[PV post] Ecoballs

snow hope · Post by **snow hope** » 14 Jul 2005, 17:37

My wife does not feel the eco balls get the clothes particularly clean. And I feel she does have a point. So we use the eco balls for things that are not particularly dirty (most clothes really), but we do have 3 teenage boys!

Bad news from my wife this afternoon - washing machine is making a very loud continuous noise. Looks like we may need a new one...... With 5 in the house and I have no option.

If I have to get a new one, I want to make sure I get the most energy efficient model available that uses the least amount of water with the least amount of energy. Has anybody been here (rhetorically of course) and got any suggestions? An A energy rating model I presume......

isenhand · Post by **isenhand** » 15 Jul 2005, 05:55

<< My wife does not feel the eco balls get the clothes particularly clean.>>

Hmm ? I had a feeling that would be the case, thanks.

<< Bad news from my wife this afternoon - washing machine is making a very loud continuous noise. Looks like we may need a new one...... With 5 in the house and I have no option.>>

Sabotage?

theeggman · Post by **theeggman** » 15 Jul 2005, 09:47

isenhand wrote:<<The Ecoballs are still performing really well - wonderful softness and cleaning >>

and what does the wife think?

Both husband and wife are delighted with them!! (and our clothes get really dirty!!!!)

Also, sister, daughter and parents happy with them whilst acknowledging that you need an additional spot remover for some stains.

I'll have to be careful or people will think I've got shares in them!!

Winged Energy of Delight · Post by **Winged Energy of Delight** » 15 Jul 2005, 11:29

The Ethical Consumerism post on the site a couple of days ago had this to say regarding environmentally-friendly washing machines:

Hoover HV16, priced mid-range, was marked class A for energy efficiency and had the lowest water consumption rate of all surveyed models. The all-round best environmental buy is Zanussi Fle 1416w.

Regarding ecoballs, I have a feeling that these are just 'pseudo science' to get people to part with their money. If you explore *how* they say the ecoballs work, every scientist I read about widely condemns this as false claims with no basis in research. Also, Which consumer mag did a test on this a while ago (I know because I wrote to them and asked), which concluded that ecoballs work no better than washing clothes in warm water. Whilst these washing balls are still being investigated, it may be best to save the planet AND save your money by only occasionally washing your clothes in washing powders like BioD and Ecover, and most of the time, simply using hot water for your laundry.

tattercoats · Post by **tattercoats** » 15 Jul 2005, 14:00

This fascinating debate on ecoballs clearly has assorted folk declaring differing levels of satisfaction with them. Eggman has tried using water alone and says that wasn't as good; PowerSwitchJames says it was. We've heard that they work really well, and that they don't.

I wonder, would those of you who've used them and posted re levels of satisfaction with them mind telling us whether you've got hard or soft water, or whether you perhaps used rainwater or whatever? I'm sure you're all right, for the circumstances you're in, and I wonder whether the water itself affects the little balls' performance. Any alternative ideas welcome.

And yes, butter-flavoured laundry and vice versa both sound disgusting.

Brain suddenly goes ping and visualises sealing the cream in a reliably watertight jar and putting that in the wonderwasher with the laundry - darn, that would only work with cold water... unless the churning jar were also self-insulated, like a thermos...

Tattercoats, who clearly needs more tea,

snow hope · Post by **snow hope** » 15 Jul 2005, 15:48

"Tattercoats, who clearly needs more tea,"

or something stronger!?

Thanks for the info. on the washing machines WEOD.

Is the Zanussi model now replaced as I can't seem to find it.

Any more suggestions?

theeggman · Post by **theeggman** » 15 Jul 2005, 16:47

tattercoats wrote:I wonder, would those of you who've used them and posted re levels of satisfaction with them mind telling us whether you've got hard or soft water, or whether you perhaps used rainwater or whatever? I'm sure you're all right, for the circumstances you're in, and I wonder whether the water itself affects the little balls' performance.

I wasn't going to write any more about Ecoballs in case it looks as though I'm on some sort of crusade to promote them, but I'll answer this query. We have softish water, the rest of the family have medium to hard water. We all wash at 40deg.

I am a scientist myself and the scientific approach for me was to try them and compare them with water only and environmentally-friendly washing powder. The ecoballs have performed (for me) consistently better than both.

I used to find that my gym kit wasn't fresh, especially under the arm pits (sorry to be so indelicate!), whereas I've been struck by the freshness of my wash with the little balls. When I first tried them I lifted the wash out of the machine, sniffing straightaway under the armpits of all the clothes and was amazed to find that they were really fresh. The manufacturer's claim them to have anti-bacteriocidal properties and I think this explains the freshness. I don't think they could get away with that if it wasn't true, given the trading standards laws, etc.

I would be interested to see some scientific investigations on before and after bacteria and pathogens on clothing, and perhaps one day someone will convince me that they don't work after all, but for now I'm satisfied with my wash.

Whether they work for everyone is clearly in question, but at least this has got most of us in agreement that washing powder is not necessary all the time.

murpen · Post by **murpen** » 15 Jul 2005, 17:09

I still haven't got my ecoballs yet so this discussion led me to google to find out if they work or not. I found 4 dooyoo reviews, 2 of them 4 star, 2 gave 5 stars - so all positive. One of the reviews also mentioned another product Aquaball Laundry Ball - which seems similar but is about half the price (though the balls only last 60 washes before needing a refill). Also found a small review from Permaculture Magazine, interestingly it starts "We have given these a bit of a hard time in the past but now they come in a new improved version, I thought we should give them another look.". I'll have a look later to see if I can find out what the hard time bit is referring to, but time to go now

snow hope · Post by **snow hope** » 15 Jul 2005, 23:20

I agree that if nothing else it has shown we can definately cut down on the amount of washing powder used.

I haven't done any comprehensive testing on the results yet - really just gone by my wife's thoughts. She is definately not scientific minded wheras I am, so I think I will examine things a bit closer. I go on holidays for 2 weeks tomorrow, so it will be after I get back.

snow hope · Post by **snow hope** » 17 Aug 2005, 09:18

My washing machine was completely banjaxed - bearings had gone.

I bought a Zanussi ZWF1430W from Currys (?280) which is rated AAB for energy. It has a 1400 spin which gets the clothes dryer and you can select the temperature it washes at which is good. It also shows you how much time until the wash is complete which is handy. It has a larger door and drum than our last machine.

I used the Which magazine to help me choose which machine to go for. This model was not the highest rated, but came fairly high up the list and had characteristics I wanted.

Will try the ecoballs again soon and monitor the results.

tattercoats · Post by **tattercoats** » 16 Dec 2005, 22:00

Got eco-balls. They work for me. Socks are the real clincher, and they come out clean. Hurrah!

T

fishertrop · Post by **fishertrop** » 18 Dec 2005, 13:37

I live in a soft-water area, my clothes are seldom very dirty and I can't say I've tested enough to be certain water alone wouldn't be as good, but I can say that ecoballs work for me.

I was sceptical at first and delayed buying them for AGES, even when I got them I alternated them with regular powder in a very over-cautious way !

Having used them exclusively now for months, I can state that I am perfectly happy with the results - the clothes are never anything but perfectly clean (as mentioned tho, they are rarely filthy).

I use a 40deg/C "eco" programme with the minimum of everything.

It might be that plain water is good enough for my needs (and I might experiement more with this...), but I have the ecoballs now so I might as well use them.

oobers · Post by **oobers** » 13 Jan 2006, 12:03

Yep - I can vouch for eco balls too. Ive been using them for nearly two years - still the same 'balls inside' too - no need for use of the refill pack I have yet. I have actually discovered that my machine has a quick wash cycle lasting about 20 mins and because there is no soap to rinse, the ecoballs work just as well on this cycle. Just imagine the total water, electricity, soap manufacture and transport energy saved. This is undoubtebly a wise use of oil - making plastic balls!

Pixie · Post by **Pixie** » 04 Feb 2006, 23:33

tattercoats wrote:Got eco-balls. They work for me. Socks are the real clincher, and they come out

socks come out? in pairs? well that's a flippin miracle - guess eco-balls aren't just anti-bacterial but anti-sock-goblins too

Post by **mikepepler** » 05 Feb 2006, 14:40

Pixie wrote:socks come out? in pairs? well that's a flippin miracle - guess eco-balls aren't just anti-bacterial but anti-sock-goblins too

I've heard of people who, on having their washing machine break down, get it serviced and find that the missing socks have all somehow escaped from the drum and are swimming around in the rest of the machine, tangling everything up. I don't know if that's true or not though!