Has anyone ever used soap nuts? Are they any good?

[MrsThierryHenry]

here

I'm determined to slice as much as I can from my 'housekeeping budget' but don't want to spend even a measly £6 on them if they're no good.

Message withdrawn

What was it that failed to impress you, exactly? Cleaning power, or softening ability? Or anything else?

lots of people on here rave about them.. I want to try them

I think you might be able to get them cheaper elsewhere

£6 for 50 washes.. how much would 50 washes cost with an average washing posder I wonder?

Message withdrawn

I've tried them and they don't work any better than water alone IMO. I got mine from a site that sells a trial pack for 75p, I'll see if I can find it for you.

Interested - so do you use them instead of washing powder or in combo with them Are they widely available?

This is where I got a 75p sample from.

i've just ordered a trial pack. enough for 3-4 washes, costing just 99p for p&p. will test it on my nappies and normal whites wash before committing. am bfing at mom,ent and sorting out a link is not possible, but just put soap nut trial into google and it should pop up.

I've used them for years now and like them. They are good for a not-heavily-soiled wash. If you need a 'boost' for dirtier stuff or if it's a white wash, I just add a spoonful or so of Ecover laundry bleach.

Any really yucky stains, I pre-treat with Ecover stain remover stuff, but then I always had to do that with non-bio powder anyway.

They wash my children's white school things and their dirty/muddy P.E. kits brilliantly, and I don't think you can say fairer than that.

They are cheapest on Ebay Germany, I got several kilos years ago for peanuts. Several of us on another site did a huge bulk buy and split it. I'm still using mine.

I used a trial pack too and was extreamly impressed

im currnetly suing up my remaining detergent and dont plan on buying any more of it again EVER... will swap to soap nuts

i also dont like the thought of all the nasty chemicals going down the drain

soap nuts contain no optical brightener so will NOT keep your whites white (or bind to your skin permenantly / give you cancer )

(I'll use ecover bleach with them for my whites)

I get on well with them.

Quick plug though - I sell packs double that size for £7.50

Wow, thanks for your advice, MNers! I think it's worth giving them a go; we use all the Ecover products at the moment and I'd certainly keep them in stock for heavy stains, but perhaps soapnuts are the way forward.

Bran - you're a star, thanks for that sample link. I'll order some right away.

Ecoworrier - thanks loads for the ebay Germany tip, v. useful.

Flamesparrow - if I wanted to buy through you, how would I do that?