Buzz
Image: AmazonI recently gave the EcoEgg laundry egg a shot. The product name really says it all: it’s an egg-shaped container filled with capsules that claim to match the cleaning power of regular detergents, but with fewer hard-to-pronounce chemicals. Another claim: the reusable egg will save you money, as you can use the same cleanser repeatedly instead of buying new detergent. Naturally, I was curious, so I ordered one to see how well it works.
When the EcoEgg Laundry Egg arrived, it came in a simple box with no extra packaging, which was a bit surprising since it had been shown inside packaging on Amazon. But that wasn’t a big deal, as everything was included: the egg itself, black ceramic tourmaline pellets, white mineral pellets (the chemical-free cleaning agents), and, most importantly, the instructions. The instructions even had a calculator to help you figure out how much money you could save with the egg. But I didn’t need it to do the math: the egg claims 210 washes, while my usual detergent offers only 125 loads for the same price. If it works, it could cut my costs by half.
How Does the EcoEgg Work?
According to the instructions, the tourmaline would "break the bond between dirt and fabric," while the minerals would "naturally ionize the oxygen molecules in the water" to lift away dirt and grime. While the science was a bit confusing, I decided to give it a shot: time to do the laundry. I followed the directions, filling the egg with two packets of white pellets and one packet of black. I placed the egg on top of my dirty laundry inside the washer and started my Sunday laundry routine, which included a set of sheets and a couple of loads of my husband’s and my clothing.
Test 1: Washing Sheets and Clothing
The results were…uneventful, for better or worse. The sheets came out smelling fresh and looking clean, and my light and dark clothes were refreshed too. The laundry wasn’t as fragrant as it is with my usual scented detergent, but otherwise, everything seemed perfectly clean. I was relieved because I had some doubts, mainly because I have a high-efficiency (HE) washer that uses less water. The EcoEgg instructions mention that the pellets need to be well-saturated to work their magic. I was glad to see that the egg didn’t create too many suds or cause an overflow, which is always my concern with using non-HE detergents in my HE machine.
Test 2: Washing Stained Laundry
I also noticed that the EcoEgg packaging mentioned most people only wash lightly soiled clothes, typically after wearing them once or twice. This got me thinking—maybe our laundry wasn’t dirty enough for a real test. Our grown-up clothes are sweaty at worst, but rarely stained. So, the following Saturday, I decided to test it with the heavy-duty laundry: my kids’ clothes and kitchen linens. These loads were guaranteed to have stains: grass, berries, markers, dirt, and everything from olive oil to coffee spills on the dishcloths I use in the kitchen. Plus, I had a few garments with blood stains from a particularly messy loose tooth to experiment on. Exciting!
As before, I used the EcoEgg for three more loads. After washing, I checked the results. The blood stains were completely gone! The berry stains were lighter (though, honestly, I probably should’ve pre-treated them, no matter the detergent). The dirt that had been scrubbed in was visibly lighter, though I didn’t expect it to remove months of grime in just one wash.
The Verdict
In the end, the EcoEgg performed exactly as it promised, and even exceeded my expectations. It definitely has its advantages over regular laundry detergent: It’s more affordable, contains fewer chemicals, and is much lighter and more compact than a bottle of detergent—ideal for laundromat users or anyone with limited storage space. For me, the biggest challenge with the EcoEgg is letting go of the detergent scent I’ve always associated with ‘clean.’ Even though scent-free is the new standard for clean, it’s tough to shake off years of habit!
