How to get best results from your Simply Laundry Balls

Using Simply Laundry Balls correctly, you’ll save time and money, give your clothes and linen a gentle, thorough wash, relieve skin allergies and reduce the environmental impact of doing the laundry.

1. When to use Simply Laundry Balls – and when not to
2. How to machine wash with Simply Laundry Balls
3. How to hand wash with Simply Laundry Balls
4. How to get rid of stains
5. How to get white laundry whiter
6. How to refill your Simply Laundry Balls
7. How to save water with Simply Laundry Balls
8. How to clean your washing machine

1. When to use Simply Laundry Balls – and when not to

Use Simply Laundry Balls for all your regular washing. The washing balls can be used for front loaders, top loaders and for hand washing.

Simply Laundry Balls are not an all or nothing option. If there’s ever particular reason to use commercial washing powders, you can do so. For instance, if you have oily, greasy overalls, sweaty sports gear, really muddy or grass-stained clothes to wash, then much stronger laundry products on the market containing harsh detergents and enzymes may be needed to knock those stains out.

But by being sensible and using Simply Laundry Balls for your regular washing, you can cut your use of laundry powder by over 95%. This still means you save a lot of money and water, and keep your clothes and the planet more free of harmful chemicals.

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2. How to machine wash with Simply Laundry Balls

1. Follow the clothing fabric care labels and separate whites, colours and darks as you would normally.
2. Pre-treat or pre-soak stains as needed. See below.
3. For brighter whites, add Simply Whiter Bleach Powder.  See below.
4. Place the balls anywhere into the drum of your machine with your washing. Use:

1 ball for hand washing and very small loads

2 balls for full and half wash loads

3 balls for wash loads over 8kg

1. Don't overload your machine. Having too much washing makes the cleaning less effective.
2. Never add fabric softeners – they will seal the pellets with a waxy buildup, making them ineffective.
3. Select your desired wash programme and start. You can use Simply Laundry Balls in cold, warm or hot water, up to 60ºC maximum. The maximum recommended spin speed is 1000rpm.
4. The balls can stay in the machine for all the wash, spin and rinse cycles.

Tips:

• Do a warm/hot wash once a week to keep your washing machine clean. It makes sense to use this wash for your dirtiest clothes.
• Rinse the washing balls under the tap after a very muddy wash or nappy load.
• Air the laundry balls in a dry place out of direct sunlight at least once a week.
• For a stronger fragrance, you can add essential or fragrant oils to your Simply Laundry Balls. Drop about 10 drops onto the washing pellets in each ball and soak in well overnight

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3. How to hand wash with Simply Laundry Balls

Ball washing is great when you want to save time and hassle as well as water when you're travelling, camping or just have some hand washing to do.

Use one Simply Laundry Ball in a small bucket or basin. Let the washing ball stand in the water for about 2 minutes, then shake it well for 30 seconds, underwater. Leave the ball in the water while you wash your clothes. Use one or two balls for a larger load and agitate them regularly.

When you’ve finished washing, wring out the clothes and hang them out to dry – with ball washing, there’s no need to rinse!

For soaking, leave the washing ball in the water for about 5 minutes. Then shake well for 30 seconds underwater before taking it out of the water. Put the clothes in to soak for as long as you like.

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4. How to get rid of stains

For really stubborn dirt and common stains, use our Simply Stain Remover Stick, Simply Whiter Bleach Powder or your usual favourite pre-treatment laundry product.

A warmer wash can help with stain removal when something's really grubby. Remember our grandmothers boiled nearly everything! A pre-soak also helps.

Baby bibs, mud and grass-stained clothing, sports gear, work T-shirts, teenage boys clothes, and any other special challenges may need the extra boosts of enzymes, strong laundry detergents and bleaches in commercial powders or liquids. It makes sense to use the harsher commercial alternatives for these and the gentler laundry balls for the other 95% of your washing.

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5. How to get white laundry whiter

Simply Laundry Balls do not contain bleaches or optical brighteners that can irritate skin and sinuses. If you want your whites to look whiter, add Simply Whiter Bleach Powder or your favourite oxygen-based bleach powder as a pre-soak or in-wash booster.

White vinegar is a natural mild bleach. You can add half a cup to the wash as a natural alternative if you like.

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6. How to refill your Simply Laundry Balls

To maintain the best cleaning results, it’s best to replace the pellets completely after about 150 washes or 12 months, whichever is the sooner. The pellets will never wear right down. 

As a rough guide:

Use a teaspoon to prise open the small blue cap.  The washing pellets are fully biodegradable and you can safely discard them to landfill. The Refill Pellet Pack available from Live Simply will refill two washing balls completely.

To make things easier, you can keep a record on your calendar or on the refilling schedule that comes with our Simply Laundry Ball Starter Kit. This makes it simple to keep track of when you need to refill the washing balls.

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7. How to save water with Simply Laundry Balls

Because Simply Laundry Balls do not contain the ingredients you normally have to try and rinse out of your washing, you have the great option to save water by skipping the rinse cycle. If you wash by hand, you can simply wash your clothes and hang them straight out to dry.

Not rinsing can save you about half of the water you usually use when washing.

Check your washing machine's manual to find out how best to set the wash programme to do the least number of rinse cycles. If you don’t have the manual, chances are you’ll be able to find it online.

Saving water with a top loader

To start with, time your longest wash cycle to find out how long it takes to fill up, wash and begin to drain. From then on, just set a timer. You can use your microwave clock or your mobile phone to set an alarm to remind you to pop back into the laundry and manually bypass the rinse cycles. 

You may also have a wash and hold option on your machine, or with some models you can leave the lid up and the cycles won’t progress until you’re back to close it.

My partner and I have been doing this successfully for years and have saved thousands of litres of water!

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Saving water with a front loader

If your washing machine doesn't allow you to manually skip the cycles, set the washing programme for the least number of rinse cycles it will allow. Choose the “eco-cycle” if your washing machine gives you the option.

8. How to clean your washing machine

Your washing machine works hard week after week washing your clothes… But does it ever get cleaned? You’d be really surprised at how much gunge builds up behind the drum where you just can’t see !! Here’s an easy way to keep your washing machine clean.

1. Fill your empty machine (front or top loader) with HOT water, the highest level you can programme.
2. Add half a cup of dishwashing powder, or four dishwashing tablets to the water. Use half these quantities for a front loader.  Alternatively, you can use a 150g pack of citric acid, available in the baking section of your supermarket.
3. Turn the machine on and agitate the water for a few minutes to dissolve the dishwashing powder or citric acid. Then turn your machine off and let it soak for an hour or two.
4. Restart your machine on its longest wash cycle and rinse through twice. 

Once your washing machine is clean, you’ll never have to worry about powder build-up again – there is nothing in Simply Laundry Balls that can clog up the pipes or drum!

Get into the habit of giving your machine a clean at least once every12 months though.

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