Speed Up Laundry with Tennis Balls

USCGamecocks · 03-30-2008, 09:30 AM

Speed Up Laundry with Tennis Balls

The Life Hackery weblog lists 50 things you can do with tennis balls, including throwing them in the dryer to speed up and fluff up the laundry:

khorrell · 03-30-2008, 01:53 PM

Does anyone know if this works? It seems that I would, but I think that I've heard it doesn't.

lucille · 03-30-2008, 02:07 PM

I used to do this with our kids winter coats and down vests. It worked fine. I don't know if it might leave green fuzz on certain clothing items though.

VaranusK · 03-30-2008, 03:12 PM

sounds interesting. Only that I have not a dryer!. I still hang the clothes for a couple of hours, old way. It does not really take much work, and I save power and the cost of the dryer. Have to say that I live in a nice warm place...

indieretailer · 03-30-2008, 03:26 PM

I have used new tennis balls to dry a king-sized featherbed at a laundramat.
My only problem was that a lot of heat needs to be generated before the comforter starts to get warm enough to take home and put on the clothesline for finishing.
The tennis ball rubber began to smell so I removed them.

I line-dry almost all of our laundry now, but I do use the cheap no-brand spiky dryer balls from Walmart. They do help cut down on drying time with towels and there is no rubber/plastic smell.!

kav122 · 03-31-2008, 04:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by VaranusK

sounds interesting. Only that I have not a dryer!. I still hang the clothes for a couple of hours, old way. It does not really take much work, and I save power and the cost of the dryer. Have to say that I live in a nice warm place...

We live in a cold place (6 or more inches of snow today??) and we line dry most of our clothes. We only use the dryer to dry if we really need something quick (rare). We have four lines in the basement, then I throw a bunch in the dryer for 10 minutes or less on air fluff, just so they aren't stiff. We do this year-round.

I have heard of using tennis balls for down comforters and jackets, but not to speed up (really? How does it speed up?) the dryer.

amyschiff · 03-31-2008, 07:55 AM

Tennis balls do work to fluff up items. I have a down feather-lined winter coat and throwing it in the dryer with some tennis balls keeps it nice and poofy

gt0163c · 03-31-2008, 11:19 AM

I've been using tennis balls in my dryer for a while. It started out I was using them when I was drying a down comforter and then a couple of pillows (helps keep them from getting lumpy). And I thought I would see if they had any effect on a regular load of laundry. They do seem to speed up the drying process. I think that's mostly because they keep the clothes moving around a bit more. Items don't get stuck next to the drum for as long, so the whole load dries a bit quicker. It also seems to help cut down on the static cling a bit (I cut my dryer sheets in thirds or quarters, mostly because of sensitive skin. But I also live in an area where static cling can be an issue during parts of the year.)
I've never had any problems with fuzz or color coming off on any of my clothing nor with the tennis balls exploding or threatening to explode. I had a friend tell me that it would ruin my dryer, but couldn't explain why in a way that would satisfy my engineering mind. I haven't had any issues with my dryer yet and I've been doing this for over a year. The only issue (aside from the noise) that I have had is getting tennis balls caught up in my clothing when I remove them from the dryer. But it makes it more interesting for the cats when I fold the laundry. They never know when a ball is going to roll out of my sheets or t-shirts.

heybabylover · 06-06-2008, 06:59 AM

hey, man. May i have a question? May i post a message to you?

cindybythesea · 06-06-2008, 10:29 AM

Wouldn't the plastic on tennis balls melt from the intense heat in the dryer?

03-30-2008, 09:30 AM	#1
USCGamecocks Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Columbia, SC Posts: 139 Thanks: 0 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post Reputation: (20)	Speed Up Laundry with Tennis Balls Speed Up Laundry with Tennis Balls The Life Hackery weblog lists 50 things you can do with tennis balls, including throwing them in the dryer to speed up and fluff up the laundry: __________________ Timemakeover.com - Time Management Articles & Resources

03-30-2008, 03:26 PM	#5
indieretailer Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: San Diego Posts: 79 Thanks: 0 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post Reputation: (12)	I have used new tennis balls to dry a king-sized featherbed at a laundramat. My only problem was that a lot of heat needs to be generated before the comforter starts to get warm enough to take home and put on the clothesline for finishing. The tennis ball rubber began to smell so I removed them. I line-dry almost all of our laundry now, but I do use the cheap no-brand spiky dryer balls from Walmart. They do help cut down on drying time with towels and there is no rubber/plastic smell.! __________________ Jennifer (and John) www.DollarCardMarketing.com - Customized $100 Dollar Bill drop cards for your business.

06-06-2008, 06:59 AM	#9
heybabylover Junior Member Join Date: May 2008 Posts: 4 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Reputation: (10)	Funny hey, man. May i have a question? May i post a message to you? __________________ Green Laser Pointer,Green Laser,Laser Pointer,

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03-30-2008, 01:53 PM	#2
khorrell Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: near Washington DC Posts: 610 Thanks: 0 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post Reputation: (84)	Does anyone know if this works? It seems that I would, but I think that I've heard it doesn't.

03-30-2008, 02:07 PM	#3
lucille Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 670 Thanks: 0 Thanked 3 Times in 3 Posts Reputation: (38)	I used to do this with our kids winter coats and down vests. It worked fine. I don't know if it might leave green fuzz on certain clothing items though.

03-30-2008, 03:12 PM	#4
VaranusK Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 66 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Reputation: (10)	sounds interesting. Only that I have not a dryer!. I still hang the clothes for a couple of hours, old way. It does not really take much work, and I save power and the cost of the dryer. Have to say that I live in a nice warm place...

03-31-2008, 07:55 AM	#7
amyschiff Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Lansing, MI Posts: 472 Thanks: 0 Thanked 2 Times in 2 Posts Reputation: (77)	Tennis balls do work to fluff up items. I have a down feather-lined winter coat and throwing it in the dryer with some tennis balls keeps it nice and poofy

03-31-2008, 11:19 AM	#8
gt0163c Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Texas Posts: 342 Thanks: 0 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post Reputation: (59)	I've been using tennis balls in my dryer for a while. It started out I was using them when I was drying a down comforter and then a couple of pillows (helps keep them from getting lumpy). And I thought I would see if they had any effect on a regular load of laundry. They do seem to speed up the drying process. I think that's mostly because they keep the clothes moving around a bit more. Items don't get stuck next to the drum for as long, so the whole load dries a bit quicker. It also seems to help cut down on the static cling a bit (I cut my dryer sheets in thirds or quarters, mostly because of sensitive skin. But I also live in an area where static cling can be an issue during parts of the year.) I've never had any problems with fuzz or color coming off on any of my clothing nor with the tennis balls exploding or threatening to explode. I had a friend tell me that it would ruin my dryer, but couldn't explain why in a way that would satisfy my engineering mind. I haven't had any issues with my dryer yet and I've been doing this for over a year. The only issue (aside from the noise) that I have had is getting tennis balls caught up in my clothing when I remove them from the dryer. But it makes it more interesting for the cats when I fold the laundry. They never know when a ball is going to roll out of my sheets or t-shirts.

06-06-2008, 10:29 AM	#10
cindybythesea Junior Member Join Date: Jun 2008 Posts: 25 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Reputation: (15)	Wouldn't the plastic on tennis balls melt from the intense heat in the dryer?