I (23F) live with two roommates and we share laundry duties. I’ve been trying to be more eco friendly lately so I bought these wool dryer balls instead of using dryer sheets. They’re supposed to reduce drying time and make clothes softer naturally.
My roommate Chloe had a load of dark clothes in the washer so I moved them to the dryer and added my wool balls like usual. Didn’t think anything of it until she comes storming out of her room asking what I did to her favorite black dress.
Turns out one of the wool balls had some white fuzz on it from previous loads. Her black dress now has these white fuzzy spots all over it that won’t come off. It was this expensive dress she got for job interviews and now it’s ruined. She’s starting her job hunt next week and she’s freaking out.
I tried everything to fix it. Lint roller, tape, even looked up YouTube videos. Nothing works. The dress is basically unwearable now. Chloe is being pretty cool about it but I know she’s upset. She paid like $150 for that dress.
I offered to pay for a replacement but she says they don’t make that style anymore.
TL;DR: Used wool dryer balls to be eco friendly, accidentally covered roommate’s expensive interview dress with white fuzz, now she can’t wear it for job hunting.
Comments
Unfortunate but it seems like your roommate is being cool even if she is pissed off, you’ve done the right thing offering to replace. I think you’ve likely also learned not to do other peoples laundry without checking first. A nice dress should not be going in a dryer in any case. (related PSA – a dryer significantly reduces the life of clothes, if at all possible always air dry)
It sounds like that dress probably shouldn’t have gone in the dryer at all.
I’ve gotten lucky before finding second hand clothes to replace worn out clothes liked a lot. Try searching for it online being as descriptive as possible. Maybe even post a picture here and see if folks can help
Have you tried a fabric shaver? You can get them from most stores like walmart or target, or if you don’t have any near you they’re on Amazon as well. It basically gently vacuums the little fuzzy pieces and cuts them off with a blade while not actually touching or damaging the fabric.
I, too, use wool balls! My bf has a lot of black clothing and we were wondering why so many of his clothes ended up with so much fuzz! 😅 now I know! Thank you for sharing!
Sorry to hear about your roommate’s dress… you meant well, and offered to replace! Good on you for offering and definitely lesson learned to check in advance if there is a next time! 😂
pretty sure they make dark wool balls to be used with dark clothes for this reason! hopefully you can avoid it in the future
I’ve never had roommates, so maybe I’m just ignorant, but it seems like everyone should be doing their own laundry. Seems like anything else is a recipe for disaster (hence this post.)
Post a pic and info on the dress in r/Fabrics They might be able to help you.
Owner of many black dresses here: the fabric may have pilled and grabbed the little fibers from the dryer balls. Best way to sort this out is an afternoon with a fresh razor and delicate hands so long as the little balls are raised. If they’re matted down into the fabric, the same method can be used but you have to be VERY careful.
Sometimes they also grab old fabric softener and ball it up and gets all over. A second wash will sometimes sort that.
They make sticky smiley face laundry lint trapper things. Mist the clothing and then tumble dry with the rubbery thing.
Additionally, you can try misting with water a taking a squeegee to it.
They may not make it anymore, but check places like Poshmark or even eBay to see if someone is selling it.
I mean, it shouldn’t go to the dryer to begin with. But also if someone else is doing your laundry can’t expect much…
See if a dry cleaner can help
Do another wash in dark laundry detergent and no dryer balls this time
If you run out of other ideas and it is a solid black dress you could try to dye it black.