Are You Green?

[Alaskagain]

I went looking for the ecoballs for the laundry, but haven't yet found a US source of the original item. A google chase - went from ecoballs in (UK) to soapods (also UK) to dolly washer balls (also UK), to dryer balls (found those at Target), to using tennis balls in the dryer, to danpareda's t-shirt folding "machine". Now I'm back.

The refillable ecoballs contain ionizing surfactants, which molecularly "loosens" the water allowing it to pass thru the fibers better, rinsing the dirt out of the clothes. Soap and detergent basically does the same thing - makes the water "wetter" by using chemical surfactants. But with the ecoballs, since no soap is used, there is no need to rinse the clothes, so you can skip a whole cycle. A set of 3 balls is used in wash, and the set is good for 1,000 loads. Sounds great; but found some comments on having to add soap for heavily soiled loads, whites, and you still have to pretreat some stains. There is also something (?) in the pellets which makes the water antibacterial. Does ionization kill the germs or is there a germicide in some of the pellets?

Am not technically sure about "no chemicals" claim. . .is an ionizing surfactant a chemical substance? (I definitely am not a chemist.) At least it would appear that it would not be a harmful chemical, such as a phosphate.

Did find one American supplier that offered a similar laundry ball item (not the same brand name) with refillable pellets.. only good for 70 loads though, but I think cheaper than ordering and shipping from the UK! I'll be glad to post the link if it's a good product! At this point, I am not quite sure, but willing to give it a try.

My hubby discovered by accident that tennis balls in the dryer help the clothes dry faster and softer without chemicals - he keeps a supply on hand for the dog, and hand washes them periodically; wanted to get them dry fast so he could toss them to the barking pest, so he threw them in with the bath towels. After 20 minutes, he checked on them, and the entire load was dry. I try to keep in mind that most good things are discovered by accident. That was better than putting them in the microwave.

[StrawberryFields]

The Urban Revival

Cities may be the key to curbing climate crisis

http://stopglobalwarming.msn.com/article.a...3&GT1=10336

[Annabelli]

Been there.....did that.

We have built tons of crappy apartments near shopping malls and transit systems. They are made of inferior products, lack of insulation, and sometimes structurally unsafe.

The maintenance of such dwellings is one of the factors of global warming. The hot water heaters and furnaces are only replaced when they stop working. The refrigerators and stoves are also very old.

Some of the older apartments contain lead based paint that has been painted over and asbestos products that have either been ignored or sealed.

We have the means of moving closer to our employment but we do not always have the means of moving our employment closer to us unless we change jobs.

Some cities require that all employees of the city live within the city limits to ensure that they make decisions that are positive for the well being of that city.

Some companies develop living areas for their employees and give them greater benefits because they have questionable products and require their employees to lobby.

Cars.....Cars.....Cars. It is easy to point them out because they are readily visible.

We have to change the equation to get new answers to better living. Moving forward.....rather than stepping back.

[FrankJL]

I would just like to see some real ideas, specifically with cars. Nothing we have now is really changing anything.

The little hybrids are junk. They make just as much pollution when the nickel is produced for their batteries, and then that nickel needs to be shipped to 3 different continents before the battery is even made. The crash ratings on these things are horrible, then if you do survive the crash you (and those trying to rescue you) have to worry about being electrocuted. Sure a prius gets 55mpg, but how much money are you really saving if the car costs several thousand more, then a similar small 4 cyl gas car? My focus gets 40mpg, and cost only 14k, a prius gets 55mpg and costs around 23k...you do the math.

E85 is about the same, it looks nice on paper, but is not practical for widespread use. We can't make enough corn to even replace a quarter of the cars on the road with e85 cars. It is also causing an artificial scarcity in our food market, and has caused raw food prices to rise in the last few years. Ethanol has also been shown to pollute even more then regular petrol would.

So I'm still waiting for something more realistic to come along rather then these piecemeal solutions.

[Alaskagain]

The 1973 Honda Civic got 40 mpg. It was a great about town commuter vehicle. I'm not at all impressed with the not-green hybrids which only get perhaps 15 mpg over that when everything is operating at peak efficiency. It's 34 years later; why don't we yet have a car that gets 70 mpg?

[Annabelli]

School students are making model cars powered by water. I don't think anyone has made an actual scale size car that is powered by water.

Unfortunately it is powered by fresh water and not salt water. Since water is H2O, I don't think it is feasible to think that only parts of water could be used leaving water for human use. It would seem all or nothing.

It does make an interesting news break between medical minutes and political champaigns.

[Iggy]

The hot water heaters and furnaces are only replaced when they stop working.

HUH??? You would replace these items only when they are in good working order?

We have the means of moving closer to our employment but we do not always have the means of moving our employment closer to us unless we change jobs.

Anoher HUH??? Annabelli, you really do not make sense 95% of the time. Do you actually proof read what you write?

[gabelpa]

OK been trying to respond for days lol this post has been cursed. Concerning the ecoballs I find some lemon juice and bicarb helps. The chemical involved is Oxygen yes its a chemical reaction but so is baking a cake, its not a bad use of chemicals as far as us humans are able to tell.

Concerning fuel what is wrong with vegatable oil? yes it has its industrial processes but you can put used and filtered veg oil into a standard diesel car and in theory it should be better for your engine. Tanks need slight adjustment in colder climates. Diesel cars have come a long way in the past 10-20 years and have a pretty good perfomance. But just cutting down on car journies better public transport, making safe cycling routes encouraging people to walk, the looks I got in California when I suggested walking just under 5 minutes to go to the store and pick up some milk were unreal. Our nations would also be healthier and fitter, less child obesity etc.

For me being green though extends to looking at our food and what goes into it, the chemicals we use on our bodies when we wash etc.

-Charley

[Gabelma]

one for the ladies and very brave gentlemen you have been warned but it has been the best green thing I have ever bought lol

http://www.divacup.com/ (US)

or

http://www.mooncup.co.uk/ (UK)

-Charley

[Iggy]

one for the ladies and very brave gentlemen you have been warned but it has been the best green thing I have ever bought lol

http://www.divacup.com/ (US)

or

http://www.mooncup.co.uk/ (UK)

-Charley

Because of health issues I could not use manufactured items for the six years prior to my "change of life" (menopause). It took me a bit, but I found reusable pads. These were so expensive that I designed and made my own from cloth baby diapers. I was satisfied with the not so pretty but very utilitarian item. For the cost of one dozen diapers, a 12 pack of inexpensive white wash clothes, a roll of waistband elastic, a package of plastic hooks used for swimwear, thread and a sewing machine - I was all set. These have served me well for those last six years and they are still in servicable condition.

[Gabelma]

<div class='quotemain'>

one for the ladies and very brave gentlemen you have been warned but it has been the best green thing I have ever bought lol

http://www.divacup.com/ (US)

or

http://www.mooncup.co.uk/ (UK)

-Charley

Because of health issues I could not use manufactured items for the six years prior to my "change of life" (menopause). It took me a bit, but I found reusable pads. These were so expensive that I designed and made my own from cloth baby diapers. I was satisfied with the not so pretty but very utilitarian item. For the cost of one dozen diapers, a 12 pack of inexpensive white wash clothes, a roll of waistband elastic, a package of plastic hooks used for swimwear, thread and a sewing machine - I was all set. These have served me well for those last six years and they are still in servicable condition.

I made my own maternity ones with fleece and old nappies, they were great and do have some reusable pads mine are leopard print lol but have to say I love my mooncup as my PMS disappeared when using it.

Charley

[FrankJL]

This has all been very educational.

[gabelpa]

This has all been very educational.

Poor Frank, but remember, it's my wife that has introduced us to the diva cup and started the current discussion.

One of the members in the branch gave us a car that needed more work than it was worth to them to get MOT-able (kind of required roadworthiness test). It ran on Diesel, and I would have done the conversions myself to get it to run WVO (Waste Vegetable Oil) collected from our local Fish and Chip shop. I had trouble finding the kits for the conversion here in the UK, but these guys Golden Fuel Systems, formerly Greasel (Cooler name IMO) do the kits and even the labour stateside.

I recognise the weaknesses that WVO, Ethanol, Fuel Cell, Air, Hydrogen, or Electric powered cars have when compared to petrol and diesel, but no single alternative fuel can support our current infrastructure completely. We need to use all of the above in order to survive the dinosaur bone fuel shortages due in the undeterminable future.

In the meantime, let's recycle a bit more, use less packaging, and be good.

[Annabelli]

<div class='quotemain'>

The hot water heaters and furnaces are only replaced when they stop working.

HUH??? You would replace these items only when they are in good working order?

We have the means of moving closer to our employment but we do not always have the means of moving our employment closer to us unless we change jobs.

Anoher HUH??? Annabelli, you really do not make sense 95% of the time. Do you actually proof read what you write?

Water heaters are generally in good running order for 5 or 10 years depending on where you live. We replaced our water heater because it was only working on maxium energy causing the water to over heat and causing a potential fire hazard. I guess we could have left it till it blew out but it was causing a large increase in our natural gas bill. We had the company do a walk thru of our home because of the high bills and this was the major problem. Proper ventilation throughout the house is another area that was causing fuel consumption. We also replaced the gas cooking stove because the pilot jets were bad and the oven did not maintain an acurate temperature because the broiler area was sending too much heat out it's door.

My neighbors are moving closer to their jobs. They work in a city about 40 miles away. The price of gasoline is presenting a major problem. They have found a good neighborhood and are now excited about the move. They are reducing their gasoline expense from $150 to $50. And the house that they bought is about 10% cheaper.

[FrankJL]

Have you ever looked at those tankless water heaters? My parents put one in their house a few months ago and love it.

[Annabelli]

Would those tankless ones work in subzero degree weather? I am thinking that they heat the water as it is used. How large is the tankless unit? I sure would like to get rid of the large area where the water heater is and all the applications (x amount of inches off the floor....etc.) to maintain it.

[FrankJL]

It often gets below 0 here (western PA / Pittsburgh) in the winter, so I would assume so or else they wouldn't install them here.

Its about the size of a desktop computer CPU, and mounts right on the wall.

I e-mailed them to ask them specifically about what they had, and they sent me this link:

http://www.cpotanklesswaterheaters.com/top...s/2400e-lp.html

[pushka]

one for the ladies and very brave gentlemen you have been warned but it has been the best green thing I have ever bought lol

http://www.divacup.com/ (US)

or

http://www.mooncup.co.uk/ (UK)

-Charley

My only hope is that not too many women experience their cup 'runneth over'!!!

[FrankJL]

You know that was my first thought too when I saw that, but didn't want to post that

[Annabelli]

Thanks for the water heater info FrankJL. Looks like the best thing ever.

Has anyone taken into account that razor cartridges cost $16 for a package of 3? The next time you see a clean shaven man, know that he is spending Big Bucks every day. That is a sacrifice. While there may be a coupon for $1 or $2 off, you will never find a "buy one-get one free" offer.

Thank you Gentlemen.

[Gabelma]

Thanks for the water heater info FrankJL. Looks like the best thing ever.

Has anyone taken into account that razor cartridges cost $16 for a package of 3? The next time you see a clean shaven man, know that he is spending Big Bucks every day. That is a sacrifice. While there may be a coupon for $1 or $2 off, you will never find a "buy one-get one free" offer.

Thank you Gentlemen.

ooh thats a point maybe our men should start growing beards less waste:) I want my husband to have his hair and beard back

-Charley

[gabelpa]

Thanks for the water heater info FrankJL. Looks like the best thing ever.

The gas heater looks cool, I spotted these in-line hot water heater. This one is electric and runs off 220V so would need different wiring in as US is 110V. But if you are in an area that can't get gas to your house is an ideal solution.

[pushka]

You know that was my first thought too when I saw that, but didn't want to post that

You know, I get into trouble sometimes, for saying the things others want to say but keep quiet about..lol.

[Annabelli]

I went looking for the ecoballs for the laundry, but haven't yet found a US source of the original item. A google chase - went from ecoballs in (UK) to soapods (also UK) to dolly washer balls (also UK), to dryer balls (found those at Target), to using tennis balls in the dryer, to danpareda's t-shirt folding "machine". Now I'm back.

The refillable ecoballs contain ionizing surfactants, which molecularly "loosens" the water allowing it to pass thru the fibers better, rinsing the dirt out of the clothes. Soap and detergent basically does the same thing - makes the water "wetter" by using chemical surfactants. But with the ecoballs, since no soap is used, there is no need to rinse the clothes, so you can skip a whole cycle. A set of 3 balls is used in wash, and the set is good for 1,000 loads. Sounds great; but found some comments on having to add soap for heavily soiled loads, whites, and you still have to pretreat some stains. There is also something (?) in the pellets which makes the water antibacterial. Does ionization kill the germs or is there a germicide in some of the pellets?

Am not technically sure about "no chemicals" claim. . .is an ionizing surfactant a chemical substance? (I definitely am not a chemist.) At least it would appear that it would not be a harmful chemical, such as a phosphate.

Did find one American supplier that offered a similar laundry ball item (not the same brand name) with refillable pellets.. only good for 70 loads though, but I think cheaper than ordering and shipping from the UK! I'll be glad to post the link if it's a good product! At this point, I am not quite sure, but willing to give it a try.

My hubby discovered by accident that tennis balls in the dryer help the clothes dry faster and softer without chemicals - he keeps a supply on hand for the dog, and hand washes them periodically; wanted to get them dry fast so he could toss them to the barking pest, so he threw them in with the bath towels. After 20 minutes, he checked on them, and the entire load was dry. I try to keep in mind that most good things are discovered by accident. That was better than putting them in the microwave.

I put some tennis balls (3) in the dryer today with my towels. No dryer sheets. Like you, my towels were dry in half the time and amazingly soft. I am sure that it is going to work for all the other laundry as well. I just wanted to pretest with the towels to see if the neon colored tennis balls were going to screw anything up...no, everything is still blue. Thanks for sharing.

It is driving the dog crazy because he knows there in there.

[Alaskagain]

LOL!

Yeah, our dog lays down on the floor in front of the dryer now, too! Just waiting.

(We do have a clothesline in the back yard and use it whenever weather permits. A lot of neighborhood associations have banned clotheslines. What a shame!)