A wash ball or wash ball is a product promoted in lieu of detergent. Manufacturers of laundry balls often make pseudoscientific claims about how these balls work and exaggerate the extent of their benefits.
In the US in 1998, these products were often sold on home shopping channels or by participants in multilevel marketing, although this did not happen in all countries.
While many people report that these balls work, most test results show that they are similar or less effective than washing in water without detergent. Most of the effects can be attributed to the ball's mechanical effect or using hot water instead of cold water.
The US Federal Trade Commission has taken action against some manufacturers of these products because of their misleading claims. Consumer organizations from several countries have advised not to buy this type of product.
Video Laundry ball
Clearance ball type
There are several forms of laundry balls: laundry disks, balls, balls or donuts. Some balls carry components in them, such as ceramic pieces, magnetic materials or colored liquids that are claimed to be "active water". Manufacturers claim that these components have a certain effect on the effectiveness of washing, although the study did not show the difference between different types of spheres. Some balls can be refilled with special detergent pellets, or other materials.
Maps Laundry ball
Benefits claimed by manufacturer
Laundry balls are marketed as a cheaper and environmentally-friendly alternative to regular powders or liquids. Manufacturers claim the following benefits, which are technically real:
- Lack of chemicals that can harm the environment
- Hypoallergenic and anti-irritant.
- Water usage is reduced (since less flushing is required - this assumes customers use different settings on their washing machines)
- Reduce energy use by using cold water (see the energy contained)
- Can be reused many times before refilling or replacing. This can range from 60 to 2,000 washing loads
But they also claimed the many benefits that ball washing does not have in many studies:
- Eliminate stains as effectively as detergents
- Relieves germs and bacteria as effectively as detergents.
- Eliminate odors
- Effective as bleach
- Effective as a softener
- Soften hard water
- Changed the pH of the water
- Split the "clusters" of molecules in water, allowing easier penetration into fabrics
However, the real effect is comparable to washing without detergent and sometimes worse.
Possible danger
The washing ball can break when washing, and pieces of ceramic in it can damage the washer machine.
Mechanism of action claimed
Manufacturers seldom agree on why their laundry balls work, hinting that these claims are only made by each manufacturer. Some claims are not supported by science, while others are overestimated. Balls containing detergent can offer more cleaning power than water alone because their material is comparable to normal washing powder, but in smaller amounts. It is claimed that conventional powder washer manufacturers recommend using more powder than is necessary, and that this powder contains unnecessary fillers or fragrances.
The effect of the laundry ball can be explained by simple mechanical action and with the use of hot water. Some manufacturers claim that their products reduce energy consumption, but their pamphlets recommend using hot water. Hot water will clear some types of spots better than cold water, making some people conclude that the ball works. Mechanical ball action can help clean up some types of spots, but the golf ball will achieve the same effect with less money.
Infrared
Some manufacturers claim that components inside their balls emit far infrared rays, which are claimed to reduce surface tension and facilitate washing. Claims emit infrared is not wrong, because almost all materials emit "far infrared waves" at room temperature, in other words, heat radiation. It is also true that warming reduces the surface tension of the water, but the radiation effects emitted by the sphere are negligible compared to radiation emitted by the washer's internal wall or water, especially if the water is hot.
Magnetic properties
Magnetic water softers claim that their magnetic fields can help remove scales from washing machines and pipes, and prevent new limestone from sticking. Some companies claim to remove hard ions from hard water, or to precipitate molecules in the water so they will not "stick" to the pipes, or to reduce water surface tension. The claim is doubtful, its scientific basis is unclear, work mechanisms are defined vaguely and uneducated, and high-quality studies report negative results. The reputation of these products is further undermined by the pseudoscientific explanations promoted by promoters.
Changes in water structure
Some magnetic products claim that they "alter the structure of water molecules", pseudoscientific claims with no real scientific basis. There is no such thing as "magnetic water". Water is not paramagnetic, which means that water molecules are not parallel to the presence of a magnetic field. Water is driven by magnets because they are diamagnetic, but to a very small extent that most instruments can not detect them.
Special detergent
Some balls can be recharged with small grains of detergent sold only by the ball manufacturer. Critics question whether the amount and type of detergents issued by these balls is enough to produce a significant cleaning effect.
Consumer protection
In 1997, Amway offered the ceramic wash discs on its catalog, but erased it after concluding that it "had no measurable impact on overall cleaning."
In 1997, the Clean-Trade, sold the Blue Laundry Ball products in various US states. Trade-Net claims that the blue liquid inside their sphere is a structured water "that transmits a negative charge through the container wall into your laundry water." "This causes the water molecule group to break away, allowing smaller individual water molecules to penetrate to the innermost part of the fabric." Dennis Barnum, an associate professor of inorganic chemistry at Portland State University, says that the liquid is only water with blue dye and is unlikely to have an effect claimed by the manufacturer. Barnum also said that the claims were "nonsense" and used scientific terms in a way that sounded educated to the layman but did not make sense. The Oregonian is testing the ball, and finding them wash a bit better than hot water without detergent, and worse than using detergent.
After the complaint, the Trade-Net claim was investigated by the consumer protection department in Utah, Oregon and Florida, among others, and the company was prohibited from making certain claims, including that "such products also clean up the regular laundry detergent". Trade-Net offered a 'new' laundry product after this, but was forced to pay a fine, including $ 190,000 to the Oregon Department of Justice, $ 10,000 to Utah and then in April 1999, $ 155,000 to New York, Arizona, Arkansas, Hawaii , Idaho, Illinois, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, Oklahoma and FTC. The company disappeared shortly afterwards. The Federal Trade Commission has levied fines against other companies for similar fraud claims. However, other companies continue to sell similar products over the Internet.
The judge's verdict on Net-Trading, issued in April 1999, said manufacturers failed to prove their claims and did not inform consumers of reports suggesting that the claims were wrong.
The Australian Consumers Association publishes a report in the April 1998 edition of its magazine Choice . It was concluded that the laundry ball was no better than cold water.
The US Federal Trade Commission issued in 1999 about washing balls, rings and discs: "Testing shows that this gadget does more than clean your wallet, at best, they are slightly better than washing clothes in hot water only, and not as effectively like washing them with detergent, at worst, the product is totally useless. "
In 2000 the magazine Good Housekeeping tested several laundry balls sold in the US and concluded that "these gizmos do a little more than clean your wallet."
In April 2009 the Italian consumer association Altroconsumo conducted a small test and concluded that the washing ball did not wash better than ordinary water.
In 2009 the Spanish consumer organization, OCU made a study of "ecobolas" (a type of washing ball marketed in Spain). This compares the effectiveness of the ball washing, normal detergent, and no detergent at all. It was concluded that the laundry ball was no better than just using water, and it was suggested that consumers only use minimum amounts of detergent.
In November 2011, the Hong Kong Consumer Council published a report on the effects of using washing liquids, washing powders and washing balls. Two earlier proved effective in removing stains, while the washing ball was no more effective than plain water.
Some organizations that recommend not to use it are Consumers Union, International Fabricare Institute (now called Drycleaning and Laundry Institute), Maytag, Soap and Detergent Association and OCU Spain.
In February 2011 the Spanish National Consumption Institute (Instituto Nacional del Consumo INC) ordered 14 producers to stop advertising deceiving them after testing the washing ball and concluded that they were equally effective, or even less effective than washing with water only.
In August 2012 the Portuguese Consumer Rights Council requested a ban on washing the ball because no advertised profit was proven in tests.
The Australian consumer advocacy group (Choice Australia) awarded the 'Shonky Award' to Nanosmart Laundry Ball in October 2015, stating that they were "not working" and that they should be renamed "Nano-not-so-smart" after testing the ball against regular water and found they had no effect and that their scientific claim was incorrect. Australia's choice states that they will refer the product to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission for an investigation of Nanosmart's misleading claims.
By making very vague claims, marketers can continue to sell the washing ball without violating consumer protection laws that require honesty in advertising.
Sales channel
These products are often sold by participants in multilevel marketing. They can also be found in ecological retail stores.
During the initial marketing boom, the ball was produced for other niche markets, such as car washes.
See also
- Soap nuts
- Stainless steel soap
- List of topics that are characterized as pseudoscience
References
External links
- Does the laundry ball really work ?, July 25, 1997, The Straight Dope
- The ABI Laundry Ball and The Laundry Solution and The Laundry Clean Disk & amp; about twenty other people like them !, enter in Skeptic's Dictionary
- Laundry Discs Aired on Market Place, November 17, 1998, CBC News, Marketplace Program in the scam section.
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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