CONTENTS

• What are soap nuts?
• How to use soap nuts
• What else can you use soap nuts for?
• Is it worth using soap nuts?

Society's ecological awareness is increasing. Waste separation has become the norm in almost every household; more and more consumers are using reusable bags and avoiding buying water in plastic bottles. In eco-friendly stores, we can find many interesting alternatives to drugstore and often environmentally harmful cleaning products. One of the products that particularly contributes to the pollution of our planet is washing powder. The chemicals it contains, such as phosphates, end up in rivers and oceans, significantly polluting the water. Fortunately, there are a growing number of ecological alternatives to drugstore detergents. Soap nuts are one of them. Let's see why they're worth taking a closer look.

What are soap nuts?

Soap nuts originate from India and Nepal, where they have been used for washing for centuries. Mukorossi nuts grow on Sapindus trees. After harvesting, they are split open, the insides removed, and dried. Nuts prepared in this way are suitable for washing. The shells contain saponins, which, upon contact with water, begin to lather gently like soap. Soap nuts have washing properties:

• soften water,
• disinfect,
• degrease,
• They wash.

Soap nuts are recommended for anyone who values ​​the use of natural cleaning products to protect the natural environment, as well as for people with sensitive and delicate skin. They are suitable for washing clothes for allergy sufferers and babies.

How to use soap nuts

• Machine wash

Place about 5-6 shells in a cotton bag, which is placed directly into the washing machine drum and set to any wash program (from 30 to 90 degrees Celsius). They can remain in the washing machine throughout the entire wash cycle, including the rinse cycle. When washing white laundry, add about 2 tablespoons of baking soda to the powder compartment.

• Hand wash

About 5-6 nutshells are poured with hot water for 15 minutes. After this time, we can remove the nuts or put them in a cotton bag and wash them as usual with drugstore detergents.

What else can you use soap nuts for?

It turns out that soap nuts aren't just for washing, but also have much more versatile uses. They're suitable for:

• Washing and cleaning – the water remaining after boiling about 10 mussels can be poured into a bottle for about 10 minutes and used for dusting, washing floors or children's toys.
• Washing in the dishwasher – put about 5 bowls in the cutlery basket and set the basic program of the dishwasher,
• for bathing and grooming dogs – for this we use the same decoction of nuts that we prepare for cleaning and use it as shampoo for animals.

Is it worth using soap nuts?

The greatest advantage of soap nuts is that they are completely natural and contain no artificial or harmful substances. They are safe for allergy sufferers and small children, and they are completely biodegradable. They have a neutral scent, so people accustomed to the strong smell of perfumed laundry powders may miss it. However, there is a remedy: we can add a few drops of our favorite essential oil to the laundry.

Of course, soap nuts are more delicate than regular powder, but they successfully combat everyday dirt. They're definitely worth a try, as washing with them is healthy, ecological, and economical. Assuming you do one load of laundry per day, one kilogram of nuts will last for about five months. One serving of nuts in a cotton bag can be used for at least two to four washes.