I am baby/house-sitting at my brother's, and decide to throw in a load of towels my kids, sister and I had accumulated in the few hours we'd been there. It didn't take long before I found myself in the washroom completely perplexed, confused that is. Where was the familiar plastic laundry detergent container, the box of dryer sheets, the pile of dirty clothes awaiting resurrection?
Slowly my head lifted as my eyes focused on several index cards that were strategically taped to cabinet doors above the washing machine. The first card read "Laundry loads washed with nuts." Several arrays of hash marks followed the title. Some of the arrays were circled and titled "One sack." I couldn't help but wonder. "Umm, What...? Sack of nuts?"
Once again curiosity get's the best of me, I open the cabinet door. "HA....LLELUJAH! HALLELUJAH!" There they were in all their glory. SOAP NUTS! After reading the information on the earthy hemp bag I came to a realization. My long search for a laundry detergent free of dyes and chemicals that actually cleaned clothes and didn't welt the skin of my allergy prone children may be over! Evidently the "Supermom Earth Conscientious Goddess" my brother wed was putting "Soap Nuts" to the test.
If this supermom of three isn't cheering on her son and his team at a tournament with a baby on the hip, you can find her in the gym accompanied by her firefighter husband and kids in a family kick boxing class. With a man who goes through clothes just about as fast as the baby goes through cloth diapers, and two kids in sports, this mama has no time to kill, money she wishes to waste, or laundry to play games with. She leaves the trust and care of her "dirty laundry" to SOAP NUTS. I finally catch up with her at their daughters violin class to get the scoop on SOAP NUTS.
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| White is the new black, once you go SOAP NUTS you never go back! |
First of all, you may be asking yourself, what are Soap Nuts ?
"Soap Nuts are the dried fruit of the Chinese Soapberry tree (Sapindus
mukorrosi), similar to the lychee. A long time ago, local folks in the
South East Asia figured out that when the nuts get wet, they release
saponin, a natural cleaner, making them great for washing clothes!
Maggie's Soap Nuts are the only household cleaner made exclusively
Q. Did you get 200 loads like advertised by Maggies company out of one bag?
A. I'm getting more than 200 loads!! If I wash with cold water it lasts longer. In hot water I don't get the full use out of them. So I wait for a good load of whites before I wash those.
Right now I'm halfway down my big bag of Maggie's soap nuts and I'm at 198 loads!
Q. Maggie's Soap Nuts instructions say you can get 3 loads out of one bag of 5-7 nuts?
A. I put 5 nuts in the muslin bag provided and between using warm and cold water and maybe one hot load I get anywhere from 7 to 10 loads in. I check it as I go. I have a top load so I let the water fill to where I need it and let it run for about 30 seconds or so. You can see suds if it's working. Or I will squeeze the muslin bag and see if it suds up a bit. Now the cool thing is that, let's say at load 5 I feel I am not getting enough suds , I can tear the nuts in half and I get some more saponin out of the nuts.
Q. Do you use a laundry booster?
A. For some loads I do use Oxyclean. Those are for the baseball pants that have red dirt all over it from sliding or jeans that have grassy knee stains.
Q. Is this earth friendly product economical?
A. My gosh yes! One large bag of Maggie's is maybe $30 or so shipping tax included and I'm getting well over 200 loads. I think major brands are like 120 loads for $15. So maybe I am saving a few bucks but I'm also not flushing bad chemicals down the drain. So I'm saving fish & a few dollars!
My sister in law gave me a gift after my stay at their home. Yes, a bag of Maggies Soap Nuts! I've been washing for about 8 months and not even half way thru the bag!!! I do 3-4 loads 5 days a week. The children are free to get dirty in everyday play and discovery, however our day always starts with a wonderfully clean set of clothes. From gardening to science projects Soap Nuts handles our "dirty laundry" well. Best of all no longer do my kids have skin irritations from their clothes. O yeah, and it's GREEN!
