I bought one because my husband dislikes detergent touching his clothes before the washer fills with water. I put it in and the ball didn't open in the washer, so thinking maybe it was just a mishap I left it open for the 2nd round in the washer and found that none of the detergent even came out of the ball. I don't know if the one I own is defective, but I would not buy it again based on my experience.

Sometimes it opens & sometimes it doesn't. And when it does, that doesn't mean all the softener comes out.

Sorry guys I just dont' like these, messy to use and it doesn't always work right. When it works its ok but not worth the trouble.

I love the idea but it just doesn't work right... sometimes it opens and sometimes it doesn't and when it does open it is full of water so when I pull it out it drenches whatever is under it.

I enjoy the idea and the product, whenever I remebered to use it. I think it works great and the idea behind it is also great, however it was very easily misplaced and the pull to shut thing on the top I found got a little warpped after a few uses.

It worked ok. Sometimes it didn't open in my washer. I stoped using this product after a 10 washes.

Is it the Downy Ball or Is it US? Up until 2017 the downy ball was one of the best things in life. However, since May of 2017 the downy ball has not been emptying and staining me and my husbands clothes. I even accused him of messing up my clothes because they had downy spots all over them and he didn't notice and dried the clothes. This happened more than once, several times. I asked him not to wash my clothes anymore. I thought he somehow wasn't closing the ball correctly. We even returned one because we thought it was defective. The new ball does the same thing. This time I used it and washed my own clothes and the downy ball did not release all the downy and stained the clothes. The only difference is I recognized and re-rinsed the clothes. I apologized to my husband because I accused him of not knowing how to use the downy ball. Is it us, after using a downy ball for over 15 years, or is it the downy ball. I don't think we can recommend this to anyone right now.

It didn't work well for me.It opened up and all came out.

I used to have one of these and then ended up getting rid of it due to it staining my clothes and getting gunky. Other than that, I loved the concept!

this product iis ok. it keeps me from running up and down stairs'

This product is convenient so the flaws it has are not that big of a deal to me when I actually use it. With that said, here are the couple of things that stop this from being amazing much like everyone else has said they don't always function 100% correctly all the time and doesn't dispense the fabric softener the way it should. True about staining your clothes at times as well as the liquid doesn't come out all the way.

I have used the Downy ball off and on for years. It's an okay product, it is convenient in that you don't have to go running to the washer and put fabric softener in when the rinse cycle started. But sometimes the stopper thing gets stuck and it doesn't work right, it also tends to "hide" in my clothes and go into the dryer with them.

I got one of these when I moved into an apartment, since there was no softener dispenser. It was nice because I didn't have to time the cycles to figure out when I could run down and add softener, just had to toss it in and wait! However, sometimes it would not empty properly and I'd find softener stains on my clothing. I recommend this product for anyone who uses a machine with no built in dispenser, but if you have a built in dispenser, don't bother using this!

My apartment washer doesn't have a softener dispenser, so I have to use the Downy Ball if I want to use softener. I have had problems with the ball not opening, or not emptying. When the ball doesn't empty, it has been known to just spill on the clothes at the bottom and has routinely left dark stains on some of my clothing, which I don't notice until after they've been dried and the stains are set by then. I wish it worked as well for me as it does for others. It may work better in other washing machines, I've tried it with 3.

I have been considering purchasing this product. From the reviews it seems that most users find it useful, so I may try it. Thanks!