washing machine balls

do these work ?
any comments appreciated
have two mucky lads at home who play football,would they get the mud stains out of the clothes ??
thanks

Quite literally they are a load of balls!!! Incredibly clonky in the machine, they don't last anywhere near as long as they say, they don't get stains out and of course, you don't get the nice fresh smelling clothes that you get with washing powder.

Balls........... is the correct word for them!!

I asked this very question a short time ago and the general opinion wasn't great so I didn't bother buying any.

Tried these a couple of years ago. My main problem with them was, that, for the first few washes with them things seemed to come out of the machine with tiny bits of green "wash ball stuff" on them. Aside from that I liked them for towels ( as I never use fabric conditioner on towels) and were OK for lightly soiled coloured clothes, but didn't do much for serious stains.

I haven't tried these but have seen the demos many times.

I happened to see him take the clean washing out of the machine and then bring it to the studio. He was showing us how the stains had come out and showed us a bib. I then saw an identical one in the basket which he never showed us.

Call me a cynic, but I'm just wondering if that was the one where the stains didn't come out. I know there are rules about this kind of thing, but no-one on here's got anything good to say and they only get a 3/5 review.

Hmm ...

http://www.qvcuk.com/video/todaysproducts.html (Wash-It Set of 2 Hypo-Allergenic Laundry Balls)

I'm afraid they didn't work for me. I didn't even feel they got clothes that weren't 'soiled' clean and fresh, let alone cloth nappies which is what I needed them for or sports kit in your case! :down:

They are only good on very lightly soiled clothes. Don't bother on stained clothes, they really won't get them out. I don't trust that bloke who demo's them. I saw him once demo-ing a hand held clothes steamer and as he was showing how it got the creases out, you could see it was wetting the clothes! But he tried to hide it by positioning the steamer over it over the damp patches. He is my least favourite QVC guest, and believe me, I dislike quite a few of them!

The ones I bought from QVC didn't seem to work at all. The ones I got from one of the SitUp channels do, but thereagain I don't play football and so don't get covered in mud. :wink2: If I have ever got something on my clothes that looks as though it won't wash out I do use the stain stick that came with the washballs and ..... so far so good.

I bought some dolly washer balls from Lakeland and I use them if I need some extra ooomph in the wash. :sun: They're hard plastic balls which agitate the washing more during the wash cycle.

http://www.lakeland.co.uk/dolly-washer-balls/F/keyword/dolly+washers/product/21371

They don't half clatter round the drum, but I think they're quite good.

I don't use them on everything as there was a comment in the feedback about the likelihood of shortening the lifespan of clothing. Sod it though - if it's filthy it's not much use either!

There was a similar item sold in Aldi/Lidl recently which might have been cheaper - tried searching, but it's not online now.

HTH

Toril said:

The ones I bought from QVC didn't seem to work at all. The ones I got from one of the SitUp channels do, but thereagain I don't play football and so don't get covered in mud. :wink2: If I have ever got something on my clothes that looks as though it won't wash out I do use the stain stick that came with the washballs and ..... so far so good.

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I'd forgotten about that - the stain stick that came with the washballs from QVC was excellent, wonder if I could buy that independently...should do some research...

The balls really are not good for any kind of stains although the stain stick works well with regular soap. I do use them for towels as they seem to leave them softer?!!!

thanks everyone for all the comments,thought I may give em a go but will save my money now

ArtDeco said:

I'd forgotten about that - the stain stick that came with the washballs from QVC was excellent, wonder if I could buy that independently...should do some research...

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Vanish make a stain stick, mine is old, dried up and crusty but still works a treat on stains

Sapphirebear said:

Vanish make a stain stick, mine is old, dried up and crusty but still works a treat on stains

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I have a manky old Vanish stick in my cleaning cupboard too, similarly dried up but it does still work! I would say though that the QVC one was better. Wonder if they still make Stardrops as that was a fab stain remover too. (Just realised I'm making it sound as if I do loads of cleaning, OH is hooting with laughter at the very idea...:wink

Artdeco is a woman after me own heart
hate cleaning !!!!!!!

ArtDeco said:

I have a manky old Vanish stick in my cleaning cupboard too, similarly dried up but it does still work! I would say though that the QVC one was better. Wonder if they still make Stardrops as that was a fab stain remover too. (Just realised I'm making it sound as if I do loads of cleaning, OH is hooting with laughter at the very idea...:wink

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I'm sure I've seen Stardrops in Asda...not bought any as I'm another who is not fond of a lot of cleaning! I tried those washballs years ago, and also some ecoballs I found in Aldi..none of them any good imo but then I'm not an expert! I think the Vanish soap is quite good for rubbing on stubborn stains and also they do a liquid or a powder to add to your wash - I find those ok too. Off topic but any tips on the best way of cleaning leather furniture? We went for a leather suite for the first time ever and I'm beginning to regret it! I just wipe down with a damp cloth as I'm not sure what's good and what's not - oh, also some special leather wipes, but advice would be welcome!

I have the ones from Aldi and use them both along with the washballs from QVC I have had for years.
If I have very dirty clothes I add a scoop of vanish powder, this works very well and is saving me £ in washing powder and the environment as well .
I think it is worth having to put the odd thing back through because it is not quite as clean as I would have liked it.