[anotherKatrina]

I've used 3 kinds and I like them all:

www.gaiam.com Do a search for "cleaning capsules". This is what I use currently. It will last 500-700 washes, depending on the type of washer you have (front or top loader) and costs $39, I think.

www.mysticwondersinc.com This was the first kind I ever tried, about 5 or 6 years ago. It lasts at least 2 years and costs around $30. When it stops working, you can send it back to the manufacturer and they'll recharge it for less than the cost of a new one...absolutely no waste!

www.lifenatural.com Click on their "detergent alternative". This one is supposed to last indefinitely, but I haven't had it long enough to prove it! It's designed for use with a top loader washer. The product works well, but I wasn't impressed with the company's customer service. Cost was $50 when I bought mine.

All of these products have a money-back guarantee. Two of them come with their own enzyme stain-treating spray, which I usually don't use because I like Shout better. But that's just me. And I've tried so many just because I'm curious

. And I'd be happy to answer any other questions you may have about them!

I have really enjoyed using a laundry ball. I don't use any detergent at all. Haven't for years. Clothes come out softer without the use of fabric softener and I love the fresh, clean smell. All of these products do a great job on diapers, too, in case that's something you do.

Have fun!

 

[anotherKatrina]

To Treehuggin'--no scent at all is left behind. Only water is left behind.

And yes--it's possible that the ball is a scam--except that the few times I've forgotton to toss it in, I've noticed the difference in my laundry, before realizing that I forgot to use it.

And if it is a scam, then I've been getting fresh, clean clothes for the past 6 years with just plain water, making detergent an even bigger scam!

I'd be okay with my laundry toys being proved useless--if it meant folks realized they no longer had use for detergent--that water was all we ever needed all along!

 

[anotherKatrina]

Whatever.

I'm happy and I've spent way less on laundry balls in the past 6 years than I would have in detergent.

It's too bad you think I'm so stupid. That's not something I would assume about you or anyone I don't know well.

 

[anotherKatrina]

Kristin, you spent a whole post illustrating why my experience ended up with a faulty conclusion. Condescending, okay? Secondly, if you read what I wrote, you'll see that I don't even use the tsunami wave stuff with the laundry product. It seems kinda like Bac-Out to me and I've not been impressed with that, either. So I just skip it and still have great results.

Being a skeptic is cool. I'm one m'self. But I practice my skepticism by just trying the thing want to figure out, whenever appropriate. All the links I posted have return guarantees. Nothing to lose here. I try not to post advice that people would regret following!

I'm not interested in defending each of these products down to it's last molecule. Frankly, I'm not concerned about the minute details because my laundry needs are being met. The OP asked a question and I responded with my personal experience. I have nothing to gain from lying about my laundry, so I believe my experience alone may be valuable to someone. And she asked.

(However, I am certainly not saying that Kristin's or anyone else's skeptical questions are unwarranted. Only that I don't have those answers because I have no particular use for them.)

But really, if there's any place in your life where one should take a wild, unexamined risk, why not here? It's just laundry after all!

 

[anotherKatrina]

Quote:

Originally Posted by EricaLeigh What are these "balls" made of?

Something that creates a charge, like minerals or magnets of some kind. Then it's encased in something protective, like plastic or a ball.

binxsmom--

I hope you like it!

 

[anotherKatrina]

Exactly my point of post #6.

 

[anotherKatrina]

The studies aren't new, I've seen them before. They don't change my mind.

I am aware that it's the water that actually cleans. Not the detergent or ball or whatever. We just add these things to make the water better able to do it's job. I am comfortable with the idea of washing with water and nothing else. It just takes longer. (I tried this with diapers.)

But I would like to address the topic of briefs. Not clean ones with smeared fruit, like in the study, but real ones you wear and sweat in and toot in.

I used these as the test when I first started washing with a ball. I figured if a pair of undies I wore on a fertile day in August came out fresh and clean, the rest of my laundry was too. And I've been quite happy. They have been indeed, fresh and clean.

Except for when the ball wasn't in the wash. Then they just...weren't...

That's all I got.