Anyone tried the Eco Egg?

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  • whasup
    whasup Posts: 85 Forumite
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    I'd like to bet that in 90% of cases people who perceive they are getting good results would get equally 'good' results if they simply washed on the hotter cycle with no egg, no balls, no detergent, no nothing.
  • zeupater
    zeupater Posts: 5,355 Forumite
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    edited 1 December 2011 at 11:30PM
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    whasup wrote: »
    I'd like to bet that in 90% of cases people who perceive they are getting good results would get equally 'good' results if they simply washed on the hotter cycle with no egg, no balls, no detergent, no nothing.
    Hi

    I tend to agree ... the independent test results were run at 15C, a temperature where most/many washing powders produce very poor results anyway, so perhaps that's what the test was designed to do ... provide very little cleaning benefit from chemicals so that a hard object within the washload would perform relatively better .... perhaps the 'river pebble in a towling sock' raised a few posts back should have been used as a control in the test ..... :D

    [TEXT DELETED BY FORUM TEAM]

    Perhaps Rob from EcoEgg will be so kind as to put my sceptical mind at ease later ... ;)

    HTH
    Z
    "We are what we repeatedly do, excellence then is not an act, but a habit. " ...... Aristotle
    B)
  • Ben84
    Ben84 Posts: 3,069 Forumite
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    whasup wrote: »
    I'd like to bet that in 90% of cases people who perceive they are getting good results would get equally 'good' results if they simply washed on the hotter cycle with no egg, no balls, no detergent, no nothing.

    Quite likely they would. Water is a pretty good solvent for dissolving a range of dirt types and the mechanical mixing action of the machine does do a lot of the cleaning work by pouring water through the clothes repeatedly. Powder doesn't do all the work, it's only part of the process.

    However, powder does have a number of useful ingredients that help with long term freshness so I'm not suggesting people stop using it. It contains detergents that remove oils which aren't soluble in water and it contains phosphates that help keep dissolved dirt suspended in the water so it can be thrown away down the drain rather than deposited on the clothes again. It may also contain enzymes that help break down certain types of stains and bleaching agents that help keep mould out of the machine. Despite water alone giving surprisingly good results at first, long term washing with just water is likely to result in dull smelly clothes as non-water soluble dirt builds up over time.
  • whasup
    whasup Posts: 85 Forumite
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    Broadly agree with responses above. I wasn't of course suggesting that washing with water alone was a long term solution just that I could see how it would be fairly easy to convince some people that the ecoegg results were 'good' with little real evidence.
  • eng_2
    eng_2 Posts: 10 Forumite
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    I have just ordered the new eco egg with fragrance and newly designed egg. Having used the eco egg and supplied my daughter with one for uni. It is for non biological washing only therefore it is not good on stains. However as most things are worn once and then in the machine. If I get something that needs a stain removed I keep a box of biological powder but it's rarely used. I use conditioner because I like the smell and softness. Eco egg is for sensitive skin and it does a great job. I'm waiting for QVC to send my fragranced eco egg , but it's the newly designed egg I'm waiting for QVC to deliver. Maybe washing with hotter water will work but I like low heat washes and the eco egg does a brilliant job as far as I'm concerned.:T
  • rocsen
    rocsen Posts: 5 Forumite
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    I just recently purchased the ecoegg because I developed a rash that the doctor believes is contact dermatitis. Looking at where it appeared on my body I'm suspecting our old detergent (Ecover)

    There is a real lack of reviews out there so I'll post my findings on here to help others. I already noticed by rinsing the egg under cold water, it seems to release a soapy substance which suds slightly. I'm concerned that by leaving the egg in the drum, it will make the water soapy again on the rinse cycle and leave a residue on clothing. I'm also annoyed that as a consumer I'm not allowed to know what the pellets contain. All I can go on is that the product got an approval from Allergy UK.

    Washed our towels and bedding and seems clean but only time will tell whether it stays clean as pointed out by another member.

    Will keep you posted on any further skin reactions as my skin seems to be super sensitive at the moment.
  • unlucky67
    unlucky67 Posts: 117 Forumite
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    Not really anything to do with the ecoegg...but for Rocsen ...(and I might be teaching my grandmother to suck eggs- pun intended)
    If you have a modern washing machine - have you tried reducing the amount of washing powder you use and also using the rinse plus setting and then doing an extra rinse...
    To get an A energy rating modern washing machines can only use a very small amount of water -so they are all rubbish at rinsing ...
    Found this out when I couldn't cure my daughter's 'nappy rash' from real nappies ...never had a problem before with older child and/or older machine - gave them all a couple of rinses and then rinse plus and an extra rinse every time and the problem was solved....
    (One of my favourite rants - no point giving something an A rating if it just can't do what it is meant to on a 'normal' setting...better to reduce the amount of washing you do but have a machine that actually washes/rinses properly... have the same problem with B rated condenser dryer - even on 'extra dry' setting have to put it on again after it has 'finished'! Also new toilet that sometimes (?!) needs two full flushes (12L) and it nearly blocks (2 or more flushes needed) if you don't flush after every wee (can you tell I have forgetful children) - rubbish compared to old 'one flush' 9L toilet :mad: -ok I'll stop now!)
  • rocsen
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    unlucky67 wrote: »
    Not really anything to do with the ecoegg...but for Rocsen ...(and I might be teaching my grandmother to suck eggs- pun intended)
    If you have a modern washing machine - have you tried reducing the amount of washing powder you use and also using the rinse plus setting and then doing an extra rinse...
    To get an A energy rating modern washing machines can only use a very small amount of water -so they are all rubbish at rinsing ...
    Found this out when I couldn't cure my daughter's 'nappy rash' from real nappies ...never had a problem before with older child and/or older machine - gave them all a couple of rinses and then rinse plus and an extra rinse every time and the problem was solved....
    (One of my favourite rants - no point giving something an A rating if it just can't do what it is meant to on a 'normal' setting...better to reduce the amount of washing you do but have a machine that actually washes/rinses properly... have the same problem with B rated condenser dryer - even on 'extra dry' setting have to put it on again after it has 'finished'! Also new toilet that sometimes (?!) needs two full flushes (12L) and it nearly blocks (2 or more flushes needed) if you don't flush after every wee (can you tell I have forgetful children) - rubbish compared to old 'one flush' 9L toilet :mad: -ok I'll stop now!)

    That's a valid point and I often noticed white marks with the old detergent on dried clothing. But after a persons skin has developed an allergy it's best to cut that product out altogether.

    I have been doing an extra rinse with the egg just to make sure everything is rinsed out. Doesn't make much sense to leave the egg in on the rinse cycle does it? I assume the manufacturer is stating that it's fine because rinsing again without it isn't very economical and they claim it doesn't leave much of a residue to begin with.

    I've done about 3 cycles on my shirts and they still smell fresh which is a good sign. Another product I tried was soap nuts but sadly this didn't live up to the hype. Was clean after the the 1st 2 washes but after the third / fourth you can start smelling some odours that stay behind. This was at 30c though and I suspect the soap nuts work better at higher temps.

    Will post back again after a few more wash cycles.
  • grahamc2003
    grahamc2003 Posts: 1,771 Forumite
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    Strange if you have been diagnosed with dermatitis that you are washing using unknown chemicals in the Ecoegg. Probably even worse if you rinse with it in while it releases a soapy substance - or do you have to pause every wash and take out the egg before rinsing starts?

    Did your doctor recommend using the ecoegg to help your condition?
  • antrobus
    antrobus Posts: 17,386 Forumite
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    rocsen wrote: »
    ... I'm also annoyed that as a consumer I'm not allowed to know what the pellets contain. ...

    They contain sodium bicarbonate aka baking soda.
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