Effective Microorganisms: Great for wetsuit washing

** I guess the one time I don't do due diligence on a product is the one time I get ripped off! DEFINITELY NOT a product endorsement!**

In my never ending search for greener portable washing solution so I don't have to use detergents and what not to clean wetsuits or deal with wetsuit stink from humidity and not drying properly or worse, bacteria causing skin irritation on a long trip. 3 years ago, while we were surfing in South Africa, my buddy used this little ball thing in the rinse tank for wet suits. The wetsuits stayed nice smelling and was clean. It was based on a japanese discovery called Effective Microorganisms. It's basically "good" bacteria that kills off the bad stuff. It's been around since the 90s and I use it at home a lot for soil, laundry and even cleaning. However, I never thought of it as a mobile wetsuit cleaner when I'm traveling.

Normally after a week of diving/surfing and the wetsuit being constantly wet in humid areas, it starts to build bacteria and mold, even if it is rinsed after every dive in the same water. With one of these Laundry Balls tossed into the water, it acts as a detergent without the waste and also kept away the bad odor bacteria and mold. I've been testing this ball thing for the last year or so with not changing the water as often.

I've been testing this Laundry Ball for about 2 years now, throwing into the rinse tank and not changing the water as often. Booties tend to go sour after a week of use despite washing after use, requiring disinfectants like dettol or lysol to kill the bad stuff. Soaking the booties in the laundry treated water for a bit making sure there's some agitation, the bootie funk is effectively kept away so long as I wash the bootie in that water daily. Best of all, no chemical residue and less water used! It's not perfect as a laundry replacement as it doesn't remove stains (baking soda or oxygenated powder will do that) but as wetsuit cleaner it's perfect.

I'm not advocating this brand. There are several ways to use EM products including bottled solutions. I just found the ball solution easy to travel with. However, I've stopped sharing it with others since it usually gets tossed with the water or lost!

PS I cannot verify whether it works for urine soaked wetsuits but it is used as a kitty litter cleaner as well and my buddy swears by it.

PS I cannot verify whether it works for urine soaked wetsuits...

Liar!!!

Well I could say you are welcome to verify next time but that would be too weird and not very PG in the forum!

Sounds great at first glance, but I do have concerns about the persistence of this "good" bacteria being introduced into a new environment.

I do most of my diving in the Great Lakes and see the effect of introduced species (sometimes called invasive) on each and every dive. Its not good.

It becomes very hard to predict the results, and control the behavior, of the organism once its released into any new environment.

So, with that said, I think I will stick with the chemical solution used sparingly for now, thanks.

Paul

The bacteria in EM products are common around the world and are already used for many years in organic farming, even in Canada. It's also used in purifying waste treatment etc.

Although the funny thing is Canada bans the import of EM products under one use but it's ok for another use. At least that's what someone told me.

It's not the panacea to all the pollution issues, but it is a lot less disruptive to the environment than the chemical solutions. I still remember getting headaches running on the shore of Lake Ontario in Toronto! Glean what you will.

Are you sure there are active living bacteria in these products; how do the bacteria stay alive over time? Are these bacteria normally present in the general environment? What are the bacteria in the products?

In the link you provide the balls are described using something they don't call chemicals, though last I checked minerals were chemicals. They apparently do raise pH etc. I don't doubt that they work, just a little skeptical that whatever comes out of the rinse is totally harmless to the environment. I know your funk bacteria are certainly toxic.

Not in the product that I linked but some EM products in agriculture:

My product uses minerals:

http://thelaundryball.com/How_It_Works.html

Not in the product that I linked but some EM products in agriculture:

My product uses minerals:

http://thelaundryball.com/How_It_Works.html

Yeah, that's what I read. But minerals certainly are chemicals...... Toxicity depends only on one thing, dose or concentration.

Yup this is the stuff I use at home:

http://www.teraganix.com/EM-1-Microbial-Inoculant-p/1000.htm

ACTIVE INGREDIENTS:

Microorganisms: 1 million colony forming units/cc (units/ml), 1%: Lactobacillus plantarum, Lactobacillus casei, Lactobacillus fermentum, Lactobacillus delbrueckii, Bacillus subtilis, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Rhodopseudomonas palustris.

Great for laundry, drains and compost!

Yes, you probably did get a headache when you ran along the shore of Lake Ontario. Recent research has indicated that the highest amount of bacteria in a lake usually occurs within one or two metres of the shore, just where most mothers like to let their children play. Lets also not forget that Toronto is downstream from Love Canal on the Niagara River so I doubt anyone would be surprised that you did get a headache.

Basically, the more you move away from the headwaters of the Great Lakes, the more contaminated the water will be. Beluga whales have to be treated as hazardous waste when their bodies wash up on shore in the lower St. Lawrence River.

Back in the seventies and part of the eighties we had a very bad algae bloom in Lake Erie which resulted in a huge fish kill and quite a foul smell from the lake. The addition of phosphate to the watershed from agricultural and residential use (ie. laundry detergent) was found to be the cause. Things have recovered fairly well since the use of phosphates have been restricted on both sides of the border.

I would imagine most people living around the great lakes watershed would have serious concerns about introducing new bacteria or compounds to the water supply. Don't know about people living around saltwater but would guess similar concerns and problems would arise.

Have read the literature on the laundry ball website, and I must admit I am still a little mystified as to how it works. Could you explain how the far infrared rays are actually motivated and what kind of power source they would use? Also, not too sure how the use of magnets will increase the effectiveness of the Laundry ball.

Had never heard of nano-silver technology before, so I tried researching the nano-silver technology on wikipedia.org and am glad that I did. Seems that there are quite a few NGOs and government organizations quite worried about the use of nano-silver technology for a variety of different reasons. Friends of the Earth Australia and Friends of the Earth Germany have both come out against the use of nano-silver technology. FoE Australia has written a great paper on the technology and after reading it, I will be looking to buy products that don't contain the technology. I will certainly not be buying a Samsung washer anytime soon.

Also, there is a nice loophole in U.S. EPA law that states as long as the manufacturer does not claim their product has any antimicrobial action, they do not have to register the product as a pesticide. Nice!

The Friends of the Earth Australia paper can be found here.

http://www.gogreeneraustralia.com/blog/ind...ut-to-the-test/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laundry_ball

They're basically a scam. It just relies on the fact that water alone does a pretty good job anyhow, and expectancy effects.

Otara

Yup this is the stuff I use at home:

 

http://www.teraganix.com/EM-1-Microbial-Inoculant-p/1000.htm

 

Great for laundry, drains and compost!

I'm going to stay away from the whole laundry ball debate. But I will say, I make my own Kefir (don't really believe all the pseudo-holistic, organic-fruity-nutty-healthy mumbo-jumbo...I just think of it as homemade, slightly runny yogurt that digests better for me than milk on its own (bacteria process the lactose), makes a great smoothy or protein shake base, and leave it at that. The Kefir culture is a whole mix of different lacto- and other bacteria and yeasts, and you just kind of rotate it thru milk every few days kind of like keeping a sourdough culture alive.

But I will say, ever since I started making it, and dumping the occasional excess "grain" (what you call the big keratinous globs that form which house the actual colony you pass from batch to bactch, and which need to get trimmed occasionally as they do grow) down the disposal, that our kitchen sink drain no longer gets a funky mildewy scent in the hot summer months. The wife even noticed it too.

Hmm interesting. Thanks for that. Guess I'll go back to the drawing board!

I still stand by the EM solutions as an effective way to clean the home and compost. These have been used in waste treatment in many countries. That I did research!

Have read the literature on the laundry ball website, and I must admit I am still a little mystified as to how it works. Could you explain how the far infrared rays are actually motivated and what kind of power source they would use? Also, not too sure how the use of magnets will increase the effectiveness of the Laundry ball.

 

Had never heard of nano-silver technology before, so I tried researching the nano-silver technology on wikipedia.org and am glad that I did. Seems that there are quite a few NGOs and government organizations quite worried about the use of nano-silver technology for a variety of different reasons. Friends of the Earth Australia and Friends of the Earth Germany have both come out against the use of nano-silver technology. FoE Australia has written a great paper on the technology and after reading it, I will be looking to buy products that don't contain the technology. I will certainly not be buying a Samsung washer anytime soon.

 

Also, there is a nice loophole in U.S. EPA law that states as long as the manufacturer does not claim their product has any antimicrobial action, they do not have to register the product as a pesticide. Nice!

 

 

The Friends of the Earth Australia paper can be found here.

Silver technology for some things like surgical dressings is quite well known and understood and silver is a well known anti-bacterial material (it is also cyto-toxic) but widespread dispersal into the environment is something else altogether. As for the laundry balls containing NO chemicals, the US FTC has sort of stomped on the makers of the balls for making false claims. Long ago I ran a lab that tested this kind of stuff and was always amazed at the amount of gullibility that most people possess.

Bill

Yup this is the stuff I use at home:

 

http://www.teraganix.com/EM-1-Microbial-Inoculant-p/1000.htm

 

 

 

Great for laundry, drains and compost!

You do your laundry without soap and use something that is 3% molasses? Impressive. I could see where it would help with drains and compost but laundry?

Bill

Not for everything, just the stuff like rags and stuff. The EM breaks down dyes quickly so not good for clothes you want to look good. But great for rags, shoes etc

I use it with a bit of powder like Charlie's or 7th Gen... lowers the use of powders and I don't have to bother about pre treatment.

I also used baking soda with the laundry balls once in a while which is probably the reason why the wetsuits stayed fresh! Ah well not gullible but just never bothered to check before I bought 2 from my surfer buddy. It worked (with the baking soda) so I never questioned it. Due diligence, I guess.

Not for everything, just the stuff like rags and stuff. The EM breaks down dyes quickly so not good for clothes you want to look good. But great for rags, shoes etc

I use it with a bit of powder like Charlie's or 7th Gen... lowers the use of powders and I don't have to bother about pre treatment.

I also used baking soda with the laundry balls once in a while which is probably the reason why the wetsuits stayed fresh! Ah well not gullible but just never bothered to check before I bought 2 from my surfer buddy. It worked (with the baking soda) so I never questioned it. Due diligence, I guess.

I wasn't referring to your gullibility since you had evidence that something was working but rather to the general US population. There is a guy here in LA who promotes magnets for water treatment to lessen the hardness. I asked him if there were any tests I could do on his treated water that would show it was different than the untreated water, and I mean any test. He said no (since the magnet doesn't do anything unless you had some iron particles in the water). I walked away but 3 people that day bought his system even though they heard my discussion.

Bill