I have a high-efficiency washer, and I use specially-formulated (and expensive) liquid detergent. Recently I tried the Oransi Robby Wash Ball, which is supposed to be more economical than regular laundry soap, more environmentally friendly (no phosphates) and more convenient.

The ball itself is about the size of a tennis ball, and is filled with “macro-molecule” pellets of detergent. It also comes with two refills. One set of pellets is supposed to last about four months or forty washes; the entire set (which cost $32.95) should last a year if you do approximately one load every few days or a couple loads a week. Now, I’m pretty certain we do at least twice that amount of laundry; in fact, I feel like I’m constantly doing laundry. I’m doing some right now! This means we also go through more regular laundry soap. I’m not quite sure how much we spend on soap in a year (I buy whatever is on sale), but it’s probably comparable to the cost of the Robby Wash Ball. (Read more…)