soap nuts

[mniko]

I was wondering if any of you have ever used soap nuts for washing clothes and if yes do they clean well?
Maria

[kdabbler]

: Subbing because I was asking about Maggie's Soap Nuts on a different thread.

[bobica]

i'm very very curious!!!

[Chic_Mama]

I haven't used them but I heard great things from a friend!

[papschmitty]

:

[CountrylivinmomtoB]

I just bought these yesterday! I will let you know how they work if you are still interested.

[mtnsnow]

We started using them a month ago.

They really do an amazing job, laundry is all clean and smells great!

Now we are just working through our old laundry soap to get rid of it, but do every other load with soap nuts.

We think the cost will come out about the same as detergent, so it's not a cost savings for us, more about using a totally natural product to clean.

[oceane]

ups:
the smell is "clean" but not perfume like or anything
you only need very few
they do clean regular light stains

downs: they do not get blood or other red stains out that easily. (in fact, I have never managed to). But it does say to use additional salt or s.th. similar for stains on the packaging so I can't blame the product...

[oceane]

Originally Posted by mtnsnow

We started using them a month ago.

They really do an amazing job, laundry is all clean and smells great!

Now we are just working through our old laundry soap to get rid of it, but do every other load with soap nuts.

We think the cost will come out about the same as detergent, so it's not a cost savings for us, more about using a totally natural product to clean.

do you not have the type where you only put 3-5 in the bag and can use that up to 3 times? cuz for us it's even cheaper than regular detergent...

[flapjack]

oceane, what about stains in general? (small boys, white school shirts, that kind of thing.) I ordered a sample last week and I'm desperate for the postal strike to be over so they can get here :

[flapjack]

OK, I'm back with the review.

First load, normal laundry, mostly coloureds, some stainings. All of the everyday debris is gone- they look clean but stained, iykwim? In an ordinary family or a house with grownups, it would probably work brilliantly. If I'd got the stain remover out first, that would be a help too. But I didn't, because that wouldn't be a fair test, would it?
Second load was nappies- crisp white terry towelling. I'm sure that they ARE clean, but they don't look it. They look dingy and sad and icky. If you use unbleached or coloured dipes all the time, they would probably be fine, but not if you like big white and fluffy bums.
It all smells CLEAN- and my current brand of laundry detergent is heavily perfumed even in half-quantities, so that's a good thing. The bad thing, as I said, is that they aren't handling whites/ stains well, so I'm going to have to use them in conjunction with a standard non-bio for those.
This was at 30 degrees in a frontloader for the coloured load and 40 for the nappies, btw. Part of me wonders if you would get better results in a top-loader, with more water and less agitation.

[oceane]

Originally Posted by flapjack

oceane, what about stains in general? (small boys, white school shirts, that kind of thing.) I ordered a sample last week and I'm desperate for the postal strike to be over so they can get here :

well, my tomato sauce didn't go out, but I let it dry first, too, I don't do laundry immediately. Lighter stains that we have go out well. sorry, we don't have children yet so we pretty much have regular stains. I only wash 40°C, too, so my dish towels get stained easily. we have a toploader.
i'd say: definitely add stain remover salt (it says so on my packaging too), and prepare heavily stained clothes with additional soap. For adults without a dirty (as in staining) job it works well.

[Purplehaze]

cloth dipes?

Anyone try them with a load of cloth diapers?

[flapjack]

I did, purplehaze. I just realised I actually washed at a lower temperature than I normally do nappies: BUT I wasn't impressed. They'd be fine on naturally coloured cotton, but NOT if you want white fluffy dipes.

[Amatullah]

Great reviews! Thanks. I've been contemplating trying these out. I might have to just go for it and see for myself. I wish I could find them locally so I didn't have to pay shipping.

[Girlymomwithsons]

Originally Posted by Purplehaze

Anyone try them with a load of cloth diapers?

I used them for cloth diapers ages ago, and I did like the results. I think I also used a bit of baking soda though, if that helps. I wish I could find these soap nuts where we live. Does anyone know of a Canadian supplier? I would prefer to buy in store.

[joyfulsojoyful]

I just got some at Integral Yoga natural foods in NYC. I travel a lot and see Maggie's Soap Nuts at lots of health food stores. I get them at Whole Foods where I live. I have used them for over a year and would never use harsh chemicals again.

[Girlymomwithsons]

So I bought soap nuts online, from Maggie's. My friend and I split a big order so it would cost less in the long run, but I wish we hadn't. When you add shipping to Canada, along with $43 duty, it cost us $190 for 250 loads of laundry. Not at all economically smart. I really like the nuts, but when these are gone, I guess we will just have to wait for a local store to start carrying them.

PS, does anyone know if I should be throwing them in with the laundry in my front loader, or putting them in the soap section on the top on the machine? If they work in there, I figure I will get more than 5 loads per bag, but they may not get enough saponin in the water as it just washes over them on the way into the clothes drum. Has anyone figured this out?

[joyfulsojoyful]

I have an LG type HE washer. I used to throw the bag of soap nuts into the washer where it works fine. But since I started making liquid soap out of the nuts, so I could use it in my bath, I use the liquid in the machine. The nice thing about making liquid is that it streches the soap nuts. I estimate a box of Maggie's gets way over double the amount they say. The other nice thing is that there is no waste of hauling waster around the country and it makes me feel "homey".

[Demeter9]

I saw them at Sangsters.

Originally Posted by Girlymomwithsons

I used them for cloth diapers ages ago, and I did like the results. I think I also used a bit of baking soda though, if that helps. I wish I could find these soap nuts where we live. Does anyone know of a Canadian supplier? I would prefer to buy in store.