Replace soap powder & soft rinse with Eco-ball

whodunnit

Save ££££££s on soap powder & soft rinse - use Eco-balls instead. These were shown on "This Morning" a few weeks ago, and are available from The Greenshop (greenshop.co.uk).

As well as helping to save the planet they will save you money. You get about 1000 washes from a set of 3 balls costing about £40 inc postage - one 4p wash a day for nearly 3 years! I must say I don't understand how they can possibly work, but they do. I even wash the towels I use for drying the dog after a muddy walk and they come out just as clean as if I'd used soap powder.

Eco-balls allow you to cut out rinse cycles (saving water and electricity), are hypo-allergenic, anti-bacterial, perfume-free, won't fade your clothes and are helpful to the environment as well. Oh, and you get a 30-day money-back guarantee. Why on earth haven't we heard about them before?

amboy

my missus has been going on about getting one of these for ages but I just could not get my head around how effective they actually were.

Or indeed do they wash as good as is claimed???

MATH

WHICH? Magazine tested them ages ago when they were first launched on QVC et al. The tested washing using eco balls thingies against washing powder and also washing in plain water alone. Washing Powder won and plain water and eco balls came joint second. their virdict was that the eco balls do nothing plain water alone doesn't do. I've tried them in th past and found them rubbish.

A better money saver would be to wash lite-soiled clothes with no detergent and let the detergent already presents in the fibres do the job. IMO

Jolaaled

Last weekend, I inadvertantly did a whole coloured wash in the machine, and completely forgot to put in any powder.

I realised my mistake, not by the clothes looking dirty still, but by the absense of the aroma of detergent!!

All items ( they weren't heavily soiled tho) came out just fine...as clean as my normal 'quick wash' cycle, just without the sweet smell of ariel!!

And.. i felt great, knowing i hadn't poured yet another load of chemicals down the drain.

MATH

I use laundry gloop for all my laundry, but I love the smell of Ariel ;D If I manage to get my hands on a free sample I'm opening drawers and sniffing clothes laundered in it for weeks (until it wears off if I'm honest) ;D

whodunnit

If WHICH had tested Eco-balls using my muddy dog-towels they'd have come up with a different verdict! Plain water definitely wouldn't have got them clean. Everything comes out nice and soft too. I get itchy skin irritations if I use soft rinse, so I'm happy to have found an alternative.

MATH

Pleased it works for you Whodunnit Have you tried a load with the eco balls and a load with just water and compare the results? If you give it a go please post back and let us know the results.

whodunnit

No time to mess around testing, I'm afraid! You could always take advantage of the 30-day trial period from The Greenshop, though. If it doesn't work for you, send it back - there's nothing to lose.

MATH

I've got a 40 ltr top-loader. Can you use them in this kind of machine? I so I will give the trial a go

Js_Other_Half

I get mine from Kleeneze or Betterware via a door to door catalogue - don't ask me which one, I didn't keep the receipt... ::)

However, you can get it from http://www.lakelandlimited.com/ -for £7.95. Obviously this comes with the fab Lakeland guarantee.

Once you are happy with the results, you can also buy it at http://www.spiritofnature.co.uk/acatalog/sect2110.html (£11.95 for 2)

I use the laundry balls for my laundry, but my other half prefers the normal laundry detergent. Horses for courses - but I do use stain removers before washing the clothes too.

rushnowt

ive used the wash balls off QVC in the past, and to be honest they didnt really do a great job, yes they were fine on lightly soiled stuff, but couldnt manage the more heavier soiled stuff, tried with no powder at all and i'd say probably the same results, i love the smell of washing powder and i'd say it does do a much better job using it. IMO