Has anyone used Eco Washing Balls?

[DedalusDigglesPocketWatch]

Are they any good?

DD has quite bad eczema and it seems to be linked to washing detergents. I have found one liquid that doesn't irritate but makes the clothes smell musty.

Saw these Eco balls and thought they may be the answer, but obviously I don't want to spend money on something that is totally crap.

[nannyl]

going off on a tangent but have you tried surcare liquid?

It is colour and perfume free and my charges eczma got so much better when we switched to that.

ecoballs have no perfumes so i cant imagine they will make your clothes smell nice

[MrsHuxtable]

Hello,
my DH is a massive fan of eco balls. I'm in two minds. They do wash your clothes. They come out clean but of course they smell of nothing. If you like a smell, you can add some drops of lavender oil.

It is a big outlay at the start and tbh, I only bought them because Oxfam was selling them at half price at the time. I did not regret getting them though.

[DedalusDigglesPocketWatch]

I was thinking of adding a couple of drops of lavender essential oil. Isn't it antibacterial? Which could possibly stop the clothes smelling a bit funky and add a nice smell.

The liquid I am using is Waitrose essential sensitive non-bio liquid. When we started using it the eczema cleared up within about 2weeks, but because nothing really felt or smelt very clean I switched back to normal non-bio and within days her skin had really flared up, especially around neck, wrists, ankles, waist (all the tighter bits of clothes)

Think I will give these Eco balls a go.

[latrucha]

Have you tried Ecover? I found it good. The biggest effect came from changing DD's bath soap though.

I've never tried the washing balls but I have been given baby clothes by people who do and they do seem to knaker the clothes.

[nannyl]

oh yes.

My charge whose eczma magically cleared up when we switched surcare also got so much better when we switched to halos and horns products or a select few organic products.

I worked for another family where they had nasty eczma and he couldnt use any toiletries / soaps at all other then prescription products from the dr (dermol). Even halo's and horns would have made him react.

[AngelDog]

I like the (non) smell of Eco balls. Which? magazine found they weren't much better than washing with plain water though. We used them for years but we did an occasional hot wash with Vanish/bio powder to remove longstanding stains.