Review: Soap Nuts -- An Alternative to Laundry Detergent

Great news, ladies & gents! I've recently had the unique and fun opportunity to practice my hand at being totally "green" and eco-friendly! 

Hey, I thought my recycling skills alone were "good enough," but when I found out about Soap Nuts, that fantasy concept was squashed. Turns out, recycling is old school and there's an even more awesome way to show some earthly love!   (Okay, recycling will never be old-school. Please don't send the tree-huggers after me. I have cats  & a million year old wiener dog who need me.)

 But Soap Nuts really should be all the rage right now! I don't even know why our grocery stores aren't rushing to take the typical laundry detergents off their shelves! Overstatement? I'll let you decide...

What on earth are Soap Nuts?

Here is a brief description of Soap Nuts that sums it up, straight from Greener Living's webpage. Very interesting too!

"In India, Nepal, and other South Asian countries, a tree called sapindus mukorrosi grows small fruits surrounded by a firm outer shell. This tree is unique because it produces its own natural saponins, a soap-like product, that coats the shell of the fruit. When the fruits ripen and fall from the tree, local families harvest it, then remove the fruit from the seed. The soap nut shell is then dried out in the sun, using absolutely no chemical processing or manufacturing processes. 

The soap nut shell absorbs water and releases saponins which circulate as a natural surfactant in the wash water, reducing the surface tension of the water and freeing dirt, grime and oils from the clothing. They act just as commercial laundry detergents, but without the chemicals. When the clothes are rinsed, the soapnut saponins are washed downstream where they remain harmless to the environment."

How to use Soap Nuts

The Soap Nuts come plastic wrapped and inside a muslin drawstring bag, which is very nice and handy! You remove the Soap Nuts from the plastic and put them inside the muslin bag, then wash as you normally would.

The Soap Nuts can be used as a much safer, healthier alternative for washing clothes, hair, etc.

Soap Nuts work best in warm or hot water. You can also find liquid soap nuts from Greener Living, which are made to work better for cold washes.

Why is using Soap Nuts healthier/safer/better alternative to regular detergents?

• Contain no chemicals
• 100% natural
• They absorb carbon dioxide & produce oxygen
• No chemicals left in clothing, so you can save water by cutting down on rinsing since it won't be entirely necessary using soapnuts. 
• Naturally leaves fabrics softer, so no fabric softeners needed!
• Biodegradable. Add to compost pile. They should be safe on septic tank as well.
• No foaming agents
• No toxins
• Are environmentally friendly
• No added fragrance or dyes/fillers
• Great for people with skin sensitivities/allergies

 Soap Nuts are also a great way to save money in the long run. What you'd normally spend on detergents and softeners will add up, amounting to more than what you spend using the Soap Nuts. Granted they are higher than one bottle of detergent, they can be used more than a couple times each -- even more if you didn't wash a huge or massively dirty load!

So, how well do Soap Nuts clean my laundry?

Just wonderfully! Actually, I didn't expect my clothes to get super duper clean because I assumed the only way to get super dirty clothes clean would require all those chemicals contained in your typical detergents. I was proved wrong. I'm quite impressed at how great my clothes have came out every time I've used the Soap Nuts. In fact, I was sure that my whites were whiter than ever. Stains? Nope! I don't know how well they would remove severe stains such as deep, set-in grease stains, but for the regular, every-day, light-stains, they do a very nice job.

  Using Soap Nuts will not leave your clothing scented. I like this, but occasionally, you want a little clean scent, so you can add essential oils in there if you have em' on hand or care to purchase any. The good thing is, essential oils come in handy for many, many, many uses, so if you purchase any, you can use them for more than just laundry. 

 I personally was happy to have my clothing feel nice and un-stiff like they normally do right after a wash. I felt like the Soap Nuts clean just as well as what I'd been using previously -- detergent from the grocery store. I'm quite fond of these easy-to-use little dudes! 

 The only worry I've had with using Soap Nuts is the brown stains they can leave on clothing due to seeds being left in the nuts.  I had heard about this happening, but fortunately, it has not happened to me and if it does, all it takes it one more wash to rid the stain. No, that's not exactly wonderful or fun, but I was glad to learn the stains can be easily removed if they do occur.

Another fabulous thing about Soap Nuts is they can be used on even delicate clothing like silk, wool, etc. Since a lot of my everyday clothing consists of things like delicate lace, dresses, silky materials, etc, this is really important and handy that I don't have to use an entirely different type of soap to clean different clothing material.

How to tell when the Soap Nut is no longer usable

 My Soap Nuts from Greener Living Soap Nuts turned shiny and no longer had brown residue all over them after they were done doing their thing. This took 5 loads using the same nuts, since I used cold water. Using hot water releases more saponin, which is what does the cleaning. This is why the Soap Nuts last longer doing cold water washes. I have used one nut to handwash 5 different tops though! It's still got some life in it. I've been able to wash a really delicate silky blouse that has layers of lace on it as well as another "hand-wash only" shirt  and  a few lycra dresses with sequins all over. All came out fine & dandy!

Other Awesome Uses for Soap-Nuts: (and by "awesome," I mean completely amazing!"

Soap Nuts can be used to wash your own hair. All you need to do is boil a nut for about 25-30 minutes. You can crush the nut before boiling to release all saponins if you plan to use the entire nut for shampoo. Then add water.

If you're brave enough, you can even use the soap nut liquid wash (just like the shampoo) for a safer alternative to toothpaste! Had I not already began using aloe vera from my plant and Olive oil natural bar soap to brush my teeth with, I'd have used the soap nuts. 

However, I do plan to purchase a good supply of Soap Nuts to try for this purpose as well. This is all because I despise toothpaste! It's horrible for your health. Truly, truly horrible! So I got dedicated here lately and decided even brushing my pearlies with SOAP was better than the horrible, horrible effects of blasted toothpaste. Remember, toothpaste is horrible! 

Although I have yet to try this, someone told me Soap Nuts are good for cleaning jewelry as well!

I have read that Soap Nuts are efficient in removing parasites (think ticks, fleas) from your pet's skin! I have been using Dawn dish detergent for years when bathing my dog to instantly kill the fleas, so I will absolutely be trying this safer alternative when he gets his bath this week!

I have used Soap Nuts to clean my bath tub and sink. Apparently they work well for all kinds of household cleaning, but so far I've only had enough left over to clean the sinks and tubs, wonderfully so!

You can even wash your dishes with these little soap berries! I have not tried that, but they can be tossed in the dishwasher for a safe, clean wash.

Disclaimer (I know, I hate them, too, but these days you kind of can't afford to note post them.):

I am not a specialist or any other kind of doctor or expert. Content on this blog is not intended to be taken as medical advice, diagnosis, treatment or advice of any sort. I'm simply sharing information about my own experiences and results from use of a product or activity in hopes of providing useful information/suggestions to readers, not to be taken as a patient/medical adviser relationship. I am not responsible for what readers choose to do after viewing the content here. Furthermore, I do not hold an "exceptional" or other special relationship with the company mentioned. I'm simply a consumer who worked with the company on a review that is in compliance with FTTC's guidelines. That means, everything you read here is my own words, not anything of the company's. I was not provided with monetary compensation for my review. All information posted has been done so with complete honesty. No action should be taken based solely on the content of this publication ( I'm not responsible.) Readers who rely on the information in this blog to replace the advise of an appropriate health care provider assume all risks of such behavior.