Hello all,
Becky all your information was wonderful!!
I have been using soapnuts since August 2010. Here are some things I have noticed.
-I noticed that it took a bit of time before the soapnuts worked as well as normal detergent. It seemed to me that once the soapnuts washed out the entire residue from other stuff then the clothes seemed to come cleaner. And I was using 7th Generation soap, I bet it would be worse with non-natural brands. It almost seems to me that the dirt stuck to the clothes more with the regular detergents, almost like it left a sticky residue that the soapnuts does not.
?? No idea if this makes sense, but it does to me. Maybe just one more way big business keeps its self in business.
So if anyone out there tries them, you may want to try them for at least a month before deciding (using nothing else of course). And make sure you wash and wear some of the same clothes in that time.
-Also, a bit of information. The first time I bought them I got about 4kg (about 4 pounds) from Naturoli for about $45 with shipping. That amount lasted us (family of 2 adults and 3 small children) until about one month ago. That is a lot of laundry!!! Before I was spending about $10-$15 per month. A huge savings!! This past August I bought 4 pounds from a company called “Time 2 Go Natural” for $49 with shipping. I also expect this to last at least a year or more.
-I also like Becky make a tea. I use about 30 whole soapnuts, I put them in a bag and use a rubber mallet to bash and break them up, put them all in a large pot of water. More than 8 cups. Boil lots and lots (2-4 hours). Strain them all out and your end result should be 8 cups of "tea". If you start with more than 8 cups of water then boil it down until you know you have 8 cups or less. Once you strain it and it comes to less than 8 cups just add water. Put some in the frig for immediate use and freeze the rest. You can freeze it in ice cube trays and then you use about 2-3 cubes per load of laundry (or 2 to 4 oz of liquid, depending on you needs). I also use Oxi Clean for washing, it seems to help, especially with the kids clothes.
-I tried it in the dishwasher the other day, but could not tell if it worked well or not. My dishwasher is soooo gunked up with the crap stuff it is hard to tell. I will try to update this if I get any results.
Good luck to all who try this out. I think it is one of the best and safest things to use for all concerned. Kids, animals, and the environment; can’t forget to mention it is good for the checking account too!!!.
Take care,
Tricia
