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How to Keep Clothes From Balling Up in the Dryer

Corey M. Mackenzie

Due to a clothes dryer’s tumbling action, wet clothes sometimes ball up, which means they will take longer to dry and will come out wrinkled.

Clothes may ball up in the dryer, but this can be prevented.

This happens frequently with natural fabrics such as cottons, and can cost extra time and money--you’ll need to iron to get the wrinkles out and you will have to run the dryer longer to get the clothes fully dry. A simple solution exists to prevent your clothes from balling up in the dryer.

Warning

Some people use tennis balls instead of dryer balls. However, you risk dye transfer from the tennis balls to your clothes. Dryer balls will not transfer color, are not very expensive and can last a long time.

  1. Purchase dryer balls. These balls are often sold as natural, non-chemical clothes softeners, but they also prevent clothes from balling up in the dryer.

  2. Grasp clothing items, one item at a time, from your washing machine when the wash cycle has finished and shake them out. According to laundry tips found on the LG website, shaking clothes out before placing them in the dryer will help prevent them from balling up.

  3. Place the laundry in your dryer. Put the dryer balls in with the clothes and run the dryer as normal.

The Drip Cap

  • Due to a clothes dryer’s tumbling action, wet clothes sometimes ball up, which means they will take longer to dry and will come out wrinkled.
  • According to laundry tips found on the LG website, shaking clothes out before placing them in the dryer will help prevent them from balling up.