Slightly nervous of forking out 30-odd quid on something which might be rubbish. Do they work? And how do they work? Is it witchcraft??

I got mine for a tenner. Make clothes much softer so no need for conditioner. I think it cuts down drying time too but I can't really tell.

I love mine.

Thanks Gordon. Are yours the washing ones or the ones you put in the tumble drier?

Ah yes should have looked at the link. Mine are the dryer ones sorry!

Ebay has washer balls which are much cheaper than the £35 ones.

I have a set which I bought from Spirit of nature which cost £16.95 as it was on offer. It can with a stain remover stick and one pack of refills and the two balls.

I found on dark, not very dirty loads they are fine. But I didn't think they were very good on whites, and tbh on my son's clothes they didn't get marks out e.g. food stains and dribble marks. So I have gone back to my eco powder.

However I do live in a very hard water area. I have heard very good reports from people who live in soft water areas so maybe that is what makes a difference.

Anyway have a look on ebay because there are much cheaper sets out there that look identical to the more expensive sets.

I bought the drier balls in my local pound shop - not worth paying a lot for them!

I did a bit of research googlewise and some of the reports weren't very good. Look for scientific papers.

I've got the EcoBalls from Spirit of Nature and am really pleased with them. Have been using them for about four months and haven't used conventional detergent since. So, considering the ones I got are supposed to somewhere in the region of 1500 washes, I think they are good value.

I bought them initially to do the nappies as DS2 was reacting to even the tiniest bit of detergent that his nappies were washed in. However, having got them I thought I'd give them a go on the clothes.

They certainly get most things clean (DH and my stuff is fine) however, I am using a vanish stain stick on the mucky bits of the boys' clothes at the moment as DS1 is only 3 and DS2 is 8 months and is BLW so it's rather messy eating atm; the balls are also getting the nappies clean and everything is much softer than it used to be.

Love them and wouldn't go back to 'conventional' detergent.

I've not found they make any noticeable difference

Not scientific but I love mine. Best ones I've found are from Bid Up Tv.

have been thinking about buying these myself so will wait for a few more positive comments then go for it i think

I like them. I have had one from Lakeland (about £8 I think). When that one wore out, I got something similar from Ebay, but it was cheaper (about a fiver).

Very good on darks and coloureds. Not so brilliant on whites that have stains. But then again, I love the whole "doing the washing" thing, and am an absolute fiend with the stain remover products!! Whites that are just a bit grubby come out fine with the ball (and no need for fabric softener either). If there is anything that is very stained, and I'm thinking of grass stains on white shorts here, then I soak the garment in a bowl of hot water and borax. Never fails.

you can buy mine if you like, I don't use them now

used to use them all the time but got out of habit

they were the £30 ones; I have the replacement balls

if you put soda crystals in a white wash with the balls would it help with the stains?? im interested in these but dont want to be soaking and scrubbing everything before i wash them.