Tuesday, June 12, 2007

It's Absolutely NUTS!! Detergent that grows on a tree?

Soap Nuts
As strange as it sounds these "Soap Nuts" really do grow on trees. The small brown nuts are the dried fruit of soapberry trees indigenous to Southeast Asia. The nut shell contains saponin which acts as a natural, low-sudsing detergent.

Place 3-5 nuts into the small linen bag (which is included in the box) and drop into your washer. The water temperature of your wash load determines the number of nuts needed. Directions suggest 2-4 for a warm water wash, and 4-5 for a cold water wash. The nuts can be used a number of times before discarding. That's good because the price is $10 for a regular box (20 loads), $19 for the family size (50 loads). The soap nuts are less harsh than detergent resulting in softer clothes without the use of a fabric softner. Not having to purchase fabric softener helps reduce the overall cost.

If you're looking to replace your laboratory detergents and softeners with something all-natural, 100% bio-degradable, and safe for sensitive skin, this just might be the ticket! I haven't tried them yet, but I plan to. I'll let you know how they work.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Hello Denise,

I saw in your blog you are about to become one of Maggie’s soap nuts. But I guess you are already nuts about soap, so the transition may not be too startling.

Soap nuts have over 2500 years of written history of use to clean clothes and as an Ayuravedic and Chinese traditional medicine skin treatment. They are fascinating. If you have any questions about their use or history, please give me a call.

We hope you enjoy them as much as we do.

Happy washing,

Dariel Garner, General Manger for Maggie's Pure Land Products, Inc.