Sam said to me one day, “Why don’t we try those Eco-Balls?”
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Never having heard of them before I didn’t know what the heck he was on about and just ignored him as I usually do, but he persisted, so, in between reading aimlessly surfing and reading other peoples top quality reviews, I headed off to my search engine and stuck the words “eco balls” in it.
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Apparently you put some plastic balls filled with eco friendly stuff in your washing machine instead of the more usual soap powder, tablets or whatever most people use. You don’t need fabric conditioner either because they ionise the water and leave your clothes naturally soft, allegedly. I had to admit that they sounded ideal for folks with sensitive skin, but would they work?
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I was very sceptical, especially when I saw the price,
I am a canny Geordie and half Scots as well and I didn't get where I am today by throwing good money away on frivolous bits of green plastic. I expected the subject would just sink into obscurity.
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However, after suffering more than the usual amount of accusations of being tight-fisted and mean, I relented and ordered through the website. The whole process was very easy and painless, and as a child of two could do it, I won’t insult you by elaborating. I duly received an acknowledgement E-mail a couple of minutes later and sat back to wait.
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The parcel arrived  and I eagerly unpacked anxious to see what these balls looked like. The three balls are green and about as large as a tennis ball, covered in tiny holes shaped like stars and circles. They are plastic and are circled with a hard green foam band making them look like three little Saturns. I guess that this is so they don’t rattle around noisily in the machine and also to stop the plastic cracking when it hits the inside of the machine.
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I shook one of the balls and could hear something rattle around inside it. This is the natural cleaning agent and, looking in the box, I could see three little bags of refills of this stuff. It looked just like very small grey and brown crystals and the leaflet inside the box told me that these are composed of Mineral oxides and Non-Ionic Tenside. They contain no Phosphorous or Boron and no harmful ingredients. I've looked up Tenside and it seems pretty innocuous, though you need to understand more about science than I do to really know what it is!
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There was also a small 45g tube of “Code Wash” multi-stain remover and the ingredients in this sound pretty harmless also, Anion, Non-ion, Soda and Sodium Carbonate. This is a white paste and is recommended for removing diesel and engine oil, so I imagine that the Eco Balls on their own would struggle to cleanse clothing stained with oil.
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Anyway, I was itching to give these a try, so the next Saturday, my usual washing day, I left my usual washing powder tablets and conditioner in the cupboard and loaded my machine with the first lot of washing. I washed my white delicates on a 40 degree cycle as normal and sat back to wait. The result was pleasing but not conclusive because nothing in my delicates wash had actually looked dirty, so it didn’t look dirty now and the whites still looked white. It also didn’t smell of anything much, which was strange for a person accustomed to using scented fabric conditioner.
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Now,we don’t have dirty jobs, so our clothes don’t get very dirty, however there was what looked like an oily stain on a white T shirt so I smeared a little of the stain remover on this and put it in with my dirtiest wash load, the towels. I have to admit that I squirted another stain remover on the worst of the marks on the towels, mainly mascara from me not removing it properly before I shower. I didn’t really expect these things to work did I? You’re supposed to wash on a cycle below 60 degrees, and I usually wash towels hotter than that, but the balls are plastic surrounded by foam so they can distort if the water is too hot, so I duly washed my dirty towels on a 50 degree cycle.
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Well, the Balls came up trumps, they really did!.............Everything came out clean and brilliant white (except the cream ones which came out brilliant cream) and the stained T-shirt was as white as the TV adverts. There honestly wasn’t a stain in sight, not even the ghost of a stain, which I’ve had, unfortunately, when I’ve tried other eco friendly products. They felt soft too; in fact I could swear that my beige cotton trousers felt softer than before! Next wash, I tried it without the stain remover but even if I had to use this on the worst stains, it’s no big deal. I’d say that, even if you only used these Balls for your lightly soiled washing, you’re going to be better off. As it was, I didn't need the stain remover as often as I had when I used biological washing powder, though I have since discovered that some stains don't come out no matter what you use!
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You get 750 washes out of these filled balls and the refills give a further 250 washes. I do about 3 washes a week. I’m not that good at maths but I make that almost 6.5 years before I have to buy more refills. I spend about £50 a year on washing powder alone, never mind the fabric conditioner, so for an outlay of approximately £40 I have saved almost £300, and I’m helping the environment by not using nasty chemicals and phosphates. I’m protecting my washing machine and saving energy and for anyone who dislikes the large firms who produce most washing powder products, well, you no longer have to buy their products.
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Will I get used to the lack of smell? I did use a tumble dryer sheet, but if you hang washing outside to dry, it will smell wonderful anyway, and lack of an artificial flowery smell is surely a good thing? I have to say; all in all, I’m pretty impressed with these funny looking things. Anyone want to buy half a box of well known Tablets and a bottle of conditioner?
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To sum up:
You get 1000 washes without using detergent or fabric conditioner. You may need stain remover on stubborn stains, as you would with detergent.
You should only fill the machine ¾ full to allow the Balls to circulate freely and you need the water below 60 degrees.
If your machine allows it, you can skip rinse cycles, but wash time should last around 30 minutes.
You can’t boil wash.
The Balls need washing once a month with warm soapy water and they should be stored in a dry, cool place
Of course, they should be kept away from children and animals because, although they look like toys, they are not.
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THEY WORK.