Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat
Chatting => Frugal Living => Topic started by: titch on August 27, 2008, 09:32
-
I am seriously considering purchasing some eco balls and e cloths from the lakeland store, wondered if anyone uses them, and if so do they work well.
Having to seriously economise, and whilst initial outlay may be more, i think in the long run i would save a lot of money.
Ecoballs - do they get your clothes clean - including 15 year olds who play footie at lunchtime at school and get mud plastered up his trouser legs?
Ecloths - can you realy use them without cleaners (love this idea)
All answers gratefully recieved
-
sounds intriguing. will have to go look them up. I knew someone who used those little balls in their tumble dryer instead of comfort etc and they swore by those but not heard of the eco balls. would they work on nappies you think?
-
i have those little balls for the tumble dryer - got mine in poundland for guess how much - and they are the bees knees - save on drying time, nothing gets tangled, way less creased (cos seroiulsy who has time or inclination to iron - not me). :lol:
I have searched these balls with a famous search engine beginning with g and there were some reviews (loads actually) on there for them so think i am going to get myself to lakeland and give them a go - you can get a starter pack in there for 9.99 and they are refillable and on the ethical shop website says that if you dont like them you can return them and get a full refund - if something does that its usually worth a look.
there was something on there about nappies - washing them that is .
Have a look in the lakeland shop link on this site and you can read all about them.
-
I have one of the ecloths for glass and it's brilliant.
I use vinegar (the white sort) and water for most of my cleaning, and I buy it in glass bottles that can be recycled. I use water and vinegar for cleaning floors, worktops, limescale on sinks, descaling the kettle, mirrors and windows. It does honk a bit but it doesn't last too long and it is cheap and non toxic. :D
-
I have tried Eco balls, not the ones Lakeland sell, but a similar kind and they are rubbish!
A Which? Report tested them and said they are no better than washing with water alone.
I have treid all sorts of Eco friendly washing products and most are nothing like as good as mainstream products, I include soapnuts and ecover in this.
Recently I have found Simply Wahsing who are brilliant, and they will send a sample if you email them.
http://www.simplywashing.com
I am really impressed with them, and Good houskeeping have rated them well.
With regard to washing nappies I always used to make this, I use it for towels and sheets too, nothing too heavy.
It's a bit of a witches brew, but I think it's such fun to make and makes you feel very smug!! LOL
http://www.gaia-exchange.sunmaia.net/laundrygloop.htm
Some people swear by it for all their washing, I don't know if we are jsu t hard on clothes or what, but I like clean clothes like I am used to!
Eco cloths are great!! I like Micro fibre cloths too!
-
Nope for heavy dirt your eco balls will probably not keep you happy. I suggest that you use them for your general not particularly dirty stuff and keep a small packet of something stronger for the results of football. That way you get clean washing and save money.
-
I use ecover all the time. Laundry liquid for everyday stuff, bio tabs for whites and towels.
I have never had a problem.
-
Sharon, you must be cleaner than me cos I can never get our stuff really clean with ecover, I alternate it with a gutsy biological powder from the place we can't mention. So I only save the planet on alternate weeks :oops:
-
Poolfield, please try the Simply washing, it is fabulous!!
ANd Sharon, give it a go, it is eco like Ecover, but is british made, so way better then ecover in food miles.
-
The thing that puts me off is they use plastic tubs. There are no facilities near me for recycling plastic.
They also put perfume in, me and my lot tend to get rashes with unknown added perfumes. Thats one of the reasons I changed to ecover in the first place.
-
I see from the website that you can buy simply washing in w aitrose so the next time I'm near one I'll buy some and give it a go.
-
Microfibre cloths(same as the basic e cloths but often cheaper)are invaluable and make cleaning glass cooker doors,stainless steel easy and smear free as well as ordinary cleaning and just used damp!
-
The thing that puts me off is they use plastic tubs. There are no facilities near me for recycling plastic.
They also put perfume in, me and my lot tend to get rashes with unknown added perfumes. Thats one of the reasons I changed to ecover in the first place.
buy the refills, they come in cardboard. I use the tubs, but then I buy refills and so the tubs get used and used, they are a lovley size, I have been known to store buiscuits in them.
Is there purfume in the Sensitive and Pure ones?
(ETA)"Simply Pure has a hypoallergenic, eco-smart formulation and contains no perfume or optical brighteners - and gives you a gentle non-biological wash. It's ideal for taking extra care of your family's skin"
Well, I have to admit, the purfume is one of the things I like, I like my washing to smell, I cannot wean myself off it, I have tried!! :oops: LKike I said if you email them, they will send yo ua sample to try. nothing to loose!
-
have bitten the bullet and ordered some eco balls and e cloths so will keep you posted - if theya re rubbish have only lost a tenner so we shall see :D
-
Sad I know, but I've done you a 'before' and after shot of my hubby's mountain biking shorts. Most of the mud was from yesterday (although I suspect some of it was there before that!) and I washed them using the ecoballs on a short 30 degree wash this morning...
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v117/AlisonA/31082008003.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v117/AlisonA/31082008004.jpg)
-
Looks as good as persil to me - cant wait for mine to arrive - will keep you all posted
-
I tried eco balls a few years ago, they were not very successfull and the washing got very rough after several washes.
I use ecover now and find the non bio powder works fine on a 30 degree wash. I sometimes use the conditioner and find that very good also.
If I have stubborn stains like spag bol I usually give it a squirt with washing up liquid first, then put in the washing machine.
-
I tried the ecoballs a year or so ago. Would agree with the Which reports - don't think they cleaned very well at all. Also found soapnuts to be useless too. Used for general laundry and cloth nappies, but went back to persil nonbio. Have just discovered a local stockist of the Simply range, who delivers free, so will be ordering that when the latest box of powder finishes.
Simply pure has no perfume.
-
Hmmm... I wonder then if the hardness of the water, and maybe even the washing machine, has a bearing on how well they work? I've been using mine for about a year now (I also use a magnoball in the wash with them) and I'm very happy with the results!
(either that or I have low standards - but I don't think it's that!)
-
did a wash with them today - sons jeans - they look clean enough, but it was only a small wash (couldnt wait for a full load) so will see what the weekend wash brings .
The water here is very soft so that may help i suppose
-
eco balls working well, even got used to not using fab cond!!
E cloths - these are diamond geezers - have been using just a wee squirt of a well known brand of eco friendly all prupose cleaner at times too and they work like a charm - did my windows today with one of them, all i had to do was buff with the shining cloth when they were dry - between teh two products i am saving not only money but a little bit o planet too
-
I'm down to using the old washing (also known as Soda) crystals which are cheap and cheerful. Works well on the allotment gear and I've got some clear spring stuff for woollies and delicates just as a luxury.
-
i use them on the kitchen floor cos with 5 cats and 4 raised beds in garden and two teenagers and my slop it all over kinda cooking they are the only thing that works
-
Ive been using eco zone eco balls for nearly 2 years now. www.ecozone.co.uk They are fantastic. I believe the lakeland ones are the same make but theyhave less in them than mine. I paid £34.99 for a box of 3 balls with refils. They last for 1000 washes and cost 3p per wash. I have 3 kids, one of whom is a filthy sportsperson. and have no complaints with the wash. I occasionally add a scoop of the Vanish powder to my whites for an added boost but thats it.
Definately reccommended.
-
I've got the eco balls (sounds painful :shock: ) but I'm not impressed, I believe that they may work better in a twin tub washer, something I might look into when I next need a new machine.
All these new washers, use way too little water, sometimes the clothes hardly get wet.
I use normal powder but watch that I use less than normal and only use conditioner on clothes that need it.
Cheers
:)
-
Lakeland balls are not good.I throw mine in with the wash and add washing powder now then battle to find it down a trouser leg.
I like my washing to smell fresh and you cant use fabric conditioner with them.
The next idea i had was after using bold tablets for so long i have changed to surf.We have sensitive skin but its fine and the whites are definatly whiter as i did a little compare.Also its so so much cheaper im saving loads :D :D
-
I've been using the balls for a couple of years (or so), I find them ideal for washing clothes that aren't really dirty eg work shirts only worn for a few hours. The only thing I'm not sure about is that things like collars seem to filth up quicker, stains developing on the backs of shirts etc so maybe they don't really save money if that's due to not using powder. They're also not so good with synthetics, cycling gear can still be a bit underarm whiffy.
But one thing I do notice is that clothes washed with normal powder really REEK of chemicals, I'd never go back to those again.
-
Well those photos are proof of the pudding! Gonna get me some eco balls! Thanks! :D
-
I got some ecoballs about a year ago and loved them, told all my friends to buy them etc. I even bought the very expensive refills.
But I regret it now. It took a while but gradually they stopped cleaning properly. At first I thought it was the balls needed refilling - so I did. All the time - and its very fiddly... No effect. My husband cycles to work and his cycling gear stinks, no other word for it. But it carried on stinking after even three ecoball washes in a row. Someone told me that the reason they'd worked so well in the beginning was because there is a lot of washing powder residue in clothes and also left in machine. When this had finally gone, the cleaning power of the ecoballs faded too.
Not just me whose found this - two of my friends who I persuaded to buy them have gone back to washing powder too. :oops:
-
I am seriously considering purchasing some eco balls and e cloths from the lakeland store, wondered if anyone uses them, and if so do they work well.
Having to seriously economise, and whilst initial outlay may be more, i think in the long run i would save a lot of money.
Ecoballs - do they get your clothes clean - including 15 year olds who play footie at lunchtime at school and get mud plastered up his trouser legs?
Ecloths - can you realy use them without cleaners (love this idea)
All answers gratefully recieved
Hi Titch,
also looking to economise, like you. Don't know if you have 1 in your area or not, but i bought a huge tub of Costco "laundry detergent" for £10.
i was a bit nervous as 1 son has eczema and in the past he's reacted badly to some powders.
Anyway, I now wash any normal wash on 30 degrees and it seems to work fine.
Rugby kit gets rinsed first and i use 1 persil bio tab plus the detergent on 40 degrees and works fine.
It's lasted me 2 months and I do 4 load a day on average,
how to cut back on tumble dryer though.... that's another story :roll:
-
Saw eco balls a year ago, did the maths, read some reviews and decided to invest. The first couple of washes were brilliant...clean clothes, soft fluffy towels but after that I began to think they had no effect whatsoever and I'm back to powder and the balls are consigned to under the sink.
Have read the whole thread, does it seem strange that they seem to work for some people and not others?
hard water v. soft water perhaps?
-
Yea ... ours are never used either. First couple of washes seemed OK, I think it was either a build up of powder in the machine or the feel good factor about it ::)
Cheers
:)
-
I am seriously considering purchasing some eco balls.....
I am not really that impressed. Both my brother and I have tried them and although loose dirt comes out OK (it probably would just with water anyway) stains etc seem not to be shifted.
-
We have the ecoballs, and I agree that I'm not sure they do much more than just water would. On the other hand, they are fine for normally dirty things (towels, shirts, undies, even muddy gardening clothes). One day I should do a control of a load with balls against a load with just water! You need to use a short, low temp., economy cycle with them. I've had a lot less eczema-type problems since I stopped using normal washing-liquid (I've never been able to tolerate softeners; since I was a baby they'd bring me up in a rash). Occasionally I'll do a load of cleaning rags with normal detergent on the hot cycle, which seems to help keep the machine clean, though. We are in a hard water area, and using a new-ish side-loading machine, for comparison purposes.
-
i use them, but only for my washing that is not too dirty or for wool or other delicates.
for heavy stain or whites at 60 or 90 degrees is use washingpowder and vanish.
-
I was disapointed with the eco balls but wouldn't be without my e cloths have one for the house and one for the car.
-
Hi, this is my first post. We have used the ecoballs and ecover and of course more standard brands.
I have a man who it is probably fair to say has a strong natural scent and two small boys in the family among others. We find the balls are ok for general colour washes but we have never used them for extended periods of time without alternating with powder so perhaps that is why they work.. we use ecover for whites and dirtier things and have had to go back to a bio powder for himself after work complained he smelt but I think the person complaining is so used to washing powder smell to her fragrance rather than lack of smell is a clean smell, I hate how his clothes smell now with the bio powder.
However we use ecover for the babies nappies and it is fine, the last batch out were almost sparkling... BUT I do have one reason why it works really well for us (for everything but strong man smell) we recently invested in a new washing machine, quite an expensive one with has among other things a steam setting.. adding the steam to the baby wash makes a huge difference to the nappies and it's still more economical on power than most machines.
-
Hi there Esther and welcome to the forum, hope to meet you in lots of different sections on here :)