My watch list
my.chemeurope.com  
Login  

Downy Ball



Possible Copyright Infringement

If you have just labeled this page as a possible copyright infringement, please add the following to the bottom of Wikipedia:Copyright_problems/2012_December_11/Articles
* {{subst:article-cv|:Downy Ball}} from [http://home.howstuffworks.com/question677.htm]. ~~~~

The previous content of this page appears to infringe on the copyright of the text from the source(s) below and is now listed on Wikipedia:Copyright problems:

http://home.howstuffworks.com/question677.htm

Do not edit this page until an administrator has resolved this issue.

  • To write a new article without infringing material, follow this link to a temporary subpage.
State that you have done so on this article's discussion page.
Note that simply modifying copyrighted text is not sufficient to avoid copyright infringement—if the original copyright violation cannot be clearly identified and the article reverted to a prior version, it is best to write the article from scratch. An administrator will move the new article into place once the issue is resolved.
  • If you hold the copyright to this text and permit its use under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License:
Explain this on this article's discussion page, then either display a notice to this effect at the site of original publication or send an e-mail from an address associated with the original publication to permissions-en at wikimedia dot org or a postal letter to the Wikimedia Foundation. These messages must explicitly permit use under the GFDL.
Note: Articles on Wikipedia must be written from a neutral point of view and must be verifiable in published third-party sources; copyright issues aside, your text may not be appropriate for inclusion in Wikipedia.
  • If this text is in the public domain, or is already under a license suitable for Wikipedia:
Explain this on this article's discussion page, with reference to evidence.

Unless the copyright status of the text on this page is clarified, it will be deleted one week after the time of its listing.

  • Posting copyrighted material without the express permission of the copyright holder is a violation of applicable law and of Wikipedia policy.
  • If you have questions about copyright, see Copyright FAQ.
  • Those who repeatedly post copyrighted material will be blocked from further editing.
  • Temporarily, the original posting is still accessible for viewing in the page history.
  • You are welcome to submit original contributions.
Maintenance use only: {{subst:Nothanks-web|pg=Downy Ball|url=http://home.howstuffworks.com/question677.htm}} ~~~~


The Downy Ball is a spherical plastic tool used to dispense liquid fabric softener in clothes washing machines. Liquid fabric softener has to be added at the correct time to a load of laundry in order to work effectively. The Downy Ball got its name from the brand name that first introduced its use and is also known by the names laundry ball and softener ball. Though the name Downy ball implies that it can only be used with Downy brand products, other brands (such as Snuggle, or Suavitel) can be used with this product to achieve the same results.

Operation

The ball has a gasket on one side that has a small weight that hangs toward the center of the ball and a ring, to pull the gasket closed, on the outside. Before starting a load of laundry, fabric softener is poured through the opened gasket. There is commonly a line on the side of the ball to show the correct volume of softener to use. The ring is then pulled to snap the gasket closed and the ball is dropped on top of the laundry in the washing machine.

As the washing machine goes through its cycles the ball floats on top of the water. At the start of the spin cycle, the ball, along with all of the clothing, is pushed out to the sides of the rotating tub. The momentum of the ball and the properties of Newton's First Law cause the weight inside the ball to pull the gasket open when the ball hits the side of the spinning tub. With the gasket now open, the ball fills with water and sinks. The softener and the water are able to mix and circulate through the tub to apply softener to the clothing at precisely the right moment.

The ball can be used with top loading as well as front-loading washing machines.

See also


 
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Downy_Ball". A list of authors is available in Wikipedia.
Your browser is not current. Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0 does not support some functions on Chemie.DE