Soap Nuts
my soap nuts drying
Has anyone tried these? I ordered a sample pack of these two weeks ago from Superior Soapnuts (www.superiorsoapnuts.com) an online company based out of northern Ontario and have been trying them out for the past week. Just this weekend I discovered a local vendor at the farmers market here in North Bay and purchased a whole bag of them which is apparently enough to do 300 loads! At $30 a bag that’s only $0.10 per load which is much cheaper then using a grocery store brand.
I first stumbled across soap nuts when searching for a safe natural product to use for laundering cloth diapers and baby clothes. From what I’ve read on websites and talking to a cloth diaper user who washes all her laundry with soap nuts, it sounds like they work quite well and they are definately economical, natural, and very eco-friendly. The sample pack I received came with 12 soap nuts which I found was enough to do approx. 14 small loads (but I’m not an expert yet and haven’t decided how best to use them) and a small muslin wash bag.
In case you are wondering what my soap nuts were doing all laid out on a cookie sheet, that’s because the way I purchased them they weren’t pre-dried. So the instructions I received were to air dry them for 24 hours on a tray and then store them in a container. The only thing to worry about with storage is trying to keep them away from moisture so they will last longer, but even if they are a little wet and sticky they will still work.
Dried soap nuts and wash bag (you can also use an old sock as a wash bag!)
To use the dried soap nuts you put 5-6 soap nuts in the muslin bag and throw the bag in with your laundry load. The soap nuts work at any temperature although some sites recomend that when using in cold water soak the soap nuts in warm or hot water first for a few minutes to release the sopanin. I found that when they were wet they smelled a bit vinegary, but apparently that is normal. You use the bag of soap nuts over and over again. Depending on who you talk the same wash bag of soap nuts (remeber you put approx. 5 soap nuts in the muslin bag) can be used for 4-10 loads.
I used half of my soap nut trial pack to do 7 loads in a row. You can tell the soap nuts have been used enough when they become soft and start to break down. I used them with my regular laundry, my bedding and to pre-wash baby clothes. I haven’t tried any nasty stains yet, so I can’t vouch for how well they clean those deep dirty stains. I have to say though my laundry came out clean if not cleaner then when I used regular detergent. Apparently they are also safe to use when washing silks, woolens and other delicates. I love how easy they are to use and of course how eco-friendly they are! You can compost them when you are done washing with them, and it’s reassuring to know that even if they are put in the garbage they will break down naturally and are safe for the environment.
You can also make or purchase soap nut liquid or powder detergent and apparently they have several other uses in cleaning and as a mild insecticide . On the Superior Soapnuts website there is a great reference page for all the uses of soap nuts. Follow this link to get there: http://www.superiorsoapnuts.com/generalinformationforsoapnuts.html. You can purchase soap nuts and soap nut products from the Superior Soapnuts site. I will definitely try utilizing soap nuts for other cleaning purposes and keep you posted on the results.
What are they? (you might ask):
Soap nuts are a sustainable product harvested from trees which grow in the jungles of south Asian countries. Thus they are a renewable, biodegradable, environmentally friendly product. Soap nuts contain a natural detergent called saponin. They are the fruit of several different species of shrubs and small trees of the genus Sapindus. The soap nuts I’ve found to purchase come from the tree sapindus mukorrosi. Soap nuts also have anti-microbial properties. The soap nuts that we can purchase to use as a laundry detergent are actually the dried out shell of the soap nut. The shell is the part which is rich in saponins that are released when soaked in the laundry water. Sopanins work like any other regular detergent to break the surface tension in the water and lift dirt and grime out of fabrics. Sopanin however, unlike other detergents is not a chemical and is non-toxic to the environment as it is a naturally occurring substance.
Stay tuned for more on how to use soap nuts and please comment if you have any experience or comments you would like to share!