Soap nuts

[thehouseofmirth]

I have lots of questions about them and hoping someone can help:

Can anyone tell me do they really work? Would they get nappies properly clean?
How long do they last?(I need to be able to work out cost per wash as we are on an extremely tight budget)
Where is the best place to buy them in terms of cost and quality?

Thank you!

Hello
Ive tried these - to be frank I was disappointed - they didnt even get a few food bits from the clothes let alonw cope with nappies ! Also the clothes didnt smell 'nice' like they normally do - I got a free sample from a company on the net (just google soap nuts) and ended up freecycling them. Sorry to be negative!

GOod luck

p.s about to try those little ball things (hefty cost at £35 but theyre supposed to be good!!

hated them, stained towels, amd going to try those eco wash balls.

i loved soap nuts

i got a sample for less than £1 at www.inasoapnutshell.co.uk get a few and you can try them out... the sample will last 6 - 8 washes

i LOVED them whgen i tried and will convert when i have run out of normal detergant

Got clothes cleaner than waitrose bio liq that i usually use

i liquidise them and put them in a spray bottle with water to use as all purpose cleaner - does windows, surfaces, even wood.

I live in very hard water area. I use a tiny amount of cheapo bio powder (40 ml on the plastic scoop instead of the 110ml recommended) and soap nuts (bag of 6 halfs for about 6 washes) and it gets everything clean and it smells good and it's cheap.

Absolute yes for washing nappies too.

My dh does let me use them on his white work shirts. Happy to give my small bag of them (about 450g) free to a good home. Any takers?

I like them but for not hugely filthy iyswim.

I love them as a spray though

I am curious Helium, what are those little ball things?

I have used soap nuts for years now, no problems. No, they aren't brilliant with stains, but then I always used non-bio which wasn't either!

What I do for stained stuff is just throw a bit of Ecover laundry bleach in with it. For real heavy-duty stains, I might also pre-treat it with Ecover stain remover. But actually I rarely have to do that - and the soapnuts are great for my children's white school shirts, white sports polo shirts and horrendously muddy/grass-stained rugby kit!

As to price, the cheapest place I have found is Ebay Germany, search for 'waschnussschalen'. Otherwise, try this site - at the moment it has 1 kg for £10.69 with free postage in the UK.

I bought 2 kg 2 1/2 years ago and am still going strong!

I have been using soapnuts this week as got a sample off the net. They seem to work pretty good so far but we aren't a horrendously dirty family (although the weather has kept the kids inside recently). I read that for white loads, you can add a bit of soda crystals to help remove stains or keep whites bright and for those who would miss the smell of powder/softener, add a few drops of pure essential oil (not citrus ones though) to the softner drawer. I have done 3 loads like this today and my washing in soft, clean and smells nice enough (though love the smell of line dried stuff!).

I am expecting a baby in 7 weeks and will be using cloth, so am interested to hear that it works on nappies too. It is one thing pre-washing them, but I will see how this method copes with breastfed baby poop soon enough!

I do have a very small box of bio poweder for if I need to brighten or remove stubborn stains but hope not to use it often.