# Is there a way to stop my sheets from balling up into a bowling ball in the clothes dryer? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 17, 2022, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-way-to-stop-my-sheets-from-balling-up-into-a-bowling-ball-in-the-clothes-dryer/961252 "2022-03-17T16:27:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2022, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-way-to-stop-my-sheets-from-balling-up-into-a-bowling-ball-in-the-clothes-dryer/961252/21 "2022-03-18T03:00:43Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > I found that small items like underwear or socks get trapped in the fitted sheet pockets This was the problem I used to have, but I solved it a different way. I found these plastic positive-action clips (made for socks) called Sockodiles. I use 7 of them to clip the bottom sheet closed – I never have a problem with the top sheet – and that solved the problem for me. Unfortunately, they’re from Australia (I bought mine in Japan) and they’re not available commercially in the US. But there might be some other brand like it. They need to be all plastic, to be able to withstand the heat of a dryer, and they should have a positive lock rather than depending on the grip strength of something like a clothespin. eta: I googled “sock clips for laundry” and found another brand that looks like it would do the job. It’s a 2-minute nuisance up front, but it takes care of the issue completely. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2022, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-way-to-stop-my-sheets-from-balling-up-into-a-bowling-ball-in-the-clothes-dryer/961252/22 "2022-03-18T03:26:52Z")
I have a balcony but, as @Seanette mentioned, my building prohibits hanging laundry out there. Every unit has its own washer/dryer. ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2022, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-way-to-stop-my-sheets-from-balling-up-into-a-bowling-ball-in-the-clothes-dryer/961252/23 "2022-03-18T03:44:55Z")
Huh. I got a Fisher & Paykel washer & dryer set when I moved into my current home, and the dryer does, in fact, reverse every few minutes. It’s also a top loading dryer with a barrel that’s set so the side is up, instead of an end. ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2022, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-way-to-stop-my-sheets-from-balling-up-into-a-bowling-ball-in-the-clothes-dryer/961252/24 "2022-03-18T03:49:17Z")
These? > **[Sock Clip - The Original Solution for Pairing, Matching and Lost Socks! - The...](https://www.sockclip.com/)** > > Sock Clip, number one sock holder on the market! No more pairing, sorting or lost socks. Original Sock Clip Official Site. Superior to ALL other Sock Holders! Keeps Socks Organized. Save time and money! As Seen On TV - Made in U.S.A. ---
**Author:** ![Seanette](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/seanette/32/9139_2.png) [@Seanette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seanette)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2022, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-way-to-stop-my-sheets-from-balling-up-into-a-bowling-ball-in-the-clothes-dryer/961252/25 "2022-03-18T03:51:13Z")
DH and I just buy multipacks of socks so we don’t have to worry about pairs. Wash, dump in drawer, grab 2 as needed. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2022, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-way-to-stop-my-sheets-from-balling-up-into-a-bowling-ball-in-the-clothes-dryer/961252/26 "2022-03-18T03:53:26Z")
I think hanging out your laundry in an apartment is seen (by management at least) as giving the premises a “ghetto look”. Most landlords and rental managers don’t give a shit about their tenants, whom they tend to see as necessary nuisances at best. All they want is the rent to be paid, and some of them care to keep the external premises looking good. Many landlords dictate things like what color curtains you can hang in your window, so the whole building will have a “uniform” look. Tenants are just chattel to them. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2022, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-way-to-stop-my-sheets-from-balling-up-into-a-bowling-ball-in-the-clothes-dryer/961252/27 "2022-03-18T04:13:06Z")
> [@Morgyn](#): > > These? > > [https://www.sockclip.com/](https://www.sockclip.com/) Yes, those are them. Not the ones I use, but they should also work. > [@Seanette](#): > > DH and I just buy multipacks of socks so we don’t have to worry about pairs I never had a problem with sock pairs, and I’m not sure why I bought the Sockodiles in the first place, but they sure work well to close up a bottom sheet. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2022, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-way-to-stop-my-sheets-from-balling-up-into-a-bowling-ball-in-the-clothes-dryer/961252/28 "2022-03-18T04:30:01Z")
FWIW I own my place and do not rent. The building association (basically an HOA) still has such restrictions. Presumably the majority of owners want it that way. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2022, 11:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-way-to-stop-my-sheets-from-balling-up-into-a-bowling-ball-in-the-clothes-dryer/961252/29 "2022-03-18T11:24:52Z")
One of my gf’s aunts lives in a HOA restricted condo that has very strict rules about hanging up laundry. She doesn’t have a basement, so for years she hung her laundry in her attic. Last year she was up there hanging laundry when she slipped and fell, going through her kitchen ceiling and landing on the floor. ---
**Author:** ![Seanette](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/seanette/32/9139_2.png) [@Seanette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seanette)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2022, 11:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-way-to-stop-my-sheets-from-balling-up-into-a-bowling-ball-in-the-clothes-dryer/961252/30 "2022-03-18T11:30:47Z")
Hope she wasn’t seriously hurt! ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2022, 11:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-way-to-stop-my-sheets-from-balling-up-into-a-bowling-ball-in-the-clothes-dryer/961252/31 "2022-03-18T11:38:44Z")
Overnight hospital stay, then released. Badly bruised and terribly embarrassed. ---
**Author:** ![Seanette](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/seanette/32/9139_2.png) [@Seanette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seanette)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2022, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-way-to-stop-my-sheets-from-balling-up-into-a-bowling-ball-in-the-clothes-dryer/961252/32 "2022-03-18T11:40:08Z")
VERY glad it wasn’t any worse for her. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2022, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-way-to-stop-my-sheets-from-balling-up-into-a-bowling-ball-in-the-clothes-dryer/961252/33 "2022-03-18T11:53:12Z")
She was lucky. Had her head caught the kitchen island things would have been different. She’s the youngest of my gf’s aunts, just 79. Her husband claims to have suffered worse, hearing and seeing such a strange thing. ---
**Author:** ![darazusa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bcef8e/32.png) [@darazusa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/darazusa)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2022, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-way-to-stop-my-sheets-from-balling-up-into-a-bowling-ball-in-the-clothes-dryer/961252/34 "2022-03-18T18:56:31Z")
you are overloading your dryer. ---
**Author:** ![VOW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/vow/32/3043_2.png) [@VOW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VOW)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2022, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-way-to-stop-my-sheets-from-balling-up-into-a-bowling-ball-in-the-clothes-dryer/961252/35 "2022-03-18T19:23:29Z")
The sheets can get so creatively knotted and twisted when it is just the set of sheets all by their lonesome in the dryer. ~VOW ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2022, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-way-to-stop-my-sheets-from-balling-up-into-a-bowling-ball-in-the-clothes-dryer/961252/36 "2022-03-18T19:52:45Z")
Sometimes it’s just about appearance - for example , when for example and HOA prohibits hanging laundry in a yard. But there may be more to it with balconies - I’ve seen balcony restrictions that go beyond laundry , sometimes to the point where it seems you can’t even have a chair on the balcony if you aren’t actively sitting in it. Sometime, it’s explained as : if it gets windy, the wind could pick up the (whatever it is) and drop it. Which [can happen](https://nypost.com/2020/01/25/patio-furniture-blown-off-manhattan-balcony-hits-pedestrian/) ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2022, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-way-to-stop-my-sheets-from-balling-up-into-a-bowling-ball-in-the-clothes-dryer/961252/37 "2022-03-18T20:03:57Z")
In my building we are allowed to have chairs and tables and BBQs (gas only) on our balcony but they do warn that heavy winds can make things fly off your balcony. If that happens and it causes damages or, worse, hurts someone that is on the owner and they will certainly be sued (or worse). > [@darazusa](#): > > you are overloading your dryer. The only thing in my dryer was the sheets and the manufacturer claims it has a 17 pound capacity so I was well under that. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2022, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-way-to-stop-my-sheets-from-balling-up-into-a-bowling-ball-in-the-clothes-dryer/961252/38 "2022-03-18T20:29:48Z")
It’s all a plot to make us give up elastic fitted sheets? Otherwise I got nothin’ And yeah, American condos/rental buildings/HOA-ruled developments generally don’t allow any form of visible hang-drying. ---
**Author:** ![carnut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnut/32/3531_2.png) [@carnut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnut)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2022, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-way-to-stop-my-sheets-from-balling-up-into-a-bowling-ball-in-the-clothes-dryer/961252/39 "2022-03-18T22:36:39Z")
> [@Icarus](#): > > I have the same problem, but I didn’t used to! I can put just a queen size sheet set in my dryer and have them ball up, but the ball does dry, unlike when I add other items to the load. It’s a stacked dryer, but it is full capacity. ---
**Author:** ![darazusa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bcef8e/32.png) [@darazusa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/darazusa)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2022, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-way-to-stop-my-sheets-from-balling-up-into-a-bowling-ball-in-the-clothes-dryer/961252/40 "2022-03-19T00:05:53Z")
the water in your sheets when they are wet weighs quite a bit. in a standard washer, put in your sheets and pillow cases from one set. then add exactly 2 bath towels. nothing else. my dear departed daddy was an appliance repairman and that was his advice. it has worked for me for 50 years. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-way-to-stop-my-sheets-from-balling-up-into-a-bowling-ball-in-the-clothes-dryer/961252.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-way-to-stop-my-sheets-from-balling-up-into-a-bowling-ball-in-the-clothes-dryer/961252.md?page=3)