Do you actually need tennis balls to dry a pillow? The short answer is no, because what really gets a pillow dry is not the ball itself but the constant knocking around inside the drum, the fill being pulled apart while it tumbles so it never gets the chance to settle into those dense, damp pockets that ruin a pillow, and while tennis balls happen to be the famous way to make that happen, plenty of ordinary household things do the same job, with two of them actually working better depending on what your pillow is stuffed with, so the right choice comes down to the fill inside yours.
For the full wash-and-dry picture across every pillow type, the pillow care guide gathers every fill category in one place, so you can see how each one behaves from the first wash to the last cycle. This article focuses specifically on the drying stage and what each alternative to tennis balls actually does mechanically to the fill.
Why Fill Clumps in the Dryer, and What Stops It
A wet pillow goes into the dryer and the fill immediately starts sagging under its own weight, while the drum keeps turning and presses the damp fibers and clusters together over and over, and then the heat sets in and dries those squashed areas stuck in that bonded shape, which is exactly how a pillow that felt fine before washing comes out with hard, lumpy patches you can feel straight through the case.
The answer is agitation, something striking the pillow again and again as it tumbles so the fill gets pulled apart before it can dry compressed, and tennis balls do it through impact, though plenty of other objects and methods do the same thing, with the right amount of force and the question of whether heat is safe both depending on the fill.
| Fill type | Clumping risk | Heat sensitivity | Best drying approach |
|---|---|---|---|
| Down and feather | High | Low-moderate | Dryer balls or wool balls, medium heat, long cycle |
| Polyester fiberfill | Moderate | Low | Dryer balls, clean towels, medium-high heat |
| Shredded memory foam | Moderate | High | Air dry flat; dryer on lowest heat only if needed |
| Solid memory foam | N/A (spot-treat only) | Very high | Air dry exclusively |
| Latex | High | High | Air dry flat exclusively |
| Buckwheat | Low (hull fill) | Low | Air dry preferred; dryer on low acceptable |
Five Methods That Replace Tennis Balls
1. Wool Dryer Balls (Best Overall Replacement)
Wool dryer balls are about as close as you get to a straight swap for tennis balls, and they come out ahead in the two ways that actually count, because they carry no smell at all, none of that rubber stink that bakes off a tennis ball in a hot drum, and they help the dryer itself work better by keeping items separated so the air can move through the drum more freely. Toss in three to six of them and you get steady, even agitation across the whole pillow surface for the entire cycle.
I ranked this #1 because wool balls beat tennis balls on both counts that matter — no rubber off-gassing when heated, and better drum airflow from separating items. My analysis: they’re the direct substitute with zero downsides. If you’re still using tennis balls, this is the upgrade.
Use at least three balls for every pillow, because anything fewer leaves the agitation patchy and lets clumps form in the spots the balls never reach, while three or more keep the fill moving evenly through the whole cycle. Wool balls suit every fill type that can go in a dryer at all, down, feather, and polyester fiberfill. Memory foam and latex are the exceptions, and there the dryer itself is the problem, not the balls.
Set the heat to medium for down and feather, because high heat slowly breaks down the cluster structure when you repeat the cycle, and medium to high for polyester fiberfill, which handles the extra heat without complaint.
2. Clean Sneakers (Tied Together)
Got a clean pair of canvas or fabric sneakers? Tie them together by the laces and you have got a surprisingly good tennis ball stand-in. The laces hold the pair together so they thump the pillow as one lump instead of bouncing around on their own. Stay away from rubber-soled sneakers with thick outsoles, though, because the harder the sole, the harder the hit, and a hard hit can squash down clusters flat instead of pulling them apart.
This is the no-purchase option — clean canvas sneakers tied by the laces strike as a unit, mimicking ball impact. My practical assessment: it works, but avoid thick rubber outsoles (hard impact damages fill). For the ‘I need it now’ scenario, the closet solution is legitimate.
This works best for polyester fiberfill, which tolerates more aggressive agitation. For down, wool dryer balls are the better choice.
3. Dry Towels (No-Impact Method)
Two or three big, clean, dry towels tossed in with the pillow do two jobs at once, soaking up moisture from the fill as everything tumbles together while their sheer bulk nudges the pillow gently as they turn with it, which makes this the slowest way to dry a pillow and also the gentlest, the right call for down pillows whose clusters need protecting and for anyone who would rather skip impact agitation altogether.
I ranked this as the gentlest method — two or three dry towels absorb moisture while tumbling and provide soft agitation. My analysis says it’s the slowest option but the safest for delicate fills. When in doubt about a pillow’s durability, towels are the conservative choice.
The price you pay is time, because a down pillow dried with towels alone almost always needs extra cycles before it is truly dry, more than the same pillow dried with wool balls, so plan on two to three full cycles and press the center of the pillow between each one to check where it stands.
Heat setting: Low to medium for down. Medium for polyester.
4. Mesh Laundry Bags with Tennis Ball Alternatives Inside
Dryer-safe silicone or rubber balls, the kind sold specifically as dryer agitators, work nicely if you drop them into a mesh laundry bag with the pillow. The bag keeps the agitation contained, so you get a little less wild impact than loose balls flying around, which means less noise and more even agitation. Silicone dryer balls are odor-neutral just like wool balls, and the results come out about the same.
This earned the contained-agitation spot — dryer-safe balls in a mesh bag with the pillow means less noise and less free-flying impact. My comparison: slightly gentler than loose balls, slightly more effective than towels alone. The middle path for noise-sensitive households.
This method is worth naming because some people searching for tennis ball alternatives are specifically trying to reduce dryer noise, silicone balls and the mesh bag combination is quieter than loose wool balls, which in turn are quieter than tennis balls.
5. Air Drying Flat (No Dryer Required)
For fills that should not go in a dryer at all, solid memory foam and latex in particular, and for anyone who prefers to avoid machine drying, air drying flat on a ventilated surface is the correct approach. The agitation-to-prevent-clumping problem does not apply to solid foam (it cannot clump). For down and fiberfill, air drying requires manual intervention: flip the pillow every two to three hours and break up any developing clumps by hand as the fill dries.
This is the mandatory method for solid memory foam and latex — my material analysis is blunt: the dryer destroys these fills, so the agitation question doesn’t apply. Air dry flat on a ventilated surface. For foam and latex, this isn’t an alternative; it’s the only correct answer.
Air drying asks for patience more than anything else, because it takes far longer than a machine, somewhere between 12 and 48 hours depending on how dense the fill is, how thick the pillow is, and how humid the air happens to be, and the fill has to be completely dry before the pillow goes back into use, so press the center and check whether it feels cool or dense and heavy, which means it is still wet inside, and remember that fill left damp for more than 24 to 48 hours can start growing mildew.
The One Drying Mistake That Ruins Pillows
Almost everyone makes the same mistake, pulling a pillow out of the dryer while it is still warm and taking that warmth as proof that it is dry, when all the warmth really proves is that the dryer just heated the surface, while the inside, especially in down and dense fiberfill, can still be holding a lot of moisture, and once that pillow goes back into use it sits damp under a pillowcase for hours, creating exactly the mildew and odor problem that washing was supposed to prevent.
So how do you actually know? The moment the pillow comes out of the dryer, press hard on the center and compare that spot with the edges, because if the middle feels cooler, or the fill there feels compressed and heavy and refuses to spring back the way the outer edges do, the pillow needs another cycle, and down pillows are the worst offenders here, usually needing two to three full dryer cycles on medium heat before they are fully dry, not because they are badly made but because down clusters trap air, and wherever air sits, moisture sits with it.
Drying by Fill Type, Quick Reference
| Fill type | Dryer allowed? | Agitation method | Heat setting | Cycles needed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Down | Yes | 3-6 wool dryer balls | Medium | 2-3 |
| Feather | Yes | 3-6 wool dryer balls | Medium | 2-3 |
| Polyester fiberfill | Yes | Wool balls, towels, or sneakers | Medium-high | 1-2 |
| Shredded memory foam | Caution | Air dry preferred; lowest heat only | Low | Check frequently |
| Solid memory foam | No | Air dry flat | N/A | 12-48 hrs |
| Latex | No | Air dry flat | N/A | 12-48 hrs |
| Buckwheat | Preferred air dry | No agitation needed | Low if dryer used | Air: 4-8 hrs |
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you dry pillows without tennis balls?
Yes, and you have plenty of good options, because wool dryer balls, silicone dryer balls, dry towels, and clean sneakers all knock the fill around enough to stop it clumping as it dries, while fills that cannot go in the dryer at all, like solid memory foam or latex, belong flat on a ventilated surface to air dry, whatever method you would otherwise pick.
Why do tennis balls get used to dry pillows?
Tennis balls work because they bounce around the drum and keep smacking the pillow, breaking up clumps as the moisture leaves the fill, and honestly any object that tumbles freely and strikes the pillow again and again does the same job, though tennis balls carry one real drawback, the rubber odor they give off when they get hot, which ends up in the pillow itself.
How do you know when a pillow is completely dry?
Press hard on the center of the pillow. If that spot feels cooler than the edges, or the fill feels dense and squashed and refuses to bounce back the way the outer fill does, there is still moisture hiding inside, so send it back for another cycle or keep air drying it until the center feels the same as the edges.
Can you dry a memory foam pillow in the dryer?
Solid memory foam cannot go in the dryer at all, because heat breaks down the viscoelastic polymer structure, while shredded memory foam can handle the lowest dryer heat setting for short stretches, though laying it flat to air dry is still the safer bet. And neither type should ever be dried with heavy agitation balls bouncing around.
How long does it take to air dry a pillow?
Air drying usually takes somewhere between 12 and 48 hours, depending on the fill density, the pillow thickness, and how humid the air is, with down pillows taking the longest and polyester fiberfill drying faster, while solid memory foam and latex need the full range, so flip the pillow every 2 to 3 hours and press the center to check it is dry before you use it.
How do you fix a pillow that came out lumpy after drying without tennis balls?
Massage the lumpy spots by hand from the center outward to break apart the damp bonded clusters, then return the pillow to the dryer with three wool dryer balls or clean dry towels on low heat for 15 minutes, keeping the heat low while you separate the fill by hand, because high heat bakes those compressed clusters into permanent lumps.
Does running an extra spin cycle help pillows dry faster?
Yes, and the difference is real, because a second high-speed spin cycle in the washing machine before drying pulls out up to 30% of the water still trapped in the fill. Getting that bulk water out mechanically first means a much shorter dryer time and far less chance of the fill clumping, whichever agitation method you end up using.
I dried my pillow without tennis balls and it still smells musty. What do I do?
A musty smell means the center is still damp, even if the outside feels dry. Press hard on the center. If it feels cooler than the edges, or the fill feels dense and refuses to spring back, send it back for another cycle with three wool dryer balls or clean dry towels on low to medium heat. If you air dry instead, lay it flat for 12 to 48 hours and flip it every 2 to 3 hours. Do not use it damp, because fill left damp for more than 24 to 48 hours can start growing mildew. If the smell survives a full dry, the fill itself is the problem, and the pillow needs replacing.
Drying is half of pillow setup. Our Pillow Setup & Adjustment section covers the full wash-to-loft routine.
