Review: GreenWash Ball, carried by GAIAM

When GAIAM offered to send me the GreenWashBall at first my "green-senses" perked up and my curiosity followed.  How can a product clean your clothes, be detergent free, and environmentally friendly?  What is so special about this little ball that replaces ordinary detergent and chemicals and still manages to launder your clothes, kill bacteria, and soften fabrics?!  On top of this, it last up to 1,000 washes or 3 years only for a mere $29.00!  I don't have to do the math for you here; that's a lot of mullah on messy, drippy, detergent saved!

I had to know about this miracle laundry helper.

 

It fits into your hand easily, is lightweight, and is virtually scent-free.  The beads inside it sound like a rainstick.  Reading up on the GreenWashBall I found that these tiny ceramic balls inside the GreenWashBall are exactly what do the trick: bumping into each other, creating friction, and thus raising the pH of your laundry water, softening clothes, cleaning fabrics, and killing bacteria and odors while it's spinning around in your machine!

I popped the GreenWash ball in the laundry with my colors load.  GreenWash Ball suggests you sort your laundry first, as usual, separating colors from whites (duh, men).  When my cycle finished I fished out the ball, still intact and looking the same.  My clothes, too, looked just like they did when I put them in - except cleaner!  Once out of the dryer, we did the sniff test.  Mike smelled his once-gross running shirt and said, "Huh, it smells clean - not like sweat at all!"  All the clothes smelled fresh and so clean, clean.
Plus, all allergic risks linked to detergent residues are gone with GreenWashBall, which is a good thing for me and my super sensitive skin issues! (Moms, think about how expensive baby-friendly AND/OR eco-friendly
 detergents can be!)

Random other factoids (taken from the GreenWashBall pamphlet)
-"Due to its efficiency, there is no need to add any bleaching or other additive to your detergent"
-"You can also place a GreenWashBall in the refrigerator to help maintain the freshness of fruit, vegetables, meat and fish."  (Seriously? This thing is AMAZING)
-"You can use the GreenWashBall on any laundry where you would regularly use laundry detergent."
-"Will work with any laundry machine"
-Needs one hour of sunlight a week per one wash. (Again, amazing, tricky, little ball!)


I definitely want to pop a few more of these on my registry, since GreenWashBalls suggests adding more than one for larger machines.

How to get your own:
Buy it now at GAIAM.com!  You may know GAIAM as a yoga supply company, which they still are - only now they carry loads of Eco Home and Outdoor goods.  Sign up for their emails and receive great coupons like this:  Enter "FATHERSDAY" now through June 14, to receive $15 off $75, $20 off $100, and $25 off $125!

Disclaimer: These opinions are 100% my own.  I was not compensated in any way for writing this review.