Natural Wash With Soap Nuts
Soap nuts are a popular ingredient to make a natural wash. If you’ve never heard of these powerful items before then use this post as a guide for some green cleaning inspiration!
Soap nuts come from a tree known as the Sapindus Mukrossi, which grows in regions of Asia. These soap nuts contain a substance that gets released into water, and is what causes it to become soapy. The great thing is that the trees that grow these nuts are grown sustainably in countries like India and Nepal – and these are a simple, eco-friendly way to do your washing. They can also be used to remedy contaminated soil as well as recycling grey water.
How to Use Soap Nuts for a Natural Wash in Laundry
If you want to make use of these simple ingredients then all you need to do is put around 5 shells of the soap nuts into a drawstring bag. Put them into the drum of your washing machine and then do your washing as normal.
When your clothes have washed you can keep these nuts in the machine even through the rinse cycle, since the soap will only be released when the water is hot. This is why you’ll need to make sure to turn your washing machine to at least 40 degrees when washing in this way.
When your wash has finished completely, just take out the soap nuts and rinse them with cold water. You can then keep them in a jar to keep them damp, and use them again next time you have a load of washing. They’ll generally wash about three or four loads before running out, after which you should add them to your compost.
A Few Tips
The amount of soap nuts that you need to use will depend on how dirty your clothes are and how hard your water is. However, they are generally very efficient and cleaning clothes, and are now readily available from more and more sources. The good thing is you can even use them for washing your hair!
They are great as a natural wash since they don’t aggravate any allergies and are great for sensitive skin. They even smell great!
Soap Nuts are a wonderful gift. Completely natural. After I used them for about six mopnths I started making soap nut “tea”. The recipe is here http://www.maggiespureland.com/snop.html . Now I buy the ready made liquid version from Maggie’s Soap Nuts. It is made in the USA and is the only liquid detergent in US with no synthetic chemicals or detergents. My kids don’t itch any more. Even the dog likes his blankets better.