The 150-wash detergent-free, hypoallergenic alternative to laundry powder
Price: £11.99
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Ecozone have brought out a great starter kit of these wash balls. For use for up to 150 washes, the two balls, two refills and 1 tube of stain remover which come in the box are a great way of trying out the Ecoballs without spending 30 quid up front! If you're convinced that you do want to switch, however, we highly recommend buying the larger pack, which lasts for up to 1000 washes.
These Ecoballs are a truly wonderful invention - they replace washing powder, and are reusable for up to 150 washes. This saves money both on detergent, but also on your wash cycle: as they are detergent free, you won't need a rinse cycle, so you can significantly reduce the water and electricity used during laundry - a saving both in money and your energy consumption.
Simply put the two balls on top of your laundry, and run as usual (although leaving out the rinse cycle). The pellets ionize the water, which means that dirt is simply lifted out of the fabrics of your wash. This also means that fabrics won't fade, and you won't need to use fabric conditioner either, as the ionizing action softens your clothes.
With a total cost of only 7p per wash as compared to 25-30p for washing powder, the savings are obvious. But they have other benefits too - they are anti-bacterial, and hypoallergenic, which protects your family from the harsh chemicals in conventional detergents - which is especially important when used on nappies which sit next to your baby's delicate skin.
We absolutely love this product - we've tried it on all of our clothes - coloured, whites and nappies. Sweaty armpits came out clean, nappies fresh and all of our clothes smelt clean and felt lovely and soft after use. We're only sorry we didn't switch before, but really hope that all of our customers follow suit!
Please note that these are the original, Ecozone Ecoballs - beware of cheaper imitations! It was voted one of the ten best household green products by The Independent in January 2005.
Each kit comes with 2 Ecoballs, free refill pellets and a stain remover.
Product code: ECO-01150
For hints and tips on how to get the best out of your Ecoballs, please see our blog, where you'll find an article telling you how to get the cleanest whites, most lovely smelling clothes, and softest nappies and towels - all using the Ecoballs.
Please note that Tots Bots recommend that vinegar and bicarbonate of soda can be abrasive, and degrade fabric on real nappies , so please check manufacturers guidelines before washing your nappies.
( = not yet rated, = top marks! As some customers rate products without leaving a review, the score above is an average of all the scores, not just the ones shown on the reviews below.)
REVIEWS
(Please note that our reviews relate to all the colour and size options of a particular product, so some comments may not be relevant to this exact product. )
Customer Reviews
Leah Gibson - Wednesday 8th February 2012 - 15:15
Was a little dubious when I bought these buy I LOVE them as a bit of a tester I even did my partners work clothes in them and they came out clean! I am so impressed I would recommend these to anyone at 3p a wash the are an absolute bargain! I wish I had found out about these sooner. All the clothes I have washed have come out smelling lovely and fresh (no scent, just clean) as there are no chemicals it's great for sensitive (and pregnant skin)
Rebecca Coyle - Thursday 2nd February 2012 - 18:15
Leaves laundry nice and fresh smelling - but did not cope with nappies for us. We had very stained nappies quickly so we've gone back to Potion.
Su Crossland - Monday 19th July 2010 - 23:48
Good product but did not realise that they do not work so well in a machine that has a reduced water use already as they need to circulate in the water, therefore I will have to pass them on to someone whose machine uses more water. Shame.
Hester Laughlin - Wednesday 30th June 2010 - 11:50
Surprisingly good! Works just as well as normal washing powders/liquids at removing stains and odours (I'm talking about washing the nappies in this!), but with less environmental impact and less washing product to gunk up your machine! We just add a little eucalyptus oil (or other essential oil) to give it a nice fresh fragrance (it smells of nothing otherwise).
It doesn't work as well as soaking it in Vanish (but then I don't expect it to). I run my washing on a shorter cycle when using these balls, as there is no rinsing required (unfortunately I can't set my machine to skip rinse, hence the use of the shorter cycle).
Katherine Sumner - Sunday 20th June 2010 - 12:25
Given a 4 rather than 5 because they take some practice and experimentation to get the best out of them. Once you have it cracked though (read the instructions) they wash well in just 30 mins and the stain remover is fantastic. The best thing is they leave the clothes very soft, in fact this is how you tell they are working. I have used them on and off for years but have found they work much better when you know how to use them so follow the instructions. If using them for whites put in some bicarbonate of soda in the powder tray (not to wash bamboo nappies) and if you want fragrance use some essential oils instead of fabric softener or take the balls out and put the clothes on to rinse/spin with some fabric softener. They have many benefits for washing nappies too in that they keep them soft and don't cause detergent build up. The washing process they use kills bacteria by raising the PH of the water too. All in all very impressive.
Geraldine Williams - Sunday 28th February 2010 - 08:00
Fab item, saves money and keeps both baby and parents clothes clean and fresh. Only down side is it dosen't necessarily remove (nuclear) poo stains from reusable nappies but does make general dity nappies clean and fresh.
Katrina Leach - Thursday 18th February 2010 - 15:22
I Like this ecoballs but it would be more good if it will have good smells to the clothes... because I had to used essential oils to give some good smells to our clothes...
Michelle Noble - Tuesday 26th January 2010 - 05:22
So far so good have only done a handful of washes with these but even soiled nappies have come out clean and fresh. Long may it continue
