Shopping and Wash Balls -Do They Really Work?

Today was a shopping day.  Daughter number three and I went to Yankee Candle with a buy two, get two free coupon in hand.  We each spent some time sniffing and checking out colors and jar shapes.  After about thirty minutes we made our decisions and walked away with two candles each and a free votive for each of us.

I (and she) chose holiday scents that would warm the atmosphere with cozy scents.  I chose 'winter glow' and ;silver birch'.

Daughter three went home, but I continued on to a thrift shop.  How surprising to see everything in the store was fifty percent off.  I found a Campbell's soup cookie jar from 1999 for 2.50$ that I was hoping daughter 2 would like.  A posted pick and a question to her on Facebook, revealed a 'yes, sir'!  As soon as I can find an appropriate box to ship it, she will have it in her kitchen.



I checked on ebay and there was only one I found that was selling for $34.95.  Daughter two gets excited when I find good deals.  She's impressed with my prowess when it comes to deals.  I thank her for that, it makes me feel I'm still productive - even at my age.

The most exciting part of this post is (drum roll please)  I bought a washing ball.  When they hit the market a few months back they were selling for $40.00.  Not a good deal for someone who only does two to three washes a week.  I figured out that the 1000 washes they're good for would take me about ten years out.  A container of detergent lasts 80 washed which will take me through almost a year. (about twelve weeks short)

The price on amazon has been reduced to $9.95 and since I had credit card points hooked into amazon, I took a chance if for no other reason than to let readers know if they work well.  The reviews were mostly good, but there were a couple that had only one star.  The one star reviews had me a bit apprehensive.  But, it didn't cost me anything, so I went forward and bought them.  (I have prime, so no shipping charges either.)

Here's what happened.  I began a wash, but stopped it on the spin cycle as I was leaving the house.  Murphy's Law would suggest if I let the cycle continue when I wasn't home, I would come home to a disaster of some sort.  When I entered the house by the back door - which is near the laundry room - I smelled something rather pleasant and fresh.  After a couple of sniffs I turned the washer back on and didn't give it another thought.  Wash was done and time to place the clothes in the dryer.  The smell was back.  Could it be the wash ball?  I thought that would not be possible as the contents were natural beads of some sort.  When I smelled the contents, I had to smell it a few more times.  The ball did indeed project a great fresh scent. 

I also noted that the white slippers I washed came out pure white.  I wish I would have taken a before picture of them, with the dirty toes, but I didn't really think the ball would work.

After wondering why the ball didn't work for a few people, I wondered if they crammed clothes in the washer so there was no room for the ball to agitate and do it's thing.  If a person wants a clean load of clothes there must be room in the washer for things to move around so the agitation can remove dirt and grime.

I do not receive any compensation for this post.

This is what the wash ball looks like. The ball is made
from rubber, but I'm not sure what the beads inside are
made from.  The instructions say to place it in the sun
before use and then every thirty days thereafter.

The slippers I wear around the house.  The toes were quite dirty
before I washed them using the wash ball.



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