Ecoballs, what's the verdict?

[SleepDeprivedGrumpyBum]

I'm looking at ways to lower my monthly shopping bills, and one of the things I find really hikes up the bill is washing powder and fabric softener as with a little one who's weaning I get through quite a lot of washing a week.

So I'm debating trying Ecoballs, many of the reviews I've read seem very positive but if anyone has any experience using them (positive or negative) i'd quite like some MN insight

Do they really work?
Do they really last as long as they say they do?
Easy to refill?
Do clothes smell nice after being washed with them or a bit musty? (one of the problems I read on reviews on amazon)

TIA

I used ecoballs for a few years, including to wash nappies, but I found that whites got greyer and greyer. Now I use soap pods for dark coloured things and ecover laundry bleach plus hot water for things that I want to look brighter or to stay white. I avoid detergents because I'm allergic to all of them. The nice thing about soap pods and ecover laundry bleach is that fabrics come out much softer and they only smell of fresh air, which is how I like it.

PS the ecoballs tended to fall apart in my washing machine too, which was a bit of a nuisance. Also, the rubber rings kept coming off. I stopped putting them back on after a while.

What are soap pods? Are they the same as soap nuts? I tried googling soap pods but there didn't seem to be much information about them ( I did only have a quick look though)

Thought Which? trialled the ecoballs and found no difference between using them and using nothing?

Twice I had them come apart in the machine (plastic bit in the middle of the ball snapped both times) with no adequate response from the company, so I stopped using them after that. they are supposed to last for 1000 washes, but clearly don't. I noticed that clothes were more stained too. Would like to try the soap nuts though as there's eczema in the family.

Oh and the laundry doesn't smell of anything.

Soap pods are the same as soap nuts.

I'm trying an eco egg at the moment, it doesn't seem to cope very well with dirty whites (DH and DDs white socks mainly), I think I'll need to add some ecover bleach.

General washing seems to be OK.