Family Living
Focus
Nancy Wiker
Lancaster Co.
Extension Agent
Laundry Balls - What Are
They All About?
Just what are these laundry
disks, balls, globes, rings, cubes,
stones, and crystals all about?
These new laundry devices
claim to let you do away with
laundry detergent forever.
There are several versions of the
product on the market that chal
lenge the need to use detergent
when washing clothes. For $3O
- you can help save the envi
ronment by not using harsh
detergents and fabric softeners,
save money you would spend on
laundry products, and extend
the life of your clothes. These
disks or balls also claim to be
antibacterial, hypoallergenic,
sanitize clothes and last from
500-2500 washes.
More than 20 variations of
this product, which activates the
"natural cleansing power" of
water, are now on the market.
According to product informa
tion, some contain "electrically
charged" ceramic beads that
lower the surface tension of the
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water, making it better able to
penetrate the fabric. Others use
the concept of "structured
water" that causes water mole
cules to disassociate because of
"far-infrared electro magnetic
waves". Still others use copper
and silver to release electrons
that produce ionized oxygen,
which breaks up dirt and organ
ic compounds.
This device was tested in sev
eral laboratory settings includ
ing Maytag, Whirlpool and
Consumer Reports. Several
cleaning combinations were
used. Each combination was
tested several times. In the first
group, stained items were
washed in water only, the next
combination was stained cloth
ing and the laundry ball. In the
third group an enzyme product
was added along with the laun
dry ball and clothes. In the last
combination only liquid laundry
detergent was added to the dirty
clothes.
The findings from the tests
indicate that when used alone,
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the laundry ball produced the
same results as washing with
plain water. When enzymes and
boosters were added to the laun
dry ball wash load the results
were a little better than water
only wash. Washing with the
liquid detergent clearly gave
better results than any other
cleaning agent.
The University of Minnesota
did both field tests and laborato
ry tests on the ceramic laundry
disk. In laboratory tests, the
disc only wash showed poor
cleaning, however, the wash
load using the disc plus one tea
spoon of detergent in the wash
produced the same results as
the regular detergent wash. In
field tests, the disc plus a laun
dry aid (pre-treatment) per
formed as well as detergent plus
a laundry aid. Nearly half of the
participants in the field tests
were as satisfied with the discs
as they were with their standard
laundry detergent. Overall, the
reusable ceramic laundry disc
performed better than water but
not as well as detergent.
As for the claims of struc
tured water, far-infrared electro
magnetic waves, and electrically
charged ceramic beads, Dr.
Hugh Cartwright of Oxford
University, England, comments
that the claims "sound implausi
ble... and are advertising hype."
Washing with water only will
remove much of the solid granu
lar dirt in clothes due to
mechanical action. It should be
noted that it may take several
<9
Figure Out
WILLIAMSPORT (Lycoming
Co.) You’ve probably been
hearing a lot about body mass
index (BMI) lately. This is a
method to determine whether or
not your weight poses any health
risk.
BMI is a measurement based on
your weight and height
(Idlograms/meters) and is highly
correlated with body fat The
height and weight calculation help
to determine whether you are at a
healthy weight or have too much
body fat
Information from the Lycoming
County Extension office includes
instructions on how to figure out
your BMI.
To figure your BMI, multiply
your weight in pounds by 70S,
divide by your height in inches and
then divide again by your height
For example: If you weight 150
pounds and you are S feet 4 inches
tall, (64 inches) youo would do the
following: ISO pounds X 70S =
105,770 divided by 64 inches =
1,652, divided by 64 inches again
= 25.8 or a BMI of 26.
weeks for the residual detergent
to wash out of clothing. Most of
the product information indi
cates that pre-treatment or a lit
tle laundry detergent is needed
for grease, oil, and extra dirty
items. Water does not dissolve
oil-based stains, thus over time,
graying and yellowing will occur.
Some product information indi
cated the need for a little bright
ener such as borax.
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Your BMI
Calculating your BIM:
1. Multiply your weight in
pounds by 70S.
2. Divide by your height in
inches
In general the risk of disease,
especially heart disease, diabetes
and several common cancers is
lowest for BMI between 21 and 25.
then it increases slightly between
25 and 27, substantially between
27 and 30 and dramatically for
scores over 30.
Recent statistics show that 33
percent of adult Americans have a
BMI of 27 or higher, resulting in
more than 300,000 lives lost annu
ally due to weight-related
illnesses.
Losing and maintaining as little
as 5 percent of initial body weight
is likely to result in significant
health improvements for you.
3. Divide by your height again.
The result is your BMI