CLEVELAND -- Doing the laundry takes a lot of time and effort, and the amount of detergent used can add up.

Oxi Clean released a new product that promises a lot less effort.

NewsChannel5 consumer reporter Angie Lau put the product to the test.

Maria Thacker is a busy mom who does a lot of laundry. She said she can do up to 20 loads a week. Jenny Ellerhorst is another busy mom with four kids to wash for.

Both mothers were eager to try out the newest product from Oxi Clean, the powder that TV pitchman Billy Mays made famous.

The Oxi "Toss n Go" ball is a slow dissolving ball of detergent. The package says just toss it in and get 25 loads of cleaning without anything to measure or pour.

Thacker and Ellerhorst were skeptical, but agreed to try it.

Each opened the package, placed the detergent ball inside a small sock and then squeezed it into a blue rubber holder. Consumers are supposed to tighten the tab and it's ready to drop it in the washer for the next 25 loads. Lau said consumers don't even have to pull it out for the rinse cycle.

Thacker and Ellerhorst gave it a spin for a few weeks.

"I was not impressed with it at all. A lot of the clothing I had to rewash. The stains did not come out of it," said Ellerhorst.

"They were not shining white as they say in the commercial, that's for sure," said Thacker.

Their experiences are not unique, Lau reported. Consumer Reports magazine recently tested the Oxi Ball and rated it the worst of 32 detergents.

Lau said Oxi Clean will soon be discontinuing the "Toss n Go" ball, due to "consumer preferences." Oxi Clean said the company makes some excellent cleaning products, but according to testers this was not one of them.