Getting the most out of your Ecoballs
I’ve been so excited about using Ecoballs. I bought them to use about 6 months ago, and was so impressed that we started stocking them shortly afterwards. I have got all of my family and friends using them now, as I couldn’t believe how good they were - both in saving money and time, and in being a green product which really really works.
I’m really excited that we’ve just started stocking the smaller box of these balls - 2 balls which last 150 washes - which are a lot cheaper, and give people the opportunity to try the amazing and popular technology at an even lower cost.
Shortly after I started using them, I began to compile a list of how to use them to their best advantage - as with anything new, they can take a bit of getting used to, but I hope if you perservere with these tips, they’ll work as well for you as they do for me.
Firstly, the clothes don’t smell of anything when the wash is completed. This can seem a little weird at first, as we’re so used to fabric conditioner smells on our clothes. The solution to this is adding 5-10 drops of essential oils into the fabric conditioner drawer when doing your wash. I’m using lavender at the moment (my mum used to put lavender pillows in my clothes drawers, so I guess it reminds me of that!) but I am also working on making up some combinations which mimic chemical laundry detergents. I think it’s going to be something along the line of cedarwood and lavender, and lemon, rosemary and pine. Until I’ve got this sorted, I recommend buying them from www.nhrorganicoils.com
Using the essential oils has the added advantage of your kitchen/utility room smelling absolutely lovely while your laundry is being done.
In terms of the actual wash, we are about 95% happy with it. On some whites it hasn’t been great, and with
Tallulah’s messy clothes, and Paul running, and cycling to work (with pretty smelly clothes at the end of that!) we did find that it wasn’t always brilliant. However, as well as using the essential oils, we’ve been adding 1-2 heaped teaspoons of baking soda to the detergent drawer (depending on how soiled the clothes are), and they have been really fresh ever since. Yesterday I washed a load of whites, which mixed some white socks (which had been cycled in) with some of my own clothes - including a white lace trimmed vest (very delicate). It came out bright white and smelling lovely. So I really think we’ve cracked it.
Finally, if your towels and terry nappies (not velour or micro-terry) are coming out feeling stiff and cardboardy, when washing them add 1-2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar or white vinegar to the conditioner drawer (alongside your essential oils), and they will be beautifully soft and fluffy - and won’t smell of vinegar in the slightest.
To recap:
- essential oils and vinegar in the conditioner section of the detergent drawer
- baking soda in the wash section.
Apparently borax also works really well instead of baking soda, but I haven’t tried it yet.
Hope this helps, and encourages you to use the balls. Tallulah had bad nappy rash before, which is entirely gone since we started using the balls. Our clothes are soft and smell lovely and we have saved a small fortune!
Clean Green Nappy Machine wins Ethical Business award
We are delighted to have won the 2008 Natural Choice Ethical Business award, which we received on June 13th at the Natural Choice conference which was being held by BabyGroe. This award was judged and presented by Brigit Strawbridge who featured on the hit TV series ‘It’s Not Easy Being Green’, and who felt that as a business, we have made a big impact in our chosen area without adversely affecting the planet. She said “The Clean Green Nappy Machine impressed me in so many ways and on so many levels; they are absolutely committed to promoting a more sustainable and ethical way of living and demonstrate this in every area of their business from their policies on packaging and promotional material, to the information contained within their wonderful website. They are very deserving winners of this award”
BabyGroe’s objectives are to help spread the message of natural parenting, and one of the reasons we felt we should enter the awards was because we are proud of all of the work we do to make information about real nappies accessible to the public. This includes our free phone consultation, a blog and forum where more information is available, and more recently a live help button on our site, where people interested in real nappies can chat to a real nappy advisor about all of their queries.
To win, we first had to be shortlisted - which involved being voted for by customers via the BabyGroe website. Thanks so much to all of you who did vote for us - it means just as much to us to know that we had such great support at that stage, as doing so well in the judging stage that we came through as the winner.
We’d also like to thanks BabyGroe for organising the awards and such a great conference, and Brigit for her work in judging the award and for her kind comments about us.
The prize includes a business mentoring package from UnLtd, and we are really looking forward to working with them and gaining their expertise on our next steps, as well as to taking the holiday which also came with the award!
To read the press release about the awards, please click here
To find out more about the Natural Choice conference and awards, please
click here
To find out more about BabyGroe, please click here
New product launch: Bambinex All-in-One
I’m really excited to be writing today to announce the launch of the latest addition to our product lines. We don’t add new products often - as we think that it’s best to trial nappies rigorously and offer you only the brands and individual products which meet our stringent standards. This cuts out a lot of the guess-work for you, our customers.
The BabyGROE Ethical Business awards
(click to be redirected to the BabyGROE voting page)
This year we’re up for a BabyGROE small Ethical Business award, and we’re proud to say we believe our ethical policy means we really deserve to win it! (more…)
Product launch - Cottontail Organic nappies
We’re pleased to be able to tell you that we’re one of the first suppliers of a really innovative product which is new to market.
As an employee of The Clean Green Nappy Machine, I won’t tell you which brand I use myself as I recognise good qualities in (more…)
The real cost of real nappies
Visit our shop - The Clean Green Nappy Machine, to buy your nappies at the great prices shown below.
Printable version One thing I get asked over and over again is whether or not real nappies actually do save money. Many people I’ve advised have said that they are concerned that what with the detergent and electricity used in laundering, (more…)
Islington NCT
We’re spending a quiet Sunday today after a flurry of activity yesterday, which saw us setting up stall at the Kids Stuff Sale on Upper Street in Islington. It was really kind of the NCT to let us participate - they don’t usually invite retailers, as they use the events as fund (more…)
Clean Green Nappy Machine stall at Kids’ Stuff Sale - this Saturday!
For anyone in Hackney & Islington (and the surrounding area) we’ll be making our first foray into the brave new world of actual, real-life sales this Saturday (October 6th) at St Mary’s Neighbourhood Centre, Upper Street, Islington. As one among several similarly child-and-baby-themed stalls, we’ll be hauling a choice selection of our finest wares along the Ball’s (more…)
The real nappy vs disposables debate…
Plastic Dinosaurs and Nappies
Hello. I’m Alex and I like plastic dinosaurs.
I wore real nappies when I was a baby, my father even subjected me to the indignity of having my photo taken sitting in a sterile nappy wash bucket at the age of two, an image that continually gets referenced at family occasions to this day. I looked pretty pleased in that picture and I’m similarly pleased to be (more…)