It’s almost bedtime. The dryer buzzes. You’re looking forward to curling up in a clean, warm set of sheets. But you open the dryer door to find the sheets tangled, twisted and trapped inside each other. They’re not dry; and you’re not going to bed.
Dramatics aside, the bedsheet wadding problem is not uncommon. Sometimes sheets twist and tangle in the washer, other times they ball up in the dryer. They’re always a nuisance come laundry day. And by 2019, Cyndi Bray, ’88, was losing sleep over it. “The bedsheet wad had always been what I call a fact of laundry,” she says, “and I was fed up.”
So, the former graphic designer and mother of two tasked herself with solving this universal problem, which started with a lot of staring. “I would literally sit and watch sheets defiantly wrap themselves up in front of my eyes.” It wasn’t long before Bray had not only figured out the physics behind why sheets do this to themselves, she also determined a way to interrupt that process—and designed a product to solve it.
The first prototypes of what is now called Wad-Free were made from found materials. But Bray quickly upped the ante. She taught herself to use CAD and engineered the product solo, 3D printing early prototypes at the library. She learned about injection molding and plastics, never settling for cheaper, less eco-friendly materials. She even had a custom plastic compounded for Wad-Free.
“These are skill sets I did not have,” she clarifies. “The relevant background I had was designing the logo and packaging.” Bray studied advertising at MSU and went on to run her own agency for almost 20 years.
“The bedsheet wad had always been what I call a fact of laundry, and I was fed up.”
What’s downplayed here is Bray’s passion for the environment. Wad-Free saves more than headaches—it also addresses important eco issues. “The dryer is the least efficient appliance in the household,” says Bray. “Sometimes you have to run the thing two or three times just to get your sheets dry. It’s such a wasteful problem and Wad-Free could have a tremendous environmental impact.”
The sheet detangler is already making waves. In 2021, Bray appeared on ABC’s Shark Tank, eventually striking a deal with Kevin O’Leary, aka Mr. Wonderful.
Bray calls filming the show surreal. “I can’t even tell you how long I was in there. I have no idea. It was all sort of a blur. I knew I made a deal, but I walked out of the tank thinking, wait, what just happened?” But the overall experience was one to remember. “Everyone on set is rooting for you: hair and makeup, everyone behind the scenes and the producers are really supportive.”
Next up? “Wad-Free product line expansion,” says Bray. She has a couple new products on the horizon and will soon be delving into the international commerce realm.
Still, Bray prefers to keep it close to home. Wad-Free is manufactured a few miles from her house in Denver and the humble owner/inventor handles much of the fulfillment herself. But in the end, she’s proud to have solved this laundry conundrum, and encourages others to go after what speaks to them, whether they know how to do it or not.
“Creative problem solving is essential,” says Bray. “The internet affords so many ways to educate and apply yourself. With no experience in engineering, manufacturing or e-commerce, I invented a product and brought it to market completely by myself. Who would have thought that of an advertising major?”
SEE HOW WAD-FREE WORKS
Tim Cerullo, '08