Claire‘s dad and his wife visited us this long Easter weekend, and we took advantage of the stunning weather to do some of the usual touristy things that you only bother to do
when friends or family come by – the cliff railway, the camera obscura, etc. – and so we ended up at the nearby Centre for Alternative Technology.
The CAT, as it’s better-known to anybody who’s had to say it’s name more than once, has improved over recent years (I last went in 2002 with Claire; the summer we became “a couple”) and
I was impressed to see many new exhibits.
Anyway, I’ve picked up a set of ecoballs (looking to buy? they’re cheaper elsewhere): they’re basically plastic balls with a spongy “ring”, filled with pellets of various minerals and surfactants. The idea is that you chuck the three of these (reusable up to 750 times, then refillable) balls into your washing machine instead of detergent and fabric softener, and wash at under 60°C. They’re advertised as being more ecologically-friendly than conventional detergents, but what attracted me to them was that they’re potentially cheaper (about 3p/wash, plus savings on skipping rinse cycles) and non-biological (biological detergents, while wonderful, have a habit of bringing me out in a rash).
Obviously I’ll let you know how they go – whether they’re worth getting – in about 1000 laundry cycles or so, although the BBC correspondent who used them last year might be more use. As far as the “Do they get stuff clean?” question goes, though, the answer would seem to be: yes. We baptised them last night with our bedclothes, and they came out wonderfully clean, although notably lacking that “clean clothes” smell we associate with the perfume of traditional detergents. If I can be bothered, I’ll do a couple of actual scientific tests, comparing washing a particular type of fabric with a selection of stains on it using normal detergents, ecoballs, and just water, and see how it goes. In the meantime, you’ll have to make do with blog-based reviews of individual washes.
Wow and I thought I had spare time.
Also – you guys have a washing machine!?! I didn’t see it, though i was warned about looking too hard…
So what are they actually made of, and how do they work? Or are they powered by hippie self-satisfaction vibes alone?
Becky: Yeah, we have a washing machine. It’s in the utility room, between the tumble dryer and the door to the yard.
Binky: Follow the link. That’s why I put it there.
Yeah, I did, but they don’t say what they’re made of or how exactly they work. Which is why I asked- maybe the pack they came in is more forthcoming? If there’s no chemicals in, how do they clean the clothes? I’m not being sceptical here, just curious.
No, I’m afraid not. Looking at the ingredient list, there’s a lot that’s in common with any conventional non-bio detergent, and several things that are apparently chemically similar. Moreover, the pellets *are* consumed by the process (albeit very slowly) and eventually need replacement. Perhaps if you could work out the dosage dispensed during a single wash (weighing the pellets over many washes and dividing?) you could come up with a powdered version, demonstrating the balls to be a gimmick (although there are benefits to having a hard surface that moves around in the washing, at least, if the marketing for some other products is to be believed).
If it works, I don’t care that much HOW it does it. Will keep you posted. And, of course, you’re welcome to play with my balls too. Ahem.
To be honest I was assuming that the pellets are a red herring and the bashing of the balls does the cleaning. Try it without the pellets in the balls? Or put something clean of equal weight in to keep it fair.
But if it was just the balls that did it, wouldn’t they love it up and sell it as a permanent cleaning device? They might charge a bit more instead, of course. It’s not like we’re going to buy refills unless they actually stop working. If anything I thought the balls part was the myth and they’d just stuck some slow-release washing powder in a pretty container to sell it for more.