Eco balls, soap nuts etc....

[Earthymama]

how do you get that lovely laundry smell if you use eco products in your washing?

Am trying ecoballs as we speak!!

When I'm using soap nuts I add essential oils, lemon for most things, lavender for bedding. They don't smell very strong though which is a bit of a shame.
Whenever the weather allows I hang them out to dry and they smell gorgeous.

As for the detergent laundry smells, I hate them anyway. The smell from most stuff makes me sneeze, and detergents itself makes me itch.

I've got an eco ball thing. You soon get used to the absence of scent.

If you feel the need, one of those scented sheets in the dryer helps or a squirt of febreeze.

And if that's not enough just think of the money you are saving on washing powder/tabs/liquid and the impact you are (not) having on the environment. [insert smug eco smiley here]

Earthy. where did you buy the nuts and do you rate them, apart from the absence of smell!!!

I love the soap nuts!

Last for ages, cheap , everything is very soft

I'm the same as biblio, I actually really detest the usual laundry smells. I cough and sneeze quite often just standing next to people who have used 'smelly' washing powders or fabric conditioners. And I also itch with most detergents.

I quite like just the fresh of laundry dried outside, but if I really want it to smell of 'something' I use essential oils too, citrus ones being my favourite.

I bought my soapnuts on Ebay Germany, about a quarter of the price I have seen in the UK, but then I did bulk-buy. If you only want a small amount, UK sellers are probably a better bet.

My friend runs a business selling soapnuts, eco balls and lots of other eco friendly cleaning things.
summernaturals.co.uk/
She's also very willing to give out advise on what to use to clean where.

]Apologies if this is a semi-hijack but...] I've tried soap nuts and was suitably impressed with them to consider a permanent switch. However does anyone know how they compare from a carbon footprint perspective? I love the fact that they're fair trade and totally compostable but am not sure whether that is sufficient to offset the fact that they have to be imported from India & Nepal, when I know that there's an eco-laundry product manufacturer just a few miles away.

If anyone can recommend anywhere I could post this question, I'd be really grateful.

BTW, in response to the OP, I also added essential oils in the fabric conditioner drawer when using soap nuts but can't honestly say that it seemed to make any difference to the smell.

As far as carbon footprints I can only guess.
But, I used soap nuts for every wash for 6 months and only got half way down the 500g bag I bought. Weight wise (and cost wise) that's far far less than I would have done using normal detergents. I'm not sure whether it would make up for the distance they've travelled though.

I do like soap nuts and still use them most of the time, but I've started using Ecover for some washes too. Soap nuts get rid of most dirt, but they weren't getting rid of the greasy marks on my tops where I'd spilt food (I blame the pregnant belly.)
Mind you Ecover doesn't always get rid of it either so I think I'll probably start using stain remover on the marks and go back to the soap nuts. It's certainly the cheaper option.

Can i just add something - yes, the carbon footprint is crucially important and yes soapnuts are shipped in from India - but we also need to consider all the chemicals that we wash down our drains every day, these chemicals then pison our waterways and i do think that the water authorities probably do a reasonable job of filtering our water supply but can we really be sure that remnants of what we put into the water system aren't coming back at us?

Also, i suspect that all the ingredients used in washing powder are also shipped/flown in and if you consider how many ingredients go into making washing powder compared to just one in soapnuts, then you need to consider the process that goes into making the boxes etc. I think that soapnuts win hads down, or is it hands up - anyway.........

The soapnuts are picked, this offers local people in a third world country work (saying that we all need jobs here too), the nuts are then shipped directly to the UK or Europe - i have worked hard at finding a good UK supplier to cut out that middle man in europe and so the process is one ship, one courier van and then the post man to you - i can't imagine how much goes into producing washing powder but me thinks it would be a whole lot more.

My new stash that i have in stock are also really lovely and gooey and oozing in saponin so a great batch this time. Just thinking about adding 5 kilo bags to site too so that people can buy and split with friends, this also cuts out the need for individuals ordering and parcels going out left right and centre, thus helping the carbon footprint that little bit further.

Hmm best go do some work ;-)

Anne

That was meant to say poison (blush)

anne

aghhhh blush

anne ;-)

I am OP and then disappeared! such bad manners sorry! Family crisis intervened and have not been on the computer.

Thank you for the responses, I'll try the essential oils, though if I use lavender I'll be sleeping as soon as I get dressed.

I was at a festival yesterday and we had to say what environmently responsible steps we are already taking and what we can try to do.
It was nice to be able to give a little list and then think about the next moves I can make, which is to replace ALL bulbs at home and at my mothers.