Talk:Laundry ball/Archives/2014

NPOV

I'm concerned that the recent rewrite de-emphasizes or eliminates better sources for worse. --Ronz (talk) 20:56, 4 May 2010 (UTC)

The rewrite was removed in July. I have rewritten more stuff to remove self-published stuff and introduce the reports made by consumer organizations. --Enric Naval (talk) 00:34, 4 January 2011 (UTC)

Reader comment: Got to be careful saying that because water is not paramagnetic it doesn't align in a magnetic field. In fact, water is a partial dipole, and sufficiently powerful electromagnetic fields will align water, thus changing its dielectric constant. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.169.11.200 (talk) 22:33, 23 January 2012 (UTC)

Soap Nuts

Why are Soap Nuts linked to under "See also"? I don't really see the relevance.--Mmckerch (talk) 08:14, 4 April 2012 (UTC)

Bias tag

Someone added a "Bias" tag. But he didn't explain in the talk page why the article is biased. If nobody can provide a reason for the tag, I'll remove it. --Enric Naval (talk) 18:51, 29 August 2012 (UTC)

I see no reason for a "neutrality" tag and no one provided an explanation for it since August. Removed. 85.64.44.106 (talk) —Preceding undated comment added 17:50, 9 November 2012 (UTC)

Dryer balls ≠ Laundry balls

I came here looking for information on the round spiky plastic balls (or round wool ones, less frequently) sold to be put in your dryer, allegedly fluffing up/separating clothes so they dry faster/are less static-y. Something that works in the dryer on reasonable-sounding physical means , instead of these things that seem to be for cleaning the clothes in the washer via psueduoscience and magic. If one googles dryer ball, you find what I'm thinking of. If you google laundry ball you find what this article is about.

I found two tests from reliable sources, like consumer associations, they are both negative:

• "The Verdict: Difficult to detect a noticeable difference--other than increased noise--when drying with the Balls." Harry Sawyers, Do Dryer Balls Work? As Seen on TV Lab Test, Popular Mechanics, October 23, 2009
• "Don't waste £8. Some tumble dryer balls claim to cut laundry drying time by 25% - but in our tests they didn't work." 10 products you don't need. Save £400 on products we think aren't worth buying, UK consumer association Which?, 29 July 2010, this article was reported by several UK newspapers: [1], [2], [3], [4], [5] and in other countries[6][7]

And other reviews for consumers:

• "Please. Save yourself $10. In high humidity in the summer, they work fine, but in low humidity, you'll need to return to dryer sheets or softener. After testing them for about six months, one of the balls split open and had to be replaced (kudos to Bed, Bath & Beyond for replacing them no questions asked without a receipt). These are as useless as those ionic ceramic discs to put in the washing machine as a detergent substitute." Ewoldt, John, how- to; DOLLARS & SENSE; Champs & chumps., Star Tribune, January 9, 2007
• "Clark also recommends tearing dryer sheets in half to make the box last longer. Ewoldt's tip: Skip those stupid dryer balls. They don't prevent static, and towels aren't noticeably fluffier. You might be able to skip dryer sheets altogether if you dry your clothes until they're still damp (about 25-30 minutes), and then hang and air dry. Line drying is even cheaper." Ewoldt, John, DOLLARS & SENSE; More bargain tips; Readers offer many good money-saving ideas, including one reader who writes, "I am not driving 30 miles to redeem a restaurant coupon." We're patiently waiting for local tips., Star Tribune, November 11, 2008

And other sources that are usually not considered reliable, but could be used under WP:FRINGE:

• the only page I could find about the "25% reduction in drying time", they say it's based on an unsigned report in Word format that doesn't support the claim, and that they made some tests of their own with negative results [8] It also says that "The UK Consumer Association (association "Which?", I cited it above) investigated these balls and reported in August 2010 that they lead to slightly longer drying times on a full load, and gave no benefits with respect to softness or wrinkles."
• denounced as a scam in eco-scams.com "Again, no evidence or mechanism to explain how they work or how they differ in performance from, for example, tennis balls, or indeed, not using them at all. (...) neither company has responded to my repeated requests for explanation of how their product (or indeed, any of their other miracle products such as their magnetic toilet descaler or magnetic washing machine descaler) work, or any scientific data on them, or studies carried out on them... (...)" [9]

I don't see any positive recommendation from consumer associations or from manufacturers of drying equipment. --Enric Naval (talk) 19:58, 12 January 2013 (UTC)

Drying balls are recommended by makers of down products, such as sleeping bags, to bash the down apart and fluff it. They usually recommend old tennis balls though, rather than an expensive product. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 88.106.107.110 (talk) 15:23, 3 September 2013 (UTC)

Laundry balls that contain detergent

Surely laundry balls that contain pellets of detergent don't count as 'substitutes' for detergent - they're merely delivering the same chemical in a different way. 163.1.150.21 (talk) 18:25, 21 January 2010 (UTC)

Too much detail on legal battles?

I question the relevance of including so much detail on the legal battles with specific manufacturers of a specific laundry ball product in such a general article. The evidence both for and against laundry balls, given in this article, do not cover more recent products which are currently available online and which have been reviewed by some users as effective. Therefore if Wikipedia wants to maintain some semblance of integrity and not be called biased for or against one particular side, this article needs to be more objectively arranged. Perhaps the details on those particular manufacturers who had been ordered to cease making particular claims should be put in an appendix to this article or a separate article because they do not apply to all laundry ball manufacturers. May, 2014 — Preceding unsigned comment added by 199.133.5.7 (talk) 19:25, 9 May 2014 (UTC)

Sorry, you should provide reliable sources saying that these new laundry balls are a different product. I haven't seen any review from consumer organizations recommending this product. --Enric Naval (talk) 22:43, 10 May 2014 (UTC)

Somewhat misleading image?

The picture of a disassembled "washer ball" is of a product that I've never seen marketed as a substitute for detergent. The ones showed supposedly use a velcro action to collect pet hair during the agitation cycle, with or without detergent. It's not supposed to contain anything but the hook and loop exterior, so showing that it doesn't contain anything is sort of redundant.

It also seems misleading to include that picture in a page that doesn't mention that type of product at all. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 174.31.47.68 (talk) 02:35, 22 December 2014 (UTC)