What on Earth are soap nuts?

July 30th, 2012

Appliance Talk Laundry

Not long ago, we posted a question on the Appliances Online Facebook page – Washing Powder vs Washing Liquid, what do YOU use at home?

While both types of detergent received strong shows of support from their devoted fans, a significant percentage of responders were in favour of a third option:

SOAP NUTS

A bunch of us, myself included, had never heard of these things, and had no idea of what they are or what they can do.

If you’re in the same boat, here’s our short guide to soap nuts and how they can help you in the laundry:

So, what on Earth are soap nuts?

I’ll tell you what they’re not – they’re not nuts.  Allergy sufferers rejoice!

Soap nuts are, in fact, dried berries from the sapindus plant, most commonly the sapindus mukorossi that’s found in India and Nepal.  People of these regions have been traditionally using these dried berries in their washing for generations, as well as in traditional medicine.

Soap nuts contain saponin, which keeps animals from munching on the plants by making them taste really bad (PRO TIP: Don’t eat soap nuts).  However, this saponin also creates a light, sudsy foam when mixed with water, which can be used in a variety of different ways.

Why should I use soap nuts?

A natural alternative to washing liquid or washing powder, soap nuts don’t contain any chemicals or artificial ingredients.  This makes them gentler on clothes, sensitive skin, and the environment.

Soap nuts are gentle enough on your clothes that you shouldn’t need to use fabric softener, and the colours in your clothes should last for longer.

Also, soap nuts can be used throughout the home as a kind of all-purpose cleaner.  We’ll go into detail later on how you can use them on kitchen sufaces, in the bathroom, and even in the garage.

How do I use soap nuts?

There are a few different ways…

One is to fill a small cloth bag (even an old sock will do) with six to eight soap nuts, tie it shut, and toss it in with your washing.  As soap nuts a relatively low-foaming, they’ll work in both front and top loading washing machines.  If you clothes are really dirty, just add more soap nuts.  Experiment with the number of soap nuts until you’ve an idea of what works best with your machine and your typical laundry load.

Instead of using whole soap nuts, you can use a powder made from ground soap nuts in  the place of laundry powder.  This should also be available from wherever soap nuts are sold.  Just add the powder to the drawer of your washing machine like any other laundry powder.

Finally, if you prefer washing liquids, boil some of your soap nuts with water to create a soap nut liquid detergent that you can add to your washing like any other liquid detergent.  This detergent can also be used to clean household surfaces, jewellery, cars, or even your hair when used as shampoo!

Soap nut tips

• The saponin in soap nuts is activated by  high temperatures, so if you plan to use a washing machine with a cold water wash setting, soak the nuts in hot water before adding them to the machine.
• With the bag method, your soap nuts are re-usable!  Each soap nut has about four washes in it before it’s used up.  If a wet soap nut no longer creates suds when squeezed, or if a dry one is completely brittle, it’s time to add it to the compost.
• Because soap nuts don’t foam in the same way as other detergents, you may not need to use your machine’s long rinse cycle to get a complete clean.  If your machine includes a Quick Wash or similar setting, try experimenting with adding soap nuts to see what kind of results you get.
• Adding more ingredients to your wash can net you different results.  Lemon juice should brighten your whites; vinegar should soften hard water; and scented oils should give your clothes that ‘laundry fresh’ smell, which natural soap nuts do not normally create.

Have you used soap nuts?

Tell us all about it!  Did you have a good experience?  Were your results everything you’d hoped for?

For more natural cleaning options, see our blog Chemical-free cleaning, like Nana used to!