reduce drying time by absorbing excess moisture. That means your towels will still feel soft but continue to absorb as they should, and you may even see an improvement on your utility bills over time. 

L'AVANT Laundry - Wool Dryer Balls

 

The natural wool dryer balls from L’AVANT Collective are an eco-friendly laundry solution to swapping out conventional dryer sheets. And because they can be scented with L’AVANT Fresh Linen Laundry Oil– a non-toxic blend of essential oils that creates our customer-favorite fragrance–you don’t have to miss out on laundry that smells fresh and clean. Instead, you’ll have laundry that is soft, clean, static-free, and safe for you and the environment. 

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