Ecoballs: How to Save yourself 80% in Laundry Detergent Bills

We have been using ecoballs for about a year now with some success. I am still not to sure that they are not a hoax!
They have no smell at all so if you like that "Fresh" smell you get on your clothes then you may have to invest in something to pop into the conditioner tray to add it at the end. We use Citrus Laundry fresh from the natural collection but it's a bit pricey. But now the summer is coming again and we can hang everything on the line it's not so necessary.
My clothes are clean so we suppose it works but we are not too sure that using nothing at all and just regularly washing the clothes in the machine would not give the same effect!
It has struggled with some of the really smelly stuff on the quick cycle but putting it in with another load on the full cycle seams to do the job.
Whites are probably not the sparkly blue-white that you see on the adverts but they are really not dull or dirty.
Overall we are reasonably happy and won't be switching back to Ecover that we used to use.

I myself haven't used these, but I think I will look into them. Currently, I add about 1/2 cup of borax to my washing machine with about 1/4 cup Seventh Generation detergent. It still does a great job, but the Borax is much cheaper than detergent and has less irritating chemicals in it. So there's another tip to cut down the bills!

erm - i hope you meant "hyPOallergenic," not "hyPERallergenic." If these were hyperallergenic they'd send everyone who uses them into a sneezing fit and give the really sensitive ones hives.

I'm not in a position to say whether these work or not, but I'm sceptical. If any readers do decide to test them out, please remember to test them against washes using neither detegent, NOR Ecoballs as the control. I suspect that many of the glowing testimonials I've read for these things are from people who have never tried washing their clothes without detergent - this is effectively what you are doing with ecoballs, as far as I can tell.

I have used a different brand. They seem to work but the instructions say that you can add a spoonful of detergent along with them. So I have been doing this.

After looking at their website, my shenanigans detector is going off. With their vague explanation of 'they produce ionized oxygen that activates the water molecules naturally' and reams of anecdotes in lieu of a coherent explanation of what they do, I'm having trouble taking this seriously, especially if the instructions reccomend adding a 'spoonful of detergent'. Just use soap, but just use less of it. Typical consumer detergents are bulked up with fillers, anyway.

For the dryer, I have been using dryer balls, and they work perfectly!

You just toss them in your dryer and although they are a little noisy, they get the job done perfectly. And they're only $10 at Target!!

There are so many places one can go to learn about these, but I think the most interesting is a page about an equivalent product marketed in the US:

http://www.ftc.gov/opa/1999/07/onesource.htm

Further, the FTC and the EPA have published an interesting article on 'Green' advertisers:

http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/general/sortgrn.htm

I love Treehugger, but I caution folks that just because something sounds wonderfully green, it may not be...

they've been around for many years so why not give us a real review instead of an advertisement. a scientific test or at least a quote or link to one. some actual value that your readers can use to make good decisions. this is a disappointing post.

I've got some of these, which I got online from the Centre for Alternative Technology.
The ball is plastic (don't know what kind), filled with granules which last 1000 washes, and the set came with 3 refill sachets. I also got a small tube of stain remover, which I use on collars and cuffs. The ring round the middle is fine foam, and I guess the tumbling action helps to clean and soften the clothes. I use them with no problems, but I still keep some Ecover nearby.

I remember seeing these in a Real Goods catalogue over a decade ago; they were bunk then and they are bunk now.

FWIW, Straight Dope says no, http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a4_007b.html, as does the February 1995 Consumer Reports. Water is a pretty good solvent by itself...

And also http://skepdic.com/refuge/laundry.html

Come on, TH editors, do a little research. Remember the old saying: "if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is." These are crap, and expensive crap at that.

George, those dryer balls are made of PVC, which is eeevvvveeeel.

Oxygen ionization engery energizes your magnetic karma while tapping into the spirit realm to ghost wash your laundry as clean as it will be the day after the rapture! It's so simple!

*sigh*

This washing business is overrated.

My shirts are all naturally green!

:-))

What I think, the Ecobals are filled out with silver particle or silver plated particle. That will have sense because silver act as catalyst in oxidation reaction. Oxidation is well know to kill bacteria and have some clinging capability. I heard that some Japans company made wash massing that generate ozone and also have silver plate. That silver plate have to be exchange after some number of cycle (1000-3000). The claim of ecoball might be valid to some degree.
So now get some of your silver spoons or plates and wash it with you laundry LOL
Another thing with silver is that is react with sulfur, and it become inactive. To activate you could put together laundry softener with aluminum (some time you see on TV how quickly they clean sliver – that what they using), you night dump the Ecobals in the water -laundry softener solution with piece of aluminum foil to activate them for another 1000 cycle.

Response to mkimagin - Cleaning silver is done with boiling hot water, aluminum foil and baking soda (sodium bicarbonate is a laundry softener). This creates a battery for a few seconds. Therefore, you are suggesting silver, aluminum foil, and baking soda will clean your laundry. Wouldn't it only attract metal particles?

Everyone ion our household of 6 + has been using the Ecoball system for two months. They work fantastically well for all our washing.

You may argue that cleaning clothes on a short (30c 30 kinute cycle) with no detergent may work just as well and I'm going to try it.

But the real benefit is that the balls are part of helping the kids become more envirnomentally aware. If its cost me £25 to migrate us all from from 40 to 50c one hour wash cycles with powder and conditioner thru to eco balls and 30c and 30 mins with no laundry smell even if we do end up with just the 30c 30 minute cycle no detergent or conditioner thats money well spent.

The balls may be just part of the journey! Sometime I'll do the water only control test and let you know. But hey i've bought them now and life is good on the laundry front!

One nifty thing I learned as a poor university student is that washing without detergent is still pretty effective -- although more time sensitive (gym clothes that sit damp for a week still stink after washing but even really gross ones from this morning or that were aired out get clean)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/newsnight/4969324.stm

for all the doubters here read this!!!

yes they do clean as wlel aslaundry (it makes me laugh how allt ghe doubters will NOT believe these claims that the ecoballs clean because they are brainwashed byt eh multinatiopnals to believe their claims on the TV (was irt l'oreal just done for using false eyelashes on a mascara add???? lol ))

only problem i fibnd with them is that if the lauindry is really smelly (gym stuff etc etc ) i still have to use Ecover to get a fresh smell....any reall probelm stains i use ecover stain remover as well...by the way my mum who uses a brand name washing powder has tio use a staimn remover on dad's shirt collars and cuffs allt he time so i would expect to have to use that on tough stains on my clothes......

Honestly a great buy....costs about 5 cents per wash instead on up to 50cens a wash for brand names....

I have been using the EcoBalls for a month and have failed to get my laundry even half as clean as when using my mild detergent. Whites I had to wash twice at a higher temperature and as for short programmes I found the EcoBalls useless as the garments came out with no change other than being wet and in need of a wash.

The only success was the softness of the clothes but I suspect that this was down to having large objects bashing around the machine (EcoBalls are very large compared to other ‘wash balls’ and they recommend you use all three at once). I feel sure large pebbles would give a similar softness but for the sake of my machine will give the experiment a miss!

Surely adding detergent and/or bleach along with the EcoBalls as the manufacturer suggests is not only pointless economically but environmentally as well? I for one will save my money and stick to the detergent with minimal packaging that works at a low temperature and on a short programme.

Could you please tell me where I can purchase the Ecoballs - I live in the ACT.
Cheers
Cheryl Betts

I have to say that I've been using these for a year and LOVE them. Why they work, I don't know, but they have saved us a ton in detergent. My clothes look great and to help give a touch of smell I put some lavender oil in the rinse water.

I would say that if you were someone who gets their clothes really dirty by working outside or something, maybe they might not work as well. But my husbands smelly socks are unsmelly when they come out of the wash...and that is good enough for me!

I have used these for over a year. They may be a hoax, as some say here, but if they are then so is washing powder. Bottom line is that using these my laundry comes out clean without using powder for al but particularly tough stains.

I suspect that they do aid oxygenation and I suspect that this causes a small but appreciable improvement to cleaning without them, sufficient to make it unnecessary to use powder.