Do Laundry Balls Really Work?

First, laundry balls are essentially plastic balls with certain internal properties that are believed to wash laundry in a washing machine and treat fabric as softener does as an alternative to the traditional methods, but at a reduced cost. As you would guess you can search online and find a myriad of laundry ball choices, claims of effectiveness, at varying costs.

Over a 6 month period I cannot think of a single occasion where I saw someone using the laundry balls to ask whether they worked or not. So, Along with a totally separate internet purchase I added a set to get my internet order to go beyond the minimum amount to qualify for free shipping, within 5 business days the delivery was made. I visited the 5th Avenue North location in Saint Petersburg Florida, put the traditional wash and dry method against the laundry balls method, what did I find?

Read on!

After washing 2 loads of household and beach towels in 2 separate washing machines (washer #9 liquid detergent the washer #10 laundry balls), no fabric softener of kind in either load, I found the following after drying was completed:
1.      Towels from #9 smelled fresh, appeared clean and soft, just as I’ve seen in the past, exactly as I expected.

2.      Towels from #10 also smelled fresh, but they smelled better,  they folded easier as if they were softer, this is new to me!

What does this mean? It comes down to us, the consumer. Sometimes we pay more for something we know and trust, something we know the expected result in advance. But I discovered my small investment may have been something I will likely try again. Why? I know I’ve used more than enough detergent in the past hoping for cleaner clothes which leads to lugging more detergent. The flip side is the laundry balls are convenient enough that this fact alone could be enough to convince me to never use traditional detergent again. However, this was a one-time deal and I need more confidence.

Why have I never seen anyone else use the laundry balls? Maybe we stick with what we know, maybe the expense and potential result of trying something new might be disappointing.

One thing is for sure for now, I’ll use laundry balls again after more internet research on their effectiveness and economic value against traditional detergent.

Have you ever used laundry balls? What are your thoughts?