I have the wool balls. I don't think they are noisy at all. My laundry room is on the first floor. I once had those nubby plastic ones and they were awful

The rubber nubbed ones are loud! I threw them away.

I have the felted wool ones, and I love them. Not noisy. No need for fabric softener or dryer sheets, which are full of too many “things” I don’t want.

As with a bathroom exhaust fan, open a window when the dryer is running to insure make up air comes into the condo. That can make a big difference.

Be sure to clean the lint screen before each load and if you haven't had the dryer exhaust duct checked for obstructions lately, do so. A clogged duct can also make a big difference.

Inevitably, dryers can also get clogged internally (one of ours is like that now). The moisture sensor seems to no longer work too so we used timed drying only. Even with a clean duct, it's slower than it used to be. Fortunately, with a gas dryer, the cost of the "damage" is limited because it's so much more efficient than an electric one.

The felted wool ones are great; not noisy at all - and my washing closet is in the hall near the main living area.

Love the felted wool ones. A big improvement over the tennis balls.

I love my wool dryer balls, especially when I need to plump down jackets after washing and to dry quilts or other bulky items. I don’t find them noisy at all. They do thump a little bit now and then, but it’s a lot less noise than say a large zipper or metal button makes in a dryer. DH has some outdoor clothing that drives me crazy with the noise in the dryer when he forgets to turn them inside out.

Not sure it makes any difference, but the balls are in there anyway. I used tennis balls for a while, and someone said I might have a "tennis ball smell" in my clothes, so I stopped and got the wool. I actually find it kind of annoying to have to fish them out of the dry laundry, like in the pocket of a fitted sheet.

I use them. I've never used dryer sheets and I can't tell any difference between items dried using the wool dryer balls and items dried without using them. They do get stuck in my sheets which is a little annoying, but not that big of a deal.

I use them. Drying time is faster and my towels feel more absorbent. Not too loud.

i also use wool dryer balls and highly recommend. not noisy at all. they do get stuck in sheets and sometimes shirt sleeves but no biggy....

i like that i don't have to use fabric softener and my towels come out fluffy.

I use them, and they work great. The only annoying thing is chasing them around when they get caught in laundry or fall out when i'm unloading the dryer.

Thanks for having this thread. I work at a Farmers Market and we have a woman that has alpacas and sells wool dryer balls, as well as hats, gloves and scarves made from her animals soft hair. I have never tried them but maybe I will now. I do use dryer sheets but wouldn't mind getting rid of them in favor of something more environmentally favorable.

Edited to add: how many do you put in at one time?

Do the wool dryer balls accumulate lint or pet hair? Yes, I do use the lint catcher in the dryer, but curious about the wool attracting hair.

I haven't noticed any, and I have 4 cats so plenty of pet hair goes through the machines.

I have the wool dryer balls from Trader Joe's (actually had 4 of them, now down to 2 ...have no idea where the other two have gone to, they’re not very tiny to lose) and a couple of the nubby rubber ones. They thump around but I think the towels are softer. No pet hair collects on the wool ones or the rubber.

I didn't find they (wool ones; I try to stay away from buying plastics when possible,) did anything. But I don't use softener either.

I use dryer balls. I'm a knitter, and usually have some wool yarn on hand and make my own. I roll the balls and tie each in part of the leg of a nylon stocking until the stocking is full. Then I throw them into the washer with a load of whites (hot water), then into the dryer. After about five repeated washings and dryings, I cut the stockings and remove the felted balls. Loads do dry quicker and are nice and fluffy. The smaller the load, the more the noise. Like tennis balls, but I don't find it annoying. Larger loads make very little noise.

I see no difference using them,

The difference, in my opinion, is that there is one less "scent" and one less product to buy to have soft fluffy towels. Dryer balls last longer than a year's worth of fabric softener. Even softeners that state they are unscented STILL have a smell, and often make towels less likely to absorb water from a bath or shower.

We get best results when using 6 at a time. Parachute is the brand we use.

I’ve heard of people putting a few drops of essential oil on them. I’ve never tried wool dryer balls.

I bought mine a long time ago from Norwex In a box of 3. I noticed today at WalMart they are selling them and they come 2 to a package. Didn’t notice the price.