thoughts on soap nuts please

So....has anyone actually used soap nuts?  I bought a bag from Binn Inn a few months back.  It sat in my laundry for a while until I finally used it having run out of washing powder a few days ago. There are no suds with them so I couldn't really see how the clothes were being washed. I can only assume that the clothes did get washed & I thought the little bag is too small & perhaps too thick all of which can be adjusted but it would be interesting to see how others have found them. 

cheers

Jane.

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  • I've used them.  Found they worked well, especially in the dishwasher.  Not so much for laundry, but we are a household of engineers and even regular laundry powder doesn't always cut it here.

    The hardest thing I found was keeping track of how many washes they had done; was going to make a band/tag system up but never got around to it.

     

    Has anyone successfully germinated the seeds? Its borderline growing range down here, I think, and none of the seeds I bought germinated, even on a heat pad.  I'd love to have my own tree :)  The literature varies on how hardy they are, but I'm still keen to give it another shot if anyone has any tips

    • Hi Steph,

      It is very hard to get taff stain out of the clothes with SoapNuts. Did you try to pre-soak them in Oxygen Bleach and then wash them with SoapNuts? Try a warm to hot wash too. You might be able to get rid of the stain this way. All the information about the Oxygen Bleach you can find here: http://www.soapnuts.co.nz/Soapnuts/Oxygen-bleach-100-sodium-percarb...

      In regards of the seeds - we do have our own trees but have to say that they are very hard to get growing. Out of my last trial of 10 - i have one that germinated. It definitely helps to scatch the husk as well as soaking them in water overnight. They need to be in a sunny spot and best time of the year is spring/early summer.

      You might like to try the Sapindus Saponaria they are better for colder areas and a bit more frost resitant. Have you been on our website? There we have all the information about the two different tree types: http://www.soapnuts.co.nz/Soapnuts/Grow-your-own-SoapNut-Tree.html

      Hope this information helps.

      Dunja, The SoapNut Shop

  •  I am very pleased to hear that these little soap nuts do actually work. I will continue to use/buy them since it actually makes sense to me to use natural products & heck if you can grow the tree than why not huh?  What a saving it makes compared to the shop bought powders.  I am always hesitant as to what I am using to wash my clothes mainly as  I have a septic tank so it's got to be septic tank friendly & some powders actually irrates our skin. 

    I like the idea of adding a few drops of essential oils Dunja so that is something I will deffinately try out & I will look up your website too.

    Thanks for explaining the different ways you can use them to Yvonne.  I like products, plants etc that have more than one use for them. :O)

  • Hi Jane,

    I must confess I have not tried them yet, however I have seen plenty written about them through various

    sites interested in environmental issues. Looking around here last night and saw this group, with links to buying

    the nuts, so I've joined up & will be placing my order shortly. I'll let you know how things go.

    How did you find using them?

    Maria.

  • Whoops didn't see Dunja's reply, but hey there is at least two of us using them. Have been using soap nuts for over 2 years now and love them. They don't have soap suds like you are use too but they are there. You need to clean any stains before putting the clothes into the wash, the soap nuts will not remove them. after 6 washes they have done their dash and you will need to discard them and out another 6 in the bag. Often boil up the discarded ones and make liquid hand wash or dishwashing liquid. found you saw how dirty the dishwashing water got and so changed the water more often, so went back normal liquid for that. I hope this helps.
  • Hi Jane.

    You did the right thing - you only need about 6 nuts put them into the little bag and put the bag with your clothes into the washing machine. They definitely wash your clothes.

    Since more then 3 years I'm using SoapNuts for my laundry, dishwasher and i do make my own liquid which i use as my bodywash. I 100% believe that SoapNuts are the most sustainable cleaning product on the market. isn't it great that you can use such a natural product to get your laundry done? we definitely have to look after mother earth instead of harming by using chemicals etc.

    You could also add a few drops (about 10) of any essential oils straight onto the little cotton bag and that will give your clothes a bit of a fragrance.

    If you go to http://www.soapnuts.co.nz/Soapnuts/How-to-use-Soapnuts.html you will find heaps of information and on top of the page there is a data sheet which is quite informative too.

    have fun with the SoapNuts,

    Dunja, The SoapNut Shop

     

     

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