Nothing beats the comforting scent of laundry fresh out of the dryer. But those wonderfully fragranced dryer sheets have been catching some bad press lately for the chemicals they leave on your clothes.

Dryer sheets are coated in wax, which is melted by the dryer to lubricate your clothes so they don’t stick together and create static cling. The wax also makes the clothes feel softer, but it is rinsed out of your clothes the next time they are laundered, introducing more chemicals into the water supply. Additionally, the sheets are made with solvents like toluene and styrene, respectively a carcinogen and a neurotoxin.

Nellies Dryer Balls

Nellie’s All Natural Dryer Balls were one of the first products to hit the market as an alternative to dryer sheets. The nubby plastic balls, which cost $19.99 for a set of two, purport to hammer wrinkles out of your clothes by bouncing around in the dryer. The company also claims that the dryer balls will reduce drying time by 25 percent, therefore using less energy.

We test drove these dryer balls and found they did nothing to combat static cling and were a bit rough on delicate items, such as a tissue-weight tee shirt that suddenly developed suspicious holes.

And a little Internet research can go a long way. Nellie’s All Natural’s website frequently mentions that the product is “nontoxic,” but it does not disclose that they’re manufactured from polyvinyl chloride, more commonly known as PVC, and made in China.

Manufacturing PVC is about as eco-unfriendly as it gets. Hydrochloric acid and dioxins are principal ingredients and are frequently dumped after the process is completed. Not only that, but a host of dangerous chemical compounds, including lead, can leach from PVC over its lifetime.
But everyone wants soft clothes. So what’s the eco-alternative?

One low-impact way to make your clothes soft is to add a half cup of white vinegar to your washer machine during the wash cycle. Vinegar acts like fabric softener but without the use of harmful chemicals. Just beware of doing this when you’re using chlorine bleach, as the combination of chlorine and vinegar can create toxic fumes.

If you have the space or time for it, line drying your clothes outside in the sunshine is the absolute best method. A clothesline uses no energy, shakes out the wrinkles, and makes your clothes smell like the real McCoy instead of like those artificial April Sunshine fragrance additives.

Drying racks, which you can purchase at Target or Bed Bath & Beyond, are another option for apartment or dorm dwellers. Strategically place them around your house near air vents to speed up drying time and add moisture to the air.