I was thinking about buying some of these but they're quite expensive so I want to know, firstly, if they work and secondly, if they might damage the washing machine. My sister was told not to put a liquid dispenser in her machine as it was making the 'lifters' come adrift - she ended up having to have a new drum (not just because of the dispenser though). I have seen the balls and they are quite big - any ideas?

Which don't rate them at all. If you want to cut down the amount of detergent you use, then add water softener to the wash.

I use these and have had no problems. They work..only slight irritation is that the foamy circles occassionaly come off in the wash and have to be manhandled back on, but no biggy really.

didn't work for us.

the little balls inside got smaller very quickly, like within about 10 washes they were gone. And the clothe weren't clean.

Make your own gloop, thats the way.

I've just started using them and they do my nappies and darks very well; not so good with whites tho', you need some stain remover

haven't heard anything about them damaging your washer; enough companies sell liquid dispensers to make me think they should know what they're doing

I was looking in the spirit of nature catalogue and they had something called soap nuts advertised. Any one used them?

Far out sharklet!
I use them.
As cap says,darks and nappies fine.
There is a stain remover that comes with the Lakeland one though.
I use Ecover too.

Use Eco balls too. Find them great, but agree not too good on whites. Have found that a handful of soda crystals in with the white wash though really helps.

We always put our washing on fast wash as well now so saves electricity too

ooo rosycheek do you put your soda crystals in the drawer or in the drum?

In the drum. You don't need too much, just a cupful.

I might have to try them. I use ecover at the moment as I'm notconvinced that with all the mess DD makes it will work- like you say good on darks but not on whites.

It would be good as I am so allergic to most chemicals it would be good to cut some more out!

I just found out today that Ecover have a 5-year rolling cut-off date for animal-tested ingredients - naughty! I'd already stopped using their laundry liquid as it made my skin so dry. I've found soap nuts and laundry balls are much better for the skin but I agree not great on whites/stains. I'm using Clearspring at the moment which seems okay.

I decided too to give it a go and I've been really disappointed to be honest. It looked like the clothes had only been rinced. I'll probably sell them on ebay (or let me know if you're interested pigeonpie) as they've been used only 3 or 4 times.

I have the ball from lakeland, was expensive but no probs so far, definatly gets rid of wet bed smell [disgusted emoticon]

azroc i would love to know more. do you have any links etc?

We have a small health shop in ireland, we have quite strong ethics and are quite fussy about what we sell. eg stopped selling most thursday plantation stuff when we realised they used SLES.

We sell quite a lot of ecover, and use lots ourselves. So would be very interested in hearing more on whether they really use the 5-yr rule. If its true, and I can point my customers to some kind of proof, then we would probably switch to a different brand.

I have been using the Eco Wash Balls for two months now. So far I have done 79 washes (I am keeping note as they say the balls are good up to approximately 150 washes). My machine is 5kg so all three balls go in except when it is a single load. I haven't refilled yet. They work very well on the coloured clothes, but when I put a white load on I tend to put a cup of Washing Soda in or Napisan which worked brilliantly on nappies. When it comes to the rinse I simply put the machine on its final spin which reduces the time of the wash.

I have to say I am very pleased with them but would buy them the next time off EBAY as they are much cheaper. It's great not having to go and buy washing powder and detergent.

I'm interested in getting Eco Balls or an alternative, so love reading this thread.

For those using the Lakeland product, is it Wash-It Laundry Ball? If so, do you just use one, or do you need more than one?

Got the Lakeland WashIT ball - works great on nappies.

I've got the Lakeland ball and it's fine though I don't wash many childrens' clothes. I have white bath towels and always look fine. If I think things are stained I use Soapnuts with the ball, and give stains a once over with the stick that came with the ball. I'm going to be minding a baby soon so that will be the test on bibs etc.

I do miss the smell of conventional washing products, (yes, I know it's chemical but I like it!!)so I've been adding little essential oil to fabric conditioner.

Tell me more about Ecover as I use loads of their products; i'm green with envy when I visit towns like Glastonbury where you get to refill the original containers. That's a sad admission!

When we had a standard drum washing machine they worked pretty well. Not as well as eco washing powder which itself did not work as well as killo-nuke biological powder. Our Dyson washing machine however made very short work of our balls, with its counter clockwise motion, and utterly wrecked them in a few washes. Ecover type washing powders seem to wash a lot better than they used to, so we use those now. Or soap pods, which can be a little messy ime.

Earthymama- like you, I usually put a few drops of lavender oil in the soap dispenser with unscented powders.

I use Simply Sensitive washing pods which carry the EU Eco-label which is an independent guarantee of eco friendliness and washing power.
I'm absolutely sold on this system after being disappointed by a number of other "green" laundry products. These wash as well as Fairy, cost much less than Ecover and are green as well.

I get them from Sainsburys

Their web site is www.simplywashing.com

Trust me I have used them all and the aquaballs are by far the best. They do 120 washes and are as strong as the eco detergents. If you live in a hard water area, like I do, its best to use them both at once.
As for damage to the drum I have experienced this with the ecoball as it is made from a hard plastic and yes as mentioned the foam rings do tend to come off
The aquaball is made from soft plastic so there is no chance of it doing damage.
after years of experimenting I have found the best one www.ecohip.org/product.php/786/21st-century-aquaball--starter-kit---lemon

I am currently a college student and I was skeptical but recently switched from lugging heavy detergent to a Green Wash Ball. The eco-friendly aspect is great but no more lugging detergent!!! Check it out!

HM - are they the same as these

Rosycheek, I was using fastwash for a while and then realised why my boys were getting itchy skin (admitedly with persil but soda may have same effect if not adequately rinsed out) I read somewhere that it is not meant for clothes worn next to the skin or somesuch!

May I ask what temperature you all use to wash whites?

I have a weird machine that will only let you do a 90 degree wash if you also do a 60 degree pre-wash, which seems absolutely insane, even to someone who has been rather, erm, slow on the ethical uptake.

BID TV, sell the enviro wash balls, and enough refills to make 9oo washes, they usually go for around £15, cut down from £75, they are supposed to be the best on the market.

30 for everything here.

here