Laundry ball
Encyclopedia
A laundry ball or washing ball is a product that is promoted as a substitute for detergent
. Producers of laundry balls have been criticised for making pseudoscientific
claims about how these balls work and the extent of their benefits. The product is often sold by participants in multilevel marketing schemes. While many people report that these balls work, the results are similar to or less effective than washing in water without any detergent. Most of the effect can be attributed to the mechanical effect of the ball or to using hot water instead of cold water. The Federal Trade Commission
has taken action against some of the manufacturers of these products because of their misleading claims.
friendly alternatives to ordinary washing powders or liquids. The manufacturers have misleadingly claimed many benefits, including:
However, the real benefits are comparable to the benefits of washing without any detergent and are sometimes worse.
The effect of the laundry balls may be explained by simple mechanical action and by the usage of hotter water. Some manufacturers claim that their products reduce energy consumption, but their pamphlets recommend using hot water. Hot water will clean some types of spots better than cold water, leading some people to conclude that the balls worked. The mechanical action of the laundry balls can help clean some types of spots.
at room temperature
, in other words, heat
radiation. It is also true that heating reduces the surface tension of water, but the effect of the radiation emitted by the balls is negligible compared to the radiation emitted by the internal walls of the washing machine or by the water, specially if it's hot water.
The claim of alkali
zation is dubious, while it is true that the alkaline agents in normal washing powders catalyze the tensides, there are no studies suggesting that the washing pearls would affect the pH
of the water.
and chlorine is used in the disinfection of tap water. The claims state that by removing chlorine from the washing water the surface tension is (again) reduced and harmful chlorine can't interact with the clothes, even though the amounts in tap water are very small both in Europe (0.3-1.0 ml/l) and North-America (4 ml/l).
from the washing machine and pipes, and prevent new limescale from adhering. Some companies claim to remove hardness ions from water, or to precipitate the molecules in the water so they won't "stick" to the pipes.. The claims are dubious, the scientific basis is unclear, the working mechanism is vaguely defined and understudied, and high-quality studies report negative results. The reputation of these products is further damaged by the pseudoscientific explanations that promoters keep putting forward.
Some magnetic products claim that they "minimize the size of the water molecule", a claim that has no scientific basis.
, could be created, but not in a large quantity.
, Oregon and Florida, amongst others, and the company was prohibited from making certain claims, including that "that such product cleans as well as conventional laundry detergent". Trade-Net offered a 'new' laundry ball product after this, but were forced to pay fines, including $190,000 to Oregon's Department of Justice, $10,000 to Utah and then in April 1999, $155,000 to the states of New York, Arizona, Arkansas, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, Oklahoma and the FTC. The company disappeared shortly thereafter. The Federal Trade Commission has levied fines against other companies for similar fraudulent claims.
In 2009 the Spanish consumer organization OCU made a study of "ecobolas" (a type of laundry ball marketed in Spain). It compared the efficacy of the laundry ball, normal detergent, and no detergent at all. It concluded that laundry balls were no better than using just water, and it recommended that consumers simply use a minimum amount of detergent.
The Australian Consumers' Association published a report in the April 1998 issue of its magazine Choice. It concluded that laundry balls were no better than cold water.
The Italian consumer association Altroconsumo carried a small test and concluded that laundry balls didn't wash better than plain water.
Some organizations recommending against their use are Consumers Union
, International Fabricare Institute (now called Drycleaning and Laundry Institute), Maytag
, Soap and Detergent Association and Spanish OCU.
In February 2011 the spanish National Institute of Consume (Instituto Nacional del Consumo INC) ordered 14 manufacturers to cease their deceiving advertisement after testing the wash balls and concluding that they are as effective, or even less effective, than washing with water alone.
Detergent
A detergent is a surfactant or a mixture of surfactants with "cleaning properties in dilute solutions." In common usage, "detergent" refers to alkylbenzenesulfonates, a family of compounds that are similar to soap but are less affected by hard water...
. Producers of laundry balls have been criticised for making pseudoscientific
Pseudoscience
Pseudoscience is a claim, belief, or practice which is presented as scientific, but which does not adhere to a valid scientific method, lacks supporting evidence or plausibility, cannot be reliably tested, or otherwise lacks scientific status...
claims about how these balls work and the extent of their benefits. The product is often sold by participants in multilevel marketing schemes. While many people report that these balls work, the results are similar to or less effective than washing in water without any detergent. Most of the effect can be attributed to the mechanical effect of the ball or to using hot water instead of cold water. The Federal Trade Commission
Federal Trade Commission
The Federal Trade Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, established in 1914 by the Federal Trade Commission Act...
has taken action against some of the manufacturers of these products because of their misleading claims.
Types of laundry ball
There are several shapes of laundry balls: laundry disks, globes, spheres or doughnuts. The balls carry certain components inside, like ceramic pieces, magnetic material or "activated water". Manufacturers claim that these components have certain effects on washing efficacy, although studies don't show any difference between the different types of balls. Some balls also contain pellets of detergent or other ingredients.Benefits claimed by manufacturers
Laundry balls are falsely marketed as cheaper, environmentallyEnvironment (biophysical)
The biophysical environment is the combined modeling of the physical environment and the biological life forms within the environment, and includes all variables, parameters as well as conditions and modes inside the Earth's biosphere. The biophysical environment can be divided into two categories:...
friendly alternatives to ordinary washing powders or liquids. The manufacturers have misleadingly claimed many benefits, including:
- Lack of chemicals which may harm the environment
- Hypoallergenic and anti-irritation.
- Can be re-used many times before refilling or replacing. This can range from 60 to 2000 wash loads.
- Reduced water usage (because less rinsing is required - this assumes the customer uses a different setting on their washing machine).
- Reduced waste from packaging.
- Reduced use of energy (see embodied energyEmbodied energyEmbodied energy is defined as the sum of energy inputs that was used in the work to make any product, from the point of extraction and refining materials, bringing it to market, and disposal / re-purposing of it...
). - Removing germs and bacteria as effectively as detergents.
However, the real benefits are comparable to the benefits of washing without any detergent and are sometimes worse.
Possible dangers
The laundry ball could break open during washing, and the ceramic pieces inside it could damage the machinery of the washing machine.Claimed mechanisms of action
Claims vary between products. Some claims are not backed by science, while others are an exaggeration of benefits. Balls that contain detergents may offer more cleaning power than water alone because their ingredients are comparable to normal washing powder, but in smaller quantities. It is claimed that conventional washing powder manufacturers recommend using more powder than is necessary, and that these powders contain unnecessary fillers or fragrances. Critics question whether the amount of detergent released by these balls is sufficient to generate significant cleaning effects.The effect of the laundry balls may be explained by simple mechanical action and by the usage of hotter water. Some manufacturers claim that their products reduce energy consumption, but their pamphlets recommend using hot water. Hot water will clean some types of spots better than cold water, leading some people to conclude that the balls worked. The mechanical action of the laundry balls can help clean some types of spots.
Infrared and alkalization
Some manufacturers claim that the components inside their balls emit far infrared rays, which are claimed to reduce the surface tension of water and facilitate washing. The claim of emitting infrared is not false, as all materials emit "far infrared waves"Thermal radiation
Thermal radiation is electromagnetic radiation generated by the thermal motion of charged particles in matter. All matter with a temperature greater than absolute zero emits thermal radiation....
at room temperature
Room temperature
-Comfort levels:The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers has listings for suggested temperatures and air flow rates in different types of buildings and different environmental circumstances. For example, a single office in a building has an occupancy ratio per...
, in other words, heat
Heat
In physics and thermodynamics, heat is energy transferred from one body, region, or thermodynamic system to another due to thermal contact or thermal radiation when the systems are at different temperatures. It is often described as one of the fundamental processes of energy transfer between...
radiation. It is also true that heating reduces the surface tension of water, but the effect of the radiation emitted by the balls is negligible compared to the radiation emitted by the internal walls of the washing machine or by the water, specially if it's hot water.
The claim of alkali
Alkali
In chemistry, an alkali is a basic, ionic salt of an alkali metal or alkaline earth metal element. Some authors also define an alkali as a base that dissolves in water. A solution of a soluble base has a pH greater than 7. The adjective alkaline is commonly used in English as a synonym for base,...
zation is dubious, while it is true that the alkaline agents in normal washing powders catalyze the tensides, there are no studies suggesting that the washing pearls would affect the pH
PH
In chemistry, pH is a measure of the acidity or basicity of an aqueous solution. Pure water is said to be neutral, with a pH close to 7.0 at . Solutions with a pH less than 7 are said to be acidic and solutions with a pH greater than 7 are basic or alkaline...
of the water.
Anti-chlorine properties
Many products also claim that the balls contain "anti-chlorine" agents which are supposed to neutralize chlorine which has been added to the tap water. Chloride and bleach related substances are actually common in washing powdersLaundry detergent
Laundry detergent, or washing powder, is a substance that is a type of detergent that is added for cleaning laundry. In common usage, "detergent" refers to mixtures of chemical compounds including alkylbenzenesulfonates, which are similar to soap but are less affected by "hard water." In most...
and chlorine is used in the disinfection of tap water. The claims state that by removing chlorine from the washing water the surface tension is (again) reduced and harmful chlorine can't interact with the clothes, even though the amounts in tap water are very small both in Europe (0.3-1.0 ml/l) and North-America (4 ml/l).
Magnetic properties
Magnetic water softeners claim that their magnetic fields can help remove scaleLimescale
Limescale is the hard, off-white, chalky deposit found in kettles, hot-water boilers and the inside of inadequately maintained hot-water central heating systems...
from the washing machine and pipes, and prevent new limescale from adhering. Some companies claim to remove hardness ions from water, or to precipitate the molecules in the water so they won't "stick" to the pipes.. The claims are dubious, the scientific basis is unclear, the working mechanism is vaguely defined and understudied, and high-quality studies report negative results. The reputation of these products is further damaged by the pseudoscientific explanations that promoters keep putting forward.
Some magnetic products claim that they "minimize the size of the water molecule", a claim that has no scientific basis.
Negative ions
Some manufacturers claim their products works by releasing negative ions which reduce the surface tension of water. It is possible that OH− ions, or hydroxideHydroxide
Hydroxide is a diatomic anion with chemical formula OH−. It consists of an oxygen and a hydrogen atom held together by a covalent bond, and carrying a negative electric charge. It is an important but usually minor constituent of water. It functions as a base, as a ligand, a nucleophile, and a...
, could be created, but not in a large quantity.
Consumer protection
In 1997 Trade-Net, sold a laundry ball product (the Blue Laundry Ball) in various US states. After complaints, their claims were investigated by consumer protection departments in UtahUtah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
, Oregon and Florida, amongst others, and the company was prohibited from making certain claims, including that "that such product cleans as well as conventional laundry detergent". Trade-Net offered a 'new' laundry ball product after this, but were forced to pay fines, including $190,000 to Oregon's Department of Justice, $10,000 to Utah and then in April 1999, $155,000 to the states of New York, Arizona, Arkansas, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, Oklahoma and the FTC. The company disappeared shortly thereafter. The Federal Trade Commission has levied fines against other companies for similar fraudulent claims.
In 2009 the Spanish consumer organization OCU made a study of "ecobolas" (a type of laundry ball marketed in Spain). It compared the efficacy of the laundry ball, normal detergent, and no detergent at all. It concluded that laundry balls were no better than using just water, and it recommended that consumers simply use a minimum amount of detergent.
The Australian Consumers' Association published a report in the April 1998 issue of its magazine Choice. It concluded that laundry balls were no better than cold water.
The Italian consumer association Altroconsumo carried a small test and concluded that laundry balls didn't wash better than plain water.
Some organizations recommending against their use are Consumers Union
Consumers Union
Consumers Union is a non-profit organization best known as the publisher of Consumer Reports, based in the United States. Its mission is to "test products, inform the public, and protect consumers."...
, International Fabricare Institute (now called Drycleaning and Laundry Institute), Maytag
Maytag
Maytag Corporation is an American home and commercial appliance company, headquartered in Newton, Iowa, that is a division of the Whirlpool Corporation.-Company history:...
, Soap and Detergent Association and Spanish OCU.
In February 2011 the spanish National Institute of Consume (Instituto Nacional del Consumo INC) ordered 14 manufacturers to cease their deceiving advertisement after testing the wash balls and concluding that they are as effective, or even less effective, than washing with water alone.
Multilevel marketing
The product is often sold by participants in multilevel marketing schemes.External links
- Do laundry balls really work?, July 25, 1997, The Straight Dope
- The ABI Laundry Ball and The Laundry Solution and The Laundry Clean Disk & about twenty others just like them!, entry in The Skeptic's Dictionary