Anyone tried the Eco Egg?

Cardew

If you look on other sections of MSE - as well as other websites - you will find there are posts giving enthusiastic support for the craziest devices. Magnets strapped to the fuel line of your car that lowers fuel consumption by xx%(cos it lines up the Mollycules(sic) - or capacitors that reduce electricty bills by xx%. All of these claims supported in reviews by people who have 'proved' their effectiveness.

A case of 'The King has no(clean) Clothes' me thinks!

If these things work, why not get them tested by WHICH or some other respected organisations!

melancholly

Cardew wrote: »

If these things work, why not get them tested by WHICH or some other respected organisations!

i'd like to hope that an independent organisation like Which? doesn't test things based on what the company wants! i'd guess that the EcoEgg isn't really that widely used, so wouldn't be worth testing compared to products you can buy in every supermarket. who knows, maybe that will change?

but either way, i'm happy with it and it was worth the risk since i could have returned it for a full refund. that way i knew i wasn't going to be stuck with something rubbish!

grahamc2003

Even those selling these things claim they only get 90% of the cleaning power of modern detergents, probably the same result you'd get by sticking a similar sized stone in your washing machine. Would anyone do that?

A few things would concern me. Detergents kill bugs pretty effectively, not sure a bug ridden hanky (and I have a mate who still washes snotty cloth hankies with his shirts!) or a kid's shirt or jumper sleeve used to wipe a runny nose would have all the (flu) bugs killed by this ecothing on a cool wash (Has it been tested for that?)

Also, having a dense mass in your machine while spinning would be pretty terrible for the machine's bearings - at the very least, the unblalance they cause would lessen the life of the machine (Have you noticed how machines these days go to great lengths to operate in a way which tries to ensure the clothes are very evenly distributed before the spinning starts?

I would never risk using a thing like this (in fact, I'd be very careful with anything with 'eco' in fornt of it!), but for those who do, I'd only use a slow spin speed.

melancholly

grahamc2003 wrote: »

Also, having a dense mass in your machine while spinning would be pretty terrible for the machine's bearings - at the very least, the unblalance they cause would lessen the life of the machine (Have you noticed how machines these days go to great lengths to operate in a way which tries to ensure the clothes are very evenly distributed before the spinning starts?

I would never risk using a thing like this (in fact, I'd be very careful with anything with 'eco' in fornt of it!), but for those who do, I'd only use a slow spin speed.

just to add to that that after reading this, i just weighed it and it comes in at 149g by my kitchen scales. that's less than a wet jumper/jeans/towels and although obviously it's more dense as it's smaller, it isn't a kilo being thrown about. i can also stop my machine before the spin cycle and remove it, although so far there hasn't been any indication that that's needed.

don't get me wrong, i'm not entirely sure of the eco credentials since you can't use the low water cycle with it (which i didn't know until i bought it), but i think just saying it's rubbish on principle isn't fair either. my clothes are clean and for me, it was about cost saving of detergent about equally with avoiding needing to use harsh chemicals (although i'll probably still need a stain remover for very dirty stuff). i have no vested interest in this at all, but unlike seemingly everyone else with an opinion on it on this thread, i actually have one and have used it before!

emmaJbrown

I bought mine from their website nearly 6 months ago now. I couldn't find a store to buy it from, anyone seen it elsewhere to buy? (apart from the store in Brighton) I agree it's actually really good, I've also tried other washball versions in the past but this is definitely an advancement on those :T It actually works for a start! I still use fab con, but it has already saved me a fair amount of money.

grahamc2003

melancholly wrote: »

but i think just saying it's rubbish on principle isn't fair either. !

Did I say it was rubbish? I thought I just brought up some pertain considerations which hadn't been discussed yet.

If the weight of the eco egg weighs 149g, then the force it exerts on the machines bearings is around 78kgs (wt) while spinning (1400rpm, 48cm diameter drum, giving 526g). That is asymetric - i.e. it causes quite a large unbalance at those spinning speeds, obviously beyond the normal design criteria of a washing machine. Hence why I thought it worth posting to those who use one that their machine life expectancy wouldn't be harmed as much if a slower spin speed were used (i.e. at 800rpm, the inbalancing force would drop to around 25kgs).

Does the fact I don't (and wouldn't) own an eco egg affect any of the above?

melancholly

i'd never use my spin cycle at above 900 for anything as it's just going to kill the bearings anyway! (except for the odd spin at 1200 if i need it quickly)

fishooX

does anybody else have any user reports on this egg?? so far there are more less only discussions and speculations right? I mean it seems to be a great way of saving money by not using detergent....

keith_r59

fishooX wrote: »

does anybody else have any user reports on this egg?? so far there are more less only discussions and speculations right? I mean it seems to be a great way of saving money by not using detergent....

See post #4 for a link to numerous customer reviews.

zeupater

fishooX wrote: »

does anybody else have any user reports on this egg?? so far there are more less only discussions and speculations right? I mean it seems to be a great way of saving money by not using detergent....

Hi

Using the same logic you could say that not washing is "a great way of saving money by not using detergent" :wall:... like anything else, it's only any good if it works ...

Z