Are soapnuts as good as they sound?

[CousinDelores]

I've been making an effort to be considerably more eco friendly for a whole now and I've come across soap nuts as a good eco option for laundry. I also have a fairly strict budget I an always mindful of that.
Does/has anyone used them and can give me your thoughts either way?
They sound perfect from both an eco and financial stand point!
Do they properly clean your clothes?
What about whites? I've read some reviews which says they leave a yellow tinge?
Do clothes smell musty after a while? I usually wash every thing at 30, but I do find, especially in summer, somethings need a hot wash to keep them properly clean but it's not a frequent thing.
Is it good for your washing machine, will I need to run cleaner through it more often?
So many questions but I'm interested to hear if other people have liked them

I was given some as a gift a few years ago. Out of interest I put a few loads of non-stained clothes on without any form of detergent and they come out quite fresh, so I think that might be why it seems to work.

Tried them about 5 years ago and really wanted them to work, but they didn’t - and I suspect led to the early demise of my machine…

I use an eco egg now and then of stuff is really stained or I want a really good wash I throw some powder in. Pretty happy with the egg and I got a refill on Amazon for £4 which is supposed to do 100+ washes.

I didn’t find them very good at all. Went back to using detergent.

I found I started getting little holes appearing in my clothes, which I assumed was due to them being a bit spiky?

I used them a long time ago and they're good for a rinse wash but not really if you need to get things clean.

@EdgeOfSeventeenAndThreeQuarter

Tried them about 5 years ago and really wanted them to work, but they didn’t - and I suspect led to the early demise of my machine…

I use an eco egg now and then of stuff is really stained or I want a really good wash I throw some powder in. Pretty happy with the egg and I got a refill on Amazon for £4 which is supposed to do 100+ washes.

Oh I like the sound of an eco egg.. tell me more! Does it work on colder washes? One site suggests it's it quite good for biological staining, and presumably smells. Ds still has the odd accident and I usually use some bio gel in those washes so I don't have to do a hot wash as can't stand when there's a musty wee smell left behind. Do you think an eco egg would be up to preschool DS clothes?

I got the “linen” scent as I hate floral and. I’ve been using it with the eco wash which I think is a very cool wash (20?)

My kids roll around in dirt and it seems to be dealing with that and underwear comes out sparkling.

I just prefer to do bed linen at a higher temperature with powder.

I tried them a couple of years ago. I used them in the net bag and also tried making a liquid from the shells to use. The clothes were not clean after using. I was really disappointed.

I also used an eco egg for a bit. I had the same issue. They didn't clean my teenage son's shirts properly , the pits still smelled of teenager after using.

I now just use a boxed powder , as that's cutting down on single use plastic at least.

@Phyllis321 natural deodorant didn't work for me either. Perhaps I'm stinkier than you

It also started leaving white marks on my favourite shirts. That upset me.

I tried them 12 years ago and didn't rate them.

Also used the eco egg for about 6 months but didn't find it any good for whites or stains/smells.

I've been using Smol laundry tabs for almost 2 years now and want me switching any time soon - they're vegan, cruelty free, cardboard packaging, plant based coating etc. It's not 100% on the eco credentials but close enough for me :)

I tried them a few years ago, it really depends on how dirty the clothes are. They refresh things well but stain tackling wasn't great.

@Whatoflife

Annoyingly my husband was allergic to them ffs

My mother had a terrible reaction to them, had to ring 999 and could barely speak she swelled up so much. I won't be using them!

I use EcoEgg. I keep a note of how many washes they've done and change every 60+ . It says 70 but I err on side of caution. Clothes come out clean and fresh.

Use them by making a liquid, ok for lightly stained stuff, tho I add Ecover stain remover, and bio d bleach when needed.
I use bio d liquid which I great, cheaper than Ecover, hoping the soapnuts will save me a bit, as most washes not too stained.
My advice be realistic about stain removal and bleach.
I never buy the petro chemical stuff

I use the powder from Splosh. You can get 15% off with this code F3TMTQWWUG. Was a which Best Buy and I'm impressed with it :)