Washing machine magic leaves

There are some very real concerns there Chestnut and I am glad you have made me aware, so thank you.

Well I was surprised to read that Tilly but they often make things out to be a healthy choice, until you read the small print. So many washing and cleaning products have these warnings, but for years I've just used them thinking they must be okay because everyone else is using them. Now I'm thinking we need to go back to white vinegar and bicarbonate of soda!

Another healthy choice are these soapnut shells which I haven't tried myself but I would try if I didn't use the ecoegg.
www.soapnuts.co.uk/collections/soapnuts
I think I saw something like this in Amazon too. Again, read the small print.

I might try an eco egg again. Someone leant me one recently, when the cruelty free pods I'd been using gave me a skin rash, but it came apart in the machine. Hours of endless fun scooping the pellets out of the rubber seal with a teaspoon.....

That will never happen if the two halves are clicked together properly. I'm a bit of a fumbler these days but managed it okay with no problem.

Just remember you will still need some Vanish spray for the stains but I would use that anyway.

I've used the EcoEgg for years (with a few refills). I soak anything really grubby overnight - in water with a few drops of (any) detergent. I mostly use the 20C 'Eco' programme too. For the few white items I own, yes, I use liquid detergent, which seems to last a year. I buy 5 L bottles of white vinegar to use as 'fabric softener'. It all comes out clean and fresh - and most importantly, doesn't irritate my skin.

Aspirin may be worth trying for whites which I read somewhere:

With every wash, white clothes seem to become duller and greyer. So, how do you stop this process? It’s very simple; all you need is a type of medicine everyone probably has in their medicine cabinet. The only thing you need to make sure your laundry comes out perfectly white again is five aspirin tablets of 325 milligrams each.
Put the tablets in a large bowl or tub of hot water to let them dissolve. Stir this aspirin water until all of the tablets have completely dissolved. To make sure the tablets dissolve faster, you can also crumble them up before putting them in the water. Next, place the dull, white clothes in the bowl or tub with the aspirin water and leave them to soak there for eight hours. You can also just add a few aspirins to the washing machine, but the soaking method works better. After you’ve let the clothes soak, you still have to wash them in the washing machine like you normally would.

Haven’t tried them, I now just use good old powder and soda crystals. Stopped using pods (and conditioner) after reading how they gum up the machine with gunge - and a couple of hot ‘empty’ washes with just soda crystals showed how true this was - a mass of dirty grey foam ensued.

I really disliked the pod containers, too - besides the plastic factor, too hard to open!

I do keep the powder in a plastic box, to avoid any damp, but at least that box is a once-only.

The Melt laundry sheets are very good and can get on a subscription. I recommend them.

I don’t use them too often as my Miele machine uses the twindos bottles which came free with it.

Wow GrannyIris5 what is a twindos bottle?

I mainly use Lidl or Tesco own make washing powder and never use fabric conditioner, just white vinegar and a splash of floral disinfectant in the conditioner drawer