Soapnuts.

So has anybody used these for longer than, say, a week?

They're selling dried Chinese soapberry shells (Sapindus mukorossi) in the largest health food store in town, and I promptly bought some.

Pic: Dried Chinese soapnut shells.

The instructions say to crush 5-7 half soapberry shells (= 4-6 g) and put these into a cotton baggy. This then is the amount needed per washing-machine load. It sounds laughably little, seeing that you (or at least, I) use way more washing powder per load ...

... anyway, the leaflet says that these contain 13 % saponins. I'll have to check how much saponin there is in bouncing bet roots (and/or leaf) (Saponaria officinalis), cos they're local to me, and were a very vigorous weed in my old garden; I'm sure the bouncing bet can be enticed to grow lots'n'lots of roots in the new garden as well. (Bummer, Jim Duke's database lists neither Sapindus nor Saponaria.) (Bummer, bouncing bet roots contain only 5 % saponin (gypsogenin + sugar). Of course, they don't say if that's fresh or dry ...)

I didn't notice any cotton bags by the dried nuts, so I've made my own out of an old bedsheet. I've found that tying the bundles up first and using the hammer on them then is better than doing things the other way around.

And I've washed a few loads of clothes with these nuts. The idea of switching to soapnuts completely is extremely attractive, as I'm green (err, that is, I think of the environment rather more than your average Joe).

What I want to know is, how clean are your clothes after a year of using no washing powder, just soapnuts?

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Related entry: Soapnut update

Jim? Snigger. JR, your jars

Jim? Snigger.
JR, your jars sound like too much work right now.
Lee: heh.
Sorry, daubermaus, I haven't seen a Chinese name for it. Search for "Sapindus soapnut", you might get lucky... and these are actually Indian, not Chinese.

Ah, JR, you use a new set of

Ah, JR, you use a new set of 5-7 crushed half soapnut shells for each new load of dirty washing.
Katja, they were about 20 € per kg, that is, not much at all, especially compared to washing powder. 2 teaspoons a load, eh? Thanks.
Orange oil is a solvent (like all essential oils). And citrus oils are allergenic. Try gall soap for pre-treating stains. For scents, try a drop of lavender oil on a piece of cotton put into your load of washing.

Ah. Right, thanks!

Ah. Right, thanks!

Yes Jim, I'll give them a

Yes Jim, I'll give them a honest try including no detergent at all for a few weeks, but not right now: things are a teensy bit too busy.

The soapnuts I have are

The soapnuts I have are enough for now, thanks anyway. I'm sure that I don't need kgs of them, let alone metric tonnes.

Chuck: snigger.

Chuck: snigger.

Yes, very helpful. Many

Yes, very helpful. Many thanks!

Weird, that. You'd think

Weird, that. You'd think they'd be found in every co-op.

That's nice.

That's nice.

And, as I see from your

And, as I see from your (deleted) site link, you just happen to sell them. What a coincidence ... sorry, but that's what I call a vested interest, and that leaves your comment rather less than worthy. And the link deleted, of course.