I bought my Ecoegg back in June 2020. I wanted to give it a good thorough test before I write my Ecoegg review here. I am always skeptical to alternatives to laundry detergent and softener, but if it does as promised, I would solve so many problems in 1 product. It replaces softener and detergent, contains no micro-plastic and a crazy low cost per load (I brake down the price below).
In full transparency, I made all purchases with my personal money. This is a non-sponsored review. All opinions are my own. If you wish to buy the Ecoegg, please consider buying via my affiliate links. It shows appreciation for my work and time and helps to pay for hosting, that keep this blog going. It is of no extra cost to you.
Ecoegg review: How does Ecoegg laundry Egg work?
The official website presents the Ecoegg as a zero waste replacement for laundry detergent and laundry softener.
The laundry egg has anionic and non-ionic surfactants which have no charge on their hydrophilic end, similar to organic laundry detergents, but in dry compact form.
(If you want to know more about the difference between soap and detergent, I wrote tons more in my post about why I’m not using natural soaps to do laundry.)
The pellets are to soften your water which means you do not need to use a softener.
The ecoegg laundry egg pellets do not contain any palm oil, SLS or SLES, parabens, petrochemicals, enzymes, phosphates, or microplastics.
ecoegg.com
It’s free of harsh chemicals, is vegan, not tested on animals, suitable for kids or people with allergies. It saves tons of single-use plastic with replacing laundry bottles or bags, and the refillable laundry egg is guaranteed to reusable for 10 years.
How I do laundry so it’s fast, efficient and zero waste.
Review of the Ecoegg
If you have read any other Eco egg, eco laundry egg reviews, you saw they are mainly positive. After reading everything I could online and comparing ingredients (making sure it is a detergent, not soap), I decided to try it as well. I was worried about efficiency, ruining my washing machine, possible skin reactions, wasting money and resources on something that doesn’t work and noise levels.
I bought and an reviewing:
- Ecoegg casing (the egg) with fragrance-free pellets for 70 washes: 12.36 EUR (photo below)
- Ecoegg refill fragrance-free pellets for 210 washes (returned): 9.40 EUR
- Ecoegg refill Spring Blossom pellets for 210 washes: 8.74 EUR
Ecoegg costs and savings | Ecoegg review
PLASTICS SAVINGS: They estimate you will save 40 bottles every year if you do 7 loads per week, but that also depends how much and what kind of detergent you would normally use (estimation includes replacing laundry detergent bottles + softener bottles).
Prices for the Ecoegg vary a fair bit and you might find different sizes, depending on what they are doing at the time. I was able to find 2 variations at the time of purchase.
At the time of purchase on amazon.de, the Ecoegg egg came with pellets for 70 washes, which totals to 17c per wash, but after the initial investment into for the laundry egg casing, the cost per load is 4 cents. That is 0.0416 EUR for the scented version and 0.0447 EUR for the fragrance-free option. (I had 1 month free Prime test, so shipping was free.)
The official website ecoegg.com brakes down the cost to 14p per wash or 10p per wash when you buy the refill (they have smaller sizes than what I bought).
As a comparisons, the cheapest laundry detergent from the refill shop was 20c per wash (0.20EUR) and I still had to lag it from the other side of town.
I got all of them from Amazon, which I try to avoid, but the price was nearly halved compared to the original website (and those were the only two options I managed to find). I initially thought I might not need to buy the Eco egg casing itself (just make a small fabric bag from scraps), but their customer service advised against it. The efficacy was only tested with the egg, so they couldn’t recommend it. Alas, I bought the set, the Ecoegg casing (the egg) with fragrance-free pellets. At the time of purchase, I couldn’t buy just the egg casing.
The link below is the one I got. The link is affiliate, which means I get a very small percentage of the sale (without any cost to you) which would help pay to cover the costs and work involved of hosting of this website. You can use the link or not. What No matter what you choose to do, try to buy the Ecoegg from the “official Ecoegg” Amazon store. I have seen some resellers, and you can’t never bee too careful.
Ecoegg review – instructions and other products
Do you need Ecoegg Detox Tablets?
Their website recommends using their detox tablets before starting to use the Ecoegg and every month thereafter to have your washer free of build-up.
As I describe in my zero waste laundry guide, too much laundry detergent and ward water create a build-up in the washer, so it is wise to do a thorough clean up every once in a while and I’m glad they mentioned that. Having your washing machine built-up free makes it more efficient and working much longer. However, do not use a soap-based laundry detergent and I’m very conservative with detergents and softeners, so I’m guessing (and guessing is all any of us can do without opening the washer) it’s probably relatively OK. Just to be on the safe side, I got a washer “detox” cleaner from my local drugstore for 1/3 of the price with the same ingredient list, in a recyclable paper packaging.
I would say, if you’re heavy handed with detergents/softeners, you have hard water or you’ve never done a “detox”, then buying some cleaning tablets might not be a bad idea, especially when switching to a milder, less aggressive laundry detergent like Ecoegg.
Is it for colors only or does it also work for white clothes?
Both works and you can add stain removers, like washing soda or bleach without a problem. But it does not have a bleaching effect.
How often does the laundry egg need refilled?
I got 210 washes refills and my instructions say you put 3 bags of white pellets and one bag of black pellets into the egg case. That suffices for a loads of 6-8 kg.
You need to add pellets when they fall below a specific line marked on the egg with the 210 refills. After 6 months of use, the beads are smaller and more compact, but nowhere near the designated line, so I would say it’s probably accurate. I somewhat regret not counting the washes, but I didn’t know I’ll be writing an Ecoegg review when I started using it. It seems close enough to me, but if you measure it, let me know in the comments below.
If you have 50 or 70 washes refills, then they estimate for a refill is every 2 months or 7-10 weeks depending on how much laundry you do. Hotter and longer cycles will use up the pellets faster.
Info for short cycles or handwashing
For short washing cycles or handwashing pre-soak the beads for 10-15 min. After testing it, presoaking them for about 20 min is best for my laundry machine/cycle/water. I don’t soak for cycles longer than 1 h.
Can you use the Ecoegg in an HE machine?
Yes. I had a chance to test in 2 different washers (I moved in this time and switched washers), both were HE machines.
In general is pretty straightforward to use, you just put the egg directly in the drum with your clothes and take it out when the washer is completely finished. There’s no visible soap left or anything.
My experience with noise levels
I have read reviews of the Ecoegg where reviewers said the sound is minimal or they do not hear it at all. This was my experience:
1 apartment: I’m talking about a 55 m2 apartment and the washing machine was in the bathroom. With the door closed, the sound was manageable.
2 apartment: the new apartment is bigger, with a different layout, etc. and the washing machine is different – the inner plastic “bars” on the drum are bigger and have a swirl – and it’s too loud for my comfort.
So I tried ditching the laundry egg casing and made a small fabric pouch for the pellets (not recommended by their customer service). I think it washes even better this way, maybe the beads get soaked more this way and the sachet takes longer to dry, but there is zero rambling.
Ecoegg review with stain tests
In general, I have now tested the Ecoegg in 2 front load European style washing machines in two locations (we moved in between) – so in two different waters. I do about 4 loads per week, normally nothing gets really stained with the exception of kitchen towels.
I normally do a short 40-50 min cycle on all of our clothes, at 40°C (which corresponds to 104 °F, I believe that is marked as cold on American style washers).
Both washing machines were about 3 years old, mid-range and newer high efficiency. I liked the old one – before the move – better, I think it did a better job regardless of washing liquid, but most of the tests below were done with the new one.
The short version: my review is very positive. It was passed all my tests for normal use and relatively light stains. It cleans sweat stains well and it’s gentle on all fabrics.
Results of stain tests with Ecoegg |laundry egg
I stained 3 small 100% cotton fabric remnants with coffee, grape seed oil, regular Pilot blue ink pen, red beats, dried cranberry, organic ketchup, organic black mascara (non-waterproof), and grass.
All stains had a 1h soak-in time, no pre-treatment, just straight in the wash. I applied stains 1 patch at a time, so all the test patches had the same soak-in time.
I washed all patches in the same cycle- the cycle I use most often with is mix 40 min, 40°C.
I added a couple of kitchen towels in the wash with the stain patch for efficient tumbling. I used the same ones in all the test washes.
I tested the same stains with the same cycle settings with
- Ecoegg only,
- Ecoegg + 2 TBS of soda percolate directly in the drum
- water only,
- organic laundry detergent
I only tested each detergent once.
*photos are subjected to change of light and auto-contrast. I did what I could to take before and after photos in same conditions, but refer to descriptions as well.
TEST 1: Ecoegg only before and after
The coffee stain was about 90% gone, still, a bit visible, oil stain was gone, the ink stain was still there, so were the mascara and lipstick (I didn’t try to scrape them off before washing, it was maybe 40% gone), beat stain 100% gone, not visible, organic ketchup stain 90% gone, slightly visible and the grass stain was unchanged.
TEST 2: Ecoegg + 2 TBS of soda: before and after
I added some washing soda in the wash to see if the stains would come out cleaner without extra work for me. I put it in directly in the load, no soaking, no changes to the cycle or temperature.
Coffee stain 90% gone, barely visible, oil stain was gone, the ink was still visible, but cleaned slightly better than washing with Ecoegg. I was hoping washing soda with help with mascara and lipstick stain, bet the result was equally poor as washing with just Ecoegg. Red beat stain was 100% gone, not visible at all, ketchup was still visible and the grass stain was still very much there. All in all, results of the second test were very similar to the first one, washing soda only helped with the coffee and ink stain, but not enough to bother. Test failed, but now we know.
TEST 3: organic fragrance-free detergent: before and after
I used Briochin organic fragrance-free detergent (suitable for white and colored textiles, concentrated formula, efficient at 30 degrees), the recommenced amount for the load size.
Coffee stain 90% gone, barely visible, oil stain was gone, the ink stain hardly changed(this was the worst result from the 3 tests), mascara and lipstick were quite comparable to the other two tests – still very much there. Red beat stain was 100% gone, not visible, organic ketchup stain 80% gone and the grass stain was still very much there.
I was actually a bit disappointed with this test, I thought “a proper detergent” will perform better than the Ecoegg. The ketchup and ink stains were the worst from the 3 tests and everything else was very similar.
What happens if I pre-soaked the stains?
If you just look at the original tests, it would appear the Ecoegg is kind of bad and doesn’t work well. I knew even before the tests that Ecoegg doesn’t do great with heavy stains, at least not as a stand-alone. Also, I wash on very short cycles and cool water, which is not what the average person does, especially not with stained clothes.
So, for my final test, I did what I would normally do with heavy stains. I pre-soaked them in hot tap water with washing soda and washed them at 60°C (140 °F) for 1h 15 (synthetic cycle). By this time, test swatches were several hours old.
The ink was disappearing in front of my eyes in the soaking phase, so I had to relabel swatches with a piece of tread.
The ink stain is a tad visible but nearly there and the only visible stain in this test is lipstick (I would say about 90% gone).
This test also reinforces the importance of soaking stains beforehand (I’m normally in too big of a hurry to do) and that I maybe do not need a standard detergent as back-up.
Is Ecoegg really 2 in 1, can it replace a fabric conditioner?
In my experience yes. The softness can’t be quite compared to commercial softeners like Silan or Lenor, those make clothes even a bit fluffy and ultra scented if that description makes sense. I would say the softness when using Ecoegg is comparable to organic softeners I was using (I used Rainett). They are gentler, less scented, and better for the environment, and I would say, a bit less potent than the major brands.
Softness and the desire for soft clothes are pretty relative though and though I don’t notice a major difference and I actually don’t need/want my clothes to be ultra-soft.
My partner on the other hand enjoys very soft clothes. His review: his clothes are slightly less soft than usual, but not enough that he would want to add softener.
*Dryer makes clothes soft weather of not you use a softener. I have newer owned one, I dry everything on a rack.
Ecoegg review: how does it smell?
If you are used to your laundry smelling super fresh or floral sweet after you wash it, you will be disappointed. I am used to mildly scented laundry detergents and I prefer them that way.
Scents can often be a cause for itchy rashes so I first ordered scent-free. I was getting a yearly supply after all and didn’t want to chance it.
Side note: Egoegg is awarded allergy friendly by Allergy UK, so it should be a good detergent for sensitive or eczema-prone skin, but I had issues before and I’m extra careful.
After testing both, fragrance-free and scented versions, both came out approximately the same. No scent, or maybe I should say “neutral wet clothes” scent. If you ever used laundry soap nuts, then you know they have a gentle earthy smell. It doesn’t smell like that, it really is a “nothing smell”. Nothing ever came out musty smelling, even if I forgot to take a load out for several hours.
I like my clothes to smell gently fresh, and I have found a low waste solution without adding softener, and I’ll post it in a future post.
UPDATE AFTER ALMOST 1 YEAR
I had to refill the egg in May 2021, so the pellets did last almost a full year, doing 4-6 loads per week. Some of the black pellets were broken (and much smaller in size). I could tell the difference, the water was visibly soapy after the refill and clothes were much softer. I think I could have refilled it a couple of weeks sooner and it would have been perfect, but all in all… I’m still very happy.
Where can you buy it?
You can get the EcoEgg and/or refills from their website, they ship out of the UK.
The other option is Amazon. At the time of purchase, Amazon was by far the cheapest option so I got it there. You might be able to get it in your local drug store or other natural online shops. I haven’t seen it in my local zero waste shops yet.
Ecoegg laundry egg review final thoughts
Just from general washes, I knew the laundry egg does well for day to day washes, stuff that isn’t too dirty. I kept a commercially made organic detergent around the house as well, to deal with heavier stains. Clothes never stink (but don’t smell fresh\floral either). For this Ecoegg review, I’ve tested Ecoegg on heavy-duty stains and I was surprised it does OK with a bit of help from a stain remover.
It’s super eco-friendly and the cheapest detergent I’ve ever had. As a side benefit, it saves space in the bathroom too and time in the store (I do not have to buy anything from the laundry isle for the next year, imagine that??). In the end, I don’t regret buying it and I’ll most likely be re-buying when my supply runs out.
Hope my Ecoegg review proves useful to you, if you have any questions, let me know.
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You have done the most rigorous test I’ve seen. I would have liked a comparison of the ecoegg wth a new load of pellets, halfway through its life and with the pellets just before replacement, without any cleaner and with a mainstream
powder like Omo or Skip. Some of these you have, of course, done. Additives tend to change the effect of the main cleaning product and should probably not be in the test. My understanding of washing tests is that they are very subjective. The expectations of the tester can bias tests. Long term use of a given product can result of “greying” where the weaknesses of the product are only visible after long use. Quite often forgeting to use any product at all results in an apparently great result. Also, not applicable in your case, a change in product can release deposits in the machine making the results of the wash of a recent product worse. Another issue to be noted is that commercial laundries are keenly concerned about a superior way and cost of the products. If products like the ecoegg were better they would be using them.
Thank you for your comment. Those would be useful test to do. Effectivness of a detergent also depends on water, model and age of the washing machine, type and age of clothes, stains… Some of these I have addressed in Why I don’t DIY laundry detergentand How I do my laundry
From what is available to read on the subject, the “pellet type” detergent is relatively new, though there are some similar alternatives already available. I would love to see a professional organisations run these tests.
Thank you for your review Natasha. Please could you clarify how the Ecoegg performed compared to water alone?
When I have tried using these reusable products I have been amazed how well they perform….. until I compared them to just using water, giving exactly the same result!
I agree that pellet products are a great way to reduce detergent use, but I have a suspicion that they have a similar function to the stone in the story of Stone Soup.
Hi Graham,
That’s a great point.
I haven’t done the test just with water, but it’s on my list of things to do. FOr now, I can definitely say I notice the difference when I recharge the pellets and when they are running low.
I have been using the egg for about 3 years now and agree with everything you said. I use cold water and just throw the egg in after putting the laundry in first. My egg is now so old I cannot open it to replace the beads so I did one last wash including arm covers from one of my chairs which were very dirty. I did not spot them first just threw them in the wash. They came out perfect. If I want to prespot I do that just before throwing it into the washer and have not had an issue with stains.
What a fantastic review, I love that you tested it with all the different stains! I got my ecoegg about 6 months ago and my favourite thing about it is my 6-year-old can help with the laundry haha. I know its safe to him to chuck in the clothes and the egg. Great little pocket money earner for him!
Thank you! Great little helper!