the downy ball

Sometimes my posts will be about the brand new (or at least new to me). Other times they will cover things I've known about for a while but that I used or appreciated that day. Tonight's topic is an example of the latter.

Downy fabric softener and I go way back. My parents always used it for laundry so April Fresh is a smell I associate with childhood. Except for a brief experiment with the inferior Bounce fabric sheet freshman year of college, it has been a part of almost every load of laundry I have ever done.

Why use liquid fabric softener you may ask? It's recommended by some apparel manufacturers to prolong the life of the clothes, it makes everything really soft, it reduces static and it smells great.

Why did the fabric sheet ever become popular if liquid is the way to go? The traditional problem with fabric softener is that it needs to be added during the rinse cycle. This is a big inconvenience if your machine does not have a special dispenser.

Enter the Downy ball, one of the great inventions of the past decade. The ball is hard plastic with a rubber plug. Fill it with a capful of softener, seal it up and drop it in when you load your machine. All through the wash cycle the ball floats along riding the sudsy waves. But, when the machine drains and spins in anticipation of the rinse, bam, the ball hits the side of the washer, the plug opens and water and softener begin to mix. Ingenious.

Take my advice and get April Fresh, or use their product advisor to find the Downy scent that is right for you, but on your next trip to Target, pick up a Downy ball.