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!