Soap Nuts - tried and tested - and verdicts?

[theabsinthefairy]

Hi - I can't remember who - but someone said that they used soap nuts and I am considering getting some as they appear on our once a month lorry of special deals due this week.

Are they any good - how long do they last - are they worth the money - etc etc etc ........

Would appreciate your thoughts and feed back

thanks in advance

Monika

[Rosendula]

I use soapnuts, but not all the time. If your clothes are really dirty or sweaty soapnuts don't always work on their own. Whites tend to go a bit gray after a while as well, because they don't bleach them. We live in a hard water area, and I think they work less well here because of that.

I had been wondering if they would help neutralize my soil if I broke down the used ones and put them on the allotment, but a little test with litmus paper showed me that soap nuts are actually slightly acidic. With that in mind, I now add a little vinegar to the wash to give them a boost, and that really helps. I'm wondering if the fact that they are slightly acidic is what stops them working on food spills on clothes, considering that food (except milk and eggs) are all acidic??

[Thomzo]

Hi
I use them but only on general coloured washes. I am highly sensitive to perfume and really struggle with washing powder or liquid, even with ecological powders, but I have never had any problems with clothes washed with soap nuts.

They seem to last for ages. You use four half-nuts in a wash and can use them up to four times. The biggest problem for me is remembering how many times I have used them.

They aren't really very good for heavily soiled clothes but perhaps soaking those or a pre-wash would do the trick.

Interestingly, I also use vinegar, but as a fabric conditioner. I find it works really well.

Overall assessment, great for coloured, lightly soiled clothes in a general wash.

Cheers
Zoe

[Rosendula]

What's your water like where you are, Zoe? I use 8 half shells, plus about a tablespoon of vinegar in the powder compartment and a similar amount in the fab.con. bit.

[Helsbells]

I use soap nuts and I really like them.
I have been using them for several months now, and we have just decided that we ought to wash everything in ecover once over because after a while there seems to be a bit of a build up (Of sweat and general gunk I suppose, although I havent noticed a smell, jsut a sort of waxy feel to the clothes)
But like I say this is after several moths, so we are doing everyting once in ecover then going back to the soap nuts.
Its really great being able to put them on the compost heap too. No wastage what so ever.

[Odsox]

A big plus for soapnuts for some of us is that apparently the soapy water is beneficial to septic tanks, which is more than can be said for some commercially made stuff.

[hedgewitch]

I'm a fan of Soap Nuts - been using them for around a year now. I do like to add some fabric softener in as well though because as well as being clean, I like my clothes to smell clean too. I did add a few drops of Essential Oil to make them smell nice but the flavours of EO I have were too sickly. I think Bergamot would be nice.
I use 8 Soap Nuts per wash and those 8 Nuts last for around 6 washes.
You can get a free sample from here

[Silver Ether]

very odd I answered this yesterday but it looks like it went into the ether...

Well I been using them 2/3 years and love them ... old fella moaned about a lack of smell then complained of damp smell??? so I add oils and tell him we have gone back to liquid

[theabsinthefairy]

Thank you everyone for your replies.

I went ahead and got some yesterday - but have not used them yet.

I mostly wash gardening clothes so dirty and sweaty and the castoffs from my almost a teenager daughter which are not dirty at all, and then bedding, but I try to hang everything outside to air even if it does not dry (I tend to dry over a ceiling mounted airer over thr Rayburn so most things smell of wood smoke anyway!) so hopefully that should solve any 'smell' issues.

Monika

[the.fee.fairy]

I tried soapnuts, but i didn't like them.

I didn't find that my clothes were very fresh after washing. I also had a think about the air miles involved. Soapnuts tend to come from India, so they've travelled quite a way.

Now i use Bio D - its a british company so the air miles are less.

[Odsox]

Now i use Bio D - its a british company so the air miles are less.

Fair enough on not liking soap nuts, but have you considered that air miles is not necessarily the only factor ?
Bio D is 30% Zeolite which has to be mined out of the ground and is therefore a finite resource and possibly comes from Turkey.
Also contains Sodium Carbonate, Sodium Sulphate, Sodium Metasilicate & Sodium Perborate, all of which have to be manufactured.
Soap nuts on the other hand come from trees.
It might be more relevant to compare energy input per kilo than "air miles"

A quote from their fact sheet at http://www.ecotopia.co.uk/cmscontent/do ... powder.pdf

SKIN CONTACT
Mildly aggressive to skin.
EYE CONTACT
Alkaline powder can cause permanent eye damage.
INGESTION
If taken orally internal damage can result.
INHILLATION
Remove operative to well ventillated area and seek medical
attention.

Sorry ... got out of the wrong side of the bed this morning

[hedgewitch]

Soapnuts tend to come from India, so they've travelled quite a way.

I keep hoping I'll find a Seed and then I could grow a Soapnut Tree!
How cool would that be!!

[Thomzo]

What's your water like where you are, Zoe? I use 8 half shells, plus about a tablespoon of vinegar in the powder compartment and a similar amount in the fab.con. bit.

Hi Rosendula
Sorry it took me a while to reply, I missed your post earlier for some reason.

I live in a VERY hard water area but I use an Ecoflow water softner so my water is about average I guess.

I am going to try the vinegar in the wash -that sounds such a good idea.

Zoe

[the.fee.fairy]

No problem.

I prefer to have a powder for the machine. I tried soaking the soapnuts in different oils but never quite got a clean smell on my clothes. I too was hoping for a seed...i've got a bag of them somewhere. Might have to hunt through it in the hope that there's a seed lurking somewhere.

[Elizabeth]

I was struggling with deciding between soap nuts and ecoballs....

We were in the Oxfam shop at the weekend and they were selling ecoballs - so we took the plunge. Have washed the sheets, done a dog blankets wash and a coloured wash too. All fine at the moment and smell fresh (just waiting to see if that is the left over ecover).

Probably not do my hubbies running kit - 'cause that pongs