Marie26 - try skipping the vinegar and see what happens. I seem to get more static cling in the winter and sometimes just throw in a dyer sheet. It might be my imagination, but I think that the clothes seem cleaner when I stopped using fabric softener. I read somewhere that fabric softener (and too much laundry detergent) actually locks the stains IN the clothing. If you get that scrunchy feeling when you take the clothes out of the washer, that's an indicator of too much detergent or fabric softener. Vinegar is good for releasing stains as it is an mild acid - 5% acid, as a matter of fact. Now, I've used vinegar and think it's great but my Mother once told me that vinegar is not good for the mechanical part of washer as it tends to rust some of the parts. I don't know if this is true on the new washers (she's passed on now, so I can't ask her) but it kind of scared me and I've backed off on the vinegar and only use it occassionaly. BJ

Some users insist that powdered is the only way to go. Manufacturers say either is fine. When it comes down to it, powdered vs liquid is a personal choice. There's people who will tell you one will remove stains without even adding it to the machine while using the other will cause the oceans to dry up. I've used both, have both and interchange. I'm currently using Tide Free/Sensitive liquid because I got a deal on it. I still have a box of powder on the shelf and I'll probably use that when the current bottle is used up. Then I have about 3 more bottles to use after that so I'm set for detergent for a long time too. You can use either in your machine. It doesn't hurt to try more than one kind. I started with powder way back when the dinosaurs roamed the earth, I think I started with powder, went to liquid, back to powder, back to liquid, back to powder and now using liquid and will go to powder on the next need as I said. I DO see different cleaning results in BRANDS, but no appreciable difference just because one is a powder or a liquid. And I'll be bitten in the backside for saying that but that's my experience over the last 35 years. Some feel that liquids work better on some things and powder does better on others. Again, your water, doseage, soiling, temperature and other things will make a difference. I recommend people feel free to try different brands and see what they like and feel works best for them. I've been using dryer balls for about a year I suppose. I think it helps the drying in some loads, but not all. It's tough for me to really judge the difference in time since I started using them when I got my new dryer and when I got the new dryer I also shortened the vent pipe and the dryer is about 25% larger capacity than the old one so by itself, it should be drying faster, and the dryer balls should help. CAN dryer balls damage clothes? Well, in the strict sense, yes I suppose they COULD, considering the knobs could catch on loose threads or when it goes into a pocket (which they have at times) I imagine the weight on top tumbling conceivably could damage something. So technically, yes they could, but I hasten to add that I can't attribute any damage to them and the amount would be minimal and probably more of a fluke. IF they do help cut drying time, they'd offset the possibility of damage IMO. Dryer balls are SUPPOSED to cut static, and I don't know if they do. Some say yes, some say no. I'll still have a little static in my poly blend T-shirts but I haven't done a test to see without. I don't lose sleep over a little static. I live in the northland and we use furnaces in the winter. The air gets dry, and there's static. If you have your house at the right humidity level anyway, the amount of static will be greatly reduced. I'll continue to use the dryer balls because I have them. I suspect they do enough good that since I have them, I may as well continue to use them. Also I use 5-6 of them since I have an oversized dryer and I think that makes a difference.

ebear1271 - We use humidifiers to maintain at least 40% or higher humidity in our home. I couldn't tell you if that affected clothes out of the dryer compared to lower humidity levels - using the anti-static dryer balls. The only time I've dried using the new anti-static dryer balls was the recent static test with the two robes and the blankets this weekend. But neither load was fully charged with static (as I expected it to be) and there wasn't any static in the robes when I hung them on hangers, or the microfiber blanket when we folded it. I did use vinegar in the rinse. Try taking out the regular dryer balls and see if there's any difference with anti-static dryer balls ONLY. If your clothes are stiff from hanging outdoors, then I suspect they have soap/detergent residue still in them. Usually a little breeze will help take care of that, just as tumbling in the dryer does. I switched to Charlie's Soap about 18-months ago - because of discussions on this board. Once my former brand of laundry detergent washed out of the fabrics after several washings, all my line-dried clothing (dried on both indoor and outdoor lines) were amazingly soft! Evedently, Charlie's Soap doesn't need some kind of soy-fat to coat fibers to "soften" fabrics. Which is essentially the same thing fabric softeners do to fibers. Charlie's doesn't build-up in fabrics to begin with, so they are naturally soft - even line-dried. I could even tell they were softer wet from the washer. The scent of "the great outdoors" on line-dried clothes is a common love it, or hate it, personal preference issue. Most people are so accustomed to highly perfumed laundry products they may not like the absence of it. While many people remember the smell of sheets dried outdoors as a pleasant smell. -Grainlady

Tennis balls are not a great idea, especially if you use the highest heat setting. The rubber smell gets in the clothes and is obnoxious. Dryer balls can be had cheap enough. Dollar Tree had them for $1/pair. There's even some that claim to be more anti-static but I haven't made the plunge. I think Grainlady tried them IIRC and had positive things to say about them. I have an extra large dryer so I use 6 of them in there and it makes quite a difference. I don't have any documented proof but have noticed a difference when I haven't had them in there. Towels especially. You'll get less wrinkling if you don't overload the dryer and if you don't overdry things. Static comes from overdrying clothes too so you don't need dryer sheets or anti-static spray and you'll spend less on your drying costs if you dry them properly in the first place. It will also help to remove from the dryer while still warm and put them on. That should limit wrinkling too.