Alkaline Alternative to Laundry Detergent?

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Super Wash Ball Set of 2 Laundry Cleaners with 1100 Washes

A link below to a product I haven't seen before...
I have no connection with this product whatsoever but am considering trying it.

From the link below:

Ditch the detergent... Super Wash Balls are designed to clean your laundry as effectively as detergent for up to 1100 loads. Made with all-natural, chemical-free bioceramics, they're designed to change the alkalinity of the water into basic water through oxidation reduction. Basic water has much smaller molecules that can easily penetrate through your fabrics and wash off any dirt for fresh, clean clothes load after load.


I would appreciate comments from a chemical/environmental perspective. Seems from reviews from customers at QVC they do work. Clothing stains apparently must be pretreated with a stain remover. The ceramic balls must be put outside to dry periodically and eliminate any odors. Otherwise, no detergent required!

http://www.qvc.com/Super-Wash-Ball-Set-of-2-Laundry-Cleaners-with-1100-Washes-Search-Results.product.V32119.html?sc=V32119-SRCH&cm_sp=VIEWPOSITION-_-1-_-V32119&catentryImage=http://images-p.qvc.com/is/image/v/19/v32119.001?$uslarge$#divProductDetailsCustomerReviewWrapper

My comments:

From the reviews, saves money, always nice.

Maybe reduce phosphate run off into waste water and oceans?

Does basic [alkaline] water produced help to balance acid rain??

Any effect of basic water on clothing longevity...natural versus man made fibers [say cotton, nylon for example]...on wrinkles...??

Wonder if the 'ceramic' makes noise in washers..especially front loaders.

Can this eliminate the musty smell in some front loaders [like mine] eliminating the need to 'wash the washer' once a month or so with a special cleaner.

Soap has some effects on bacterial growth...How does alkaline water compare??
 
Chemistry news on Phys.org
My wife watched the televised discussion/promotion of the product...they said hydrogen peroxide is produced??
 
all-natural, chemical-free bioceramics

Chemical free? So what are they done from, quark-gluon plasma? Neutrinos?

they're designed to change the alkalinity of the water into basic water through oxidation reduction.

Word salad.

Basic water has much smaller molecules

Cattle male poo.
 
I wasn't sure whether "male cattle" or "cattle male" is correct. English is my second language, now and then it shows. But you know what I meant.
 
Thanks. My problem was with realizing male is an adjective here, and not a noun.
 
We have been using the 'wash ball set' for about ten days now...so far so good. They seem to work just fine...If my wife is happy I am happy! Unfortunately she threw out the box the cleaner comes in, so I never got a chance to see what ingredients might have been listed. Turns out the 'set' are used two at a time for every wash, sort of a 'part A and part B', some sort of chemcial activity occurs when they are wetted together. Turns out the porous ball containers are a soft plastic, no noise during wash that we can hear.

Our front load clothes washer is a model that gets a moldy smell when used with detergents and so has to be run with a cleaner [and no clothes] to eliminate odors about once a month. So far, that odor has been eliminated which is one thing I was hoping for. The laundry room used to get a musty odor toward the end of the monthly cleaning cycle, no more!

So while the promotional descriptions stink, our laundry is clean and fresh.