What Are Soap Nuts?
6:38 PM Posted by Mommy Is Green
Soap Nuts are dried berries that contain saponin. Contrary to their name they are not actually nuts. The saponin inside of these dried berries creates soap when added to water and agitated. They will not create as many suds as traditional laundry detergent, but that doesn't change their effectiveness.
Soap nuts are truly natural and free of toxic chemicals. The brand I buy, Yoreganics, is USDA certified organic. That means no pesticides, fungicides, or herbicides are used in growing the soap nuts. I can't say I've come across another laundry product that is more pure. That's why they are especially good for those with sensitive skin and allergies.
I understand that it's kind of a different idea to wash your clothes with dried berries, and that you may seem a little skeptical. What you probably want to know is, "Do they really work?" The answer is yes. I've been using soap nuts for 5 months now. I've used them for regular laundry, cloth diapers, and everything else that can go in the washer. If you have stains they will have to be pre-treated with a stain remover. Otherwise, the soap nuts don't require any additives.
With soap nuts your clothes will come out smelling clean without heavy fragrance. I know it's hard not to associate clean with fragrance when it's what you're used to. But after using soap nuts you'll recognize how clean and fresh clothes truly smell without the use of chemical perfumes. It refreshing!
Now you may be wondering, "How do you use soap nuts?" You use them by putting 5 soap nuts in a small cotton drawstring bag. Toss the bag into your laundry and keep the bag in the wash straight through the rinse cycle. Soap nuts work as a natural fabric softener. That's one of the reasons I love them. Goodbye chemical-laden dryer sheets! Hello biodegradable soap nuts!
You can get 4-6 loads out of each bag depending on the water temperature you use and whether you have hard or soft water. To help me keep track of how many times I've used a bag of soap nuts, Yoreganics kindly sent me a Soap Nut Seed Counter (shown above) with one of my orders. Every time I wash a load of laundry I move one of the seeds down. It's very cool!
I can talk all day about soap nuts, but even better are these Soap Nuts FAQ's.
Happy Washing!
I did not receive any form of compensation for this post. I'm just sharing my love of soap nuts! :)
October 22, 2010 1:42 AM
I actually won some from a friend's blog but long before that I had been curious about them so I was happy to have won.
Anyway, I've been using them recently and they're great! I'd buy them for sure. I thought I saw some at Whole Foods but not sure.
Great review!
October 22, 2010 10:19 AM
Great post! Now I am more convinced than ever that I need to buy them..
October 22, 2010 2:39 PM
Such great info, Victoria! When I was first contacted about reviewing soap nuts I had no clue what they were, so this post would have been really helpful... as it is, even though I know more about them, I still think it's helpful! :)
Plus, that Soap Nut Seed Counter is a great idea - what a smart invention!
October 26, 2010 9:43 PM
I've read about this and I really want to try them. I need to look at Whole Foods! Wish me luck when I bring these home to my husband (he is a Tide freak!)
November 5, 2010 6:03 PM
I have been wanting to try these. I looked at them at the health food store but couldn't quite decide if they were worth the money.
November 6, 2010 12:46 PM
I keep hearing conflicting results of long-term use of soap nuts on cloth diapers. It's nice to know that they're still working for you! I may have to try this, since my baby has such sensitive skin.
November 11, 2010 4:03 PM
Hi Maria! I hadn't heard about soap nuts doing damage before so I decided to do some research. I did come across one site where people had trouble with soap nuts and their Bum Genius diapers specifically repelling. One person had an issue when they just started using soap nuts. That's probably because their old detergent was working their way out of the diapers. For the other person that used them for a while, I'm not sure what the other factors were. Sometimes washing with other detergents in between cloth diaper washes can be a factor. And sometimes washing cloth wipes that have a soap/oil solution on them along with cloth diapers can be an issue too. It's hard to know sometimes what is causing the problem. I have heard of all cloth diaper safe detergents causing repelling at some time or other. This is a first I've heard of it for soap nuts, but that doesn't mean it's not possible. It may also depend on the quality of the soap nuts brand. :)
November 15, 2010 5:58 PM
What a great post!!! This is great, definitely need to try.
Thanks for teaching me something today!!!
Will look for them!!
February 18, 2011 12:13 PM
I've never heard of these! They sound like they are much better than detergent especially for sensitive skin.
February 20, 2011 2:36 PM
Hmmm...now I'm really curious! If I use cloth diaper specific detergents, they smell really clean after the wash but like ammonia when DD pees in them. If I wash in something like Tide Free and Gentle, they don't smell very clean after I wash, but they don't have that icky ammonia smell when DD pees. I have to decide which stink I want to deal with when I do a wash.
April 6, 2011 8:07 PM
Interesting article. I'd like to try soap nuts.
April 13, 2011 2:58 PM
THANK YOU for finally helping me to "get" these things! I have seen tons of giveaways and stuff and even seen them in some store, but never really "Got" it until now! One question, you said that you can leave them in the wash thru the rinse cycle. Does that mean you have to take them out before the spin cycles? Thanks!
April 13, 2011 3:18 PM
Hi Scott! You can keep the soap nuts in the washer at all times, even through the spin cycles. The soap nuts are for both washing and fabric softening (so you don't have to add liquid fabric softener or use dryer sheets). That's why they can stay in through all cycles from beginning to end. The soap nuts go in with your wash right from the start and you don't remove them until the washer is done and you're ready to put your clothes in the dryer. :)
April 13, 2011 3:21 PM
Cool! Thank you! I got your emails too but will just comment here. Thanks for the clarification on the dryer issue...LOL...you already know me too well and we just "met." LOL Was going to ask you about that!
April 14, 2011 11:42 PM
this was interesting. Never heard of them before
June 14, 2011 1:32 PM
I have never heard or soap nuts! What an awesome idea! I wonder if any one has tried them on stinky-10-year-old-boy clothes/socks after a day of baseball or basketball...