Soap Nuts can replace all commercial laundry detergents with a 100% natural laundry soap grown by Mother Nature. The saponins contained in the shells are highly concentrated: Just four or five Soap Nut shells can clean an entire load of laundry. The saponins also exhibit natural antibacterial and antifungal properties, leading to fresh, clean-smelling clothes without the need for artificial fragrances. Soap Nuts can be used on all fabrics and at all temperatures.

Soap Nuts are both ecological and economical. A one-kilogram (2.2 pound) sack of Soap Nuts is good for up to 200 loads of laundry. In a cost comparison, you save 20 to 50% compared to normal detergents. Plus, you help to save the planet too!

How to Use: In a ‘Nut Shell’
Place about four or five Soap Nut shells (Note) in the mini-cotton laundry bag that’s included with your order, or in an old sock that’s tied at the top. Toss this into the drum of your washing machine along with your laundry.

Because laundry washed with Soap Nuts comes out surprisingly soft, you might not need to use fabric softener, saving you even more money. And, being bleach-free, Soap Nuts ensure that your colours remain bright.

After washing, clothes will be completely odorless. If you want to add scent, simply add several drops of an essential oil to the fabric softener compartment of your washing machine.

The original batch of Soap Nuts can be used several times – typically for three or four loads of laundry – depending on water temperature used. Shells will release more soap the first time they’re used (especially at higher temperatures), so it’s best to wash heavily soiled items with a fresh batch of Soap Nut shells. If possible, let Soap Nuts dry in between loads.

Soap Nuts will become gray and mushy after several uses, after which you can discard of them in your compost pile or bin. Before discarding, however, you can squeeze the last bits of saponins from the Soap Nut shells to make liquid soap (see below).

Note: The saponins in Soap Nuts are an entirely natural product and, because the shells vary in size and thickness, the quantity of soap extracted with each wash can also vary. For this reason, results can vary too.

Performance can also depend on the hardness or softness of water in your area, as well as the water temperatures at which you wash, and how soiled your laundry is. Therefore, the suggested amounts of shells to be used for each wash are guidelines only. A few “trial runs” might be necessary to determine what works best for you. And don’t worry at the lack of lather: this is quite normal, even though the saponins are still doing their job.

Keeping Your Colours Bright and Your Whites White
Soap Nuts help preserve the colours of fabric better than commercial detergents. However, white items can become slightly gray after extended use; to mitigate for this, you can use your Soap Nuts with an oxy whitener (sodium percarbonate), which is also safe for the environment. Sodium percarbonate is a biodegradable laundry product that breaks down into water, oxygen and soda ash. It provides powerful cleaning, bleaching and stain removal action. You can find sodium percarbonate at local health food stores or supermarkets. Be sure to look for products containing only sodium percarbonate or sodium carbonate (not bicarbonate). You can also try adding a half-cup of lemon juice to your whites or give them a boost with an eco-friendly bleach.

Other Uses for Soap Nuts
You can get even more use from these amazing, biodegradable and 100% Soap Nuts by using them to make liquid soap.

To make liquid soap: Boil a couple of used Soap Nut shells in a pot of water for about 5 minutes, or pour boiling water over shells and leave to cool. The amount of water you use doesn’t really matter: just use enough to completely cover the shells. Once the Soap Nuts have cooled, strain them and store the liquid in an airtight container.

Soap Nut shells that haven’t been used before will create a fairly strong liquid soap that you might want to dilute before use. For used shells, you can repeat the liquid-soap-making procedure several times before finally sending them to your compost heap. Instead of using Soap Nuts whole in your laundry, you can also use three tablespoons of this liquid soap per large laundry load.

Washing Dishes: Soap Nut liquid works great for washing dishes, especially glassware.

Pet shampoo: Soap Nut liquid can be used to remove parasites from the fur and skin of pets, leaving them clean, soft and protected from further infestations.

Household cleaning: Soap Nut suds will clean your kitchen or bathroom as effectively as most chemical cleaners. You can basically use if for all your cleaning tasks, inside and out.

Cleaning Jewelry: In Indian households, Soap Nuts are commonly used to clean and shine jewelry. Soak jewelry in Soap Nut liquid, then rub with a cloth for a high shine.

Natural pesticide: Using Soap Nuts is an effective and natural way to repel insects – such as greenfly and aphids – off of plants and around the house. Simply fill a spraying bottle with diluted Soap Nut solution and spray your plants, or use the wash water from your laundry or dishwashing.

We Can Change the World by How We Live Each Day.
Simply by washing your clothes with Soap Nuts instead of manufactured laundry detergents helps you to protect life downstream for future generations, instead of destroying it.