Soap Nuts

NaturOli’s Extreme 18X soap nuts liquid is getting a face lift (new labeling). For many months Extreme 18X has been created using USDA Organic soap berries, but the labels have not reflected that improvement.

EXTREME 18X
Soap Nuts Liquid Laundry Detergent & Green Cleaner Concentrate.

Now produced from USDA Certified Organic Soap Nuts / Soap Berries!

With no-mess, no-waste, micro-dose pump!
One pump included.
Ultra-concentrated 18X potency.
As little as one tiny 2ml squirt per load (no kidding).

8 ounces will yield 96 high efficiency (HE) loads or 48 standard loads.

The folks over at NaturOli are making room for the redesigned labels by offering this SUPER SALE on bottles with the old labels. You know waste not want not. It’s the same amazing formula you’ve come to know and love, and the same concept that won a Green Dot Award.

Quoting directly from the email I received.

50% off regular retail prices on Extreme 18X – UNTIL GONE

You’ll need a promo code. Use promo code: extreme50

PLEASE NOTE: You’ll find the field to enter your code at the very bottom of your “Shopping Cart” page. Scroll all the way down. Enter the code, and click “Submit”. Your discount will then be clearly displayed.

Sale applies to full size singles & multi-packs only.

Oh and they even sweetened the deal.

FREE BONUS:

For each $50 in merchandise (after discounts), we’ll include a bonus 2-oz. Mini bottle of Extreme hair Soap Berry Shampoo. (A $5.90 value each.) You don’t need to do anything at all. It will be shipped with your order.

Note: If you have a formula preference, indicate “Dry” or “Oily” in the customer comments at check-out.

Oh and don’t forget that NaturOli ALWAYS offers Free Shipping on orders over $100. So you can really CLEAN UP with this EXTREME SALE.

Don’t forget Extreme 18X Soap Nuts Liquid (laundry detergent and green cleaner) has a 2 year shelf life so you won’t have to worry about how long it will take to use up the supply if you stock up now.

Extreme 18X Single Bottle

Extreme 18X 2-pack

Extreme 18X 3-pack

NaturOli's Extreme 18x -Same Award Winning Formula - Brand New Look

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Soap nuts have many uses. People have suggested using them as a chemical free dish washing detergent. However, some people who’ve tried soap nuts in the dishwasher are getting inconsistent results and I often see searches for “chemical free dish washing detergent” in my blog stats because of the crack down on phosphates in many states.

I thought today, since I just had an email exchange with someone on the subject of using soap nuts in the dishwasher, I’d share my own experiences and techniques for using soap nuts in the dishwasher and for hand washing of dishes.

I live in an area with very hard water and we cook with olive oil every day so I have some very tough dishwashing conditions. I also don’t always get the dishwasher loaded or the dishes rinsed immediately which doesn’t make things easier.

However, I have used soap nuts in several ways for washing dishes both by hand and in the dishwasher and had mostly good results.

When hand washing with soap nuts I strongly suggest, if your dishes are greasy or have caked on food, that you keep a shaker can of soap nuts powder near the sink. I sprinkle some finely ground soap nuts onto greasy plates or caked/cooked on food to help it to release more easily. The soap nuts powder also helps to not only release the grease from dishes but also gives the grease something to stick to so that it stays off the dish as you rinse. I’ve also mentioned previously that soap nuts powder is the best natural scouring powder I have ever used so there’s almost no scrubbing if you sprinkle soap nuts powder on a damp plate or pot even if the mess is stuck on thick.

Recently I also took some NaturOli Extreme 18X diluted it 5 to 1 with water and put it in a spray bottle. I spray the dishes now, give it a second to work it’s surfactant magic and then swipe the sponge across the dish or pot and load it into the dishwasher.

Since I also often wash dishes by hand to save the electric and water. I add either 1 teaspoon of undiluted Extreme 18x or homemade soap nuts liquid. Then fill the sink with warm water and set the dishes in it to soak for about 2 minutes. I then scrub them with the sponge and dip them in the rinse sink which I have filled with water water and 1/4 cup of white vinegar.

Some people put the soap nuts into the silverware cup and I have tried this with fairly poor results so I do not suggest this as a perfect solution.

One of the reasons that soap nuts do work on dishes so well is their ability to change the surface tension of both the water and the food or grease. However because of the nature of dishwashers you get more of a splashing of water than you get a submerging and agitation like you would in the washing machine with your laundry. That’s one the reasons I strongly suggest you either pre-soak them in the sink in warm water with soap nuts liquid as described above or your pre-scrub them using soap nuts powder.

Truth is most of the time I just use the soap nuts liquid and powder to hand wash my dishes instead of using the dishwasher. It saves me money by reducing my energy and it saves water since I can take the used water from the sinks when I’m done and use it on my plants.

If you are determined to try soap nuts in the dishwasher just be sure to rinse the dishes as well as possible and if they are greasy use some soap nuts powder on them to break up the grease and rinse most of it off the dishes before loading them in the dishwasher.

Soap nuts are an amazing way to reduce toxic chemicals and packaged cleaners from your home and reduce recycling waste and save money. But to make the most of them you must understand how they work and work with them the way nature intended.

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Soap nuts are a completely natural laundry detergent. Equally important is that they are (and have been for centuries) known to be safe for people with sensitive skin.

While some companies like Seventh Generation create chemical formulas using “plant derived” cleaning agents specifically for sensitive skin, nature already created a natural detergent that works well to clean without irritating skin.

From Seventh Generation’s own site here is the list of ingredients in their “Free and Clear” Laundry Liquid.

Consider as you read through these ingredients that they (as is true on all ingredient lists listed from highest to lowest concentrations in the formula).

Free & Clear Natural 2X Concentrated Laundry Liquid

Aqua (water), sodium laureth sulfate, coconut alcohol ethoxylate & glycerin (plant-derived cleaning agents), sodium citrate (water softener), oleic acid & glyceryl oleate (plant-derived anti-foaming agents), sodium hydroxide (alkalinity builder), sodium borate (alkalinity builder and soil dispersant), amylase, cellulase & protease (enzyme soil removers), calcium chloride (cleaning enhancer), hexahydro-1,3,5-tris (2-hydroxyethyl)-s-triazine (preservative)

Let’s see how safe, natural, or non-irritating some of these ingredients are.

http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/ingredient/706089/SODIUM_LAURETH_SULFATE as you scroll down the page warning flags will no doubt spring up in your mind. But keep scrolling and you’ll see that this ingredient has proven to cause skin irritations in rabbits, and guinea pigs. Are we to believe that it won’t cause them in humans, especially children or those with health issues already?

Another potential cause of itchy skin is excessive alkalinity. If you review the ingredients above your will see two alkalinity building ingredients. So this too could be a cause of laundry detergents causing itchy skin or irritating sensitive skin. One way to know for sure would be to take a PH testing kit to the formula and see how alkaline it is. However, few of us would want to have to do this every time we try a commerically produced laundry detergent.

Now let’s turn to why soap nuts are considered a good choice of a truly natural laundry detergent that is excellent for those suffering from sensitive skin.

First let’s look at the ingredient list for soap nuts. It’s short. There are not long names with further explanation of the why they are included needed. More importantly none them are plant derived through chemical processes. They are simple a part of a plant, specifically the berry of the Sapindus Mukorossi Tree.

Ingredient in a bag of soap nuts are soap nuts.

Now let’s look at how the soap nuts work and how they’ve been used historically for not only cleaning but treating sensitive skin problems like psoriasis, dermatitis, eczema, and itchiness of the skin and scalp.

The particular type of saponin in greatest quantity in soap nuts are triterpenoid saponins. Wikipedia has a long explanation of them however the part most important to why they work to clean is this portion.

Most triterpenoid compounds in adaptogenic plants are found as saponin glycosides which refers to the attachment of various sugar molecules to the triterpene unit. Saponin glycosides reduce surface tension of water with foaming and will break down lipids.

In Ayuevedic medicine the soap nuts are often used as an anti-inflammatory. That pretty much says it all they will NOT inflame (irritate) tissue.

Additionally soap nuts leave no residue on the clothes when properly used so unlike commercial chemically derived laundry detergents nothing is left in your clothing to irritate your skin.

That is the brief explanation of why soap nuts are an excellent natural laundry detergent for sensitive skin.

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Soap nuts are perhaps the best way to deal with kitchen messes in a chemical free way.

As the northern areas of the US are feeling the chill, more time spent indoors is around the corner. Another thing is more indoor cooking and that means more kitchen messes to clean up.

With cooler weather homemade soup is on many people’s menus these days. Homemade soups and sauces can cause a major mess on the stove top. Cleaning those stuck on messes from your counter-top is as easy as spraying some homemade soap nuts liquid onto the mess, letting it sit for a few seconds and woosh … as my mother would say “ALL GONE”.

Another place that takes a beating in the kitchen is the refrigerator. Come on no matter how super a housekeeper you are thawing meats mean caked on blood in the refrigerator and vegetables you forgot you had mean goo and stench in the crisper drawer. It’s happened to all of us.

However, the last thing you want to do is expose all those fresh foods to chemical residue or synthetic fragrances. Think about it your food is closed up inside that moist environment 24 hours a day. Imagine how toxic residue or harsh chemicals hanging in the air along with your food can put your health in jeopardy. Also consider that messes in the back of the refrigerator means leaning in to clean them. Most commerical cleaners are dangerous and irritating if inhaled, even that misty fallout. Soap nuts however pose no such health risk and will not irritate your skin or lungs. Just one more reason to use soap nuts to clean the kitchen!

Again the easiest answer is to put soap nuts liquid in a spray bottle and mist the inside of the drawers, the glass on the shelves, and the doors. Be sure to spray the gaskets around the doors too because this is a favorite spot for mold, fungus, and mildew to grow. Soap nuts being both anti-fungal and anti-bacterial will keep your refrigerator clean and free of the bacteria that causes odors and you won’t be exposing your family to toxic fallout from the cleaner you use.

Now, let’s talk soap nuts and the dishwasher. The jury is out on whether or not soap nuts work well in the dishwasher. One thing I strongly suggest is to grind some soap nuts powder and use it as a quick scouring powder on your dishes with grease, oil, or caked on foods. This will release the mess and make it easier for soap nuts to do their job in the dishwasher. Remember that a part of what makes a surfactant (the saponin in soap nuts) work well is moisture and agitation, but also contact with the item being cleaned. Dishwashers splash the water around, so don’t count on them being a perfect solution. But by all means give it a try. I use soap nuts powder and liquid to hand wash my dishes and I am thrilled with the results.

If you don’t have time to make soap nuts liquid at home using our recipe, then I highly recommend you purchase a bottle of NaturOli’s Extreme 18X. It’s not just a natural laundry detergent, but it can also be diluted with water for all your household cleaning uses.

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Soap nuts as you have read, if you’ve followed my blog posts, are one of the most environmentally friendly all purpose green cleaners available, not to mention all of the other great ways to use soap nuts to replace chemical based packaged products in the home.

I know I planned to go into more detail about NaturOli’s new soap nuts shampoo bar in my next post, but I’ve been temporarily derailed by thoughts about the natural laundry detergent benefits of soap nuts. What derailed me? Summer laundry challenges, that’s what!

Last week I spent an inordinate number of hours in the summer sun and heat playing at DisneyWorld with out-of-town guests. As you can imagine I was soaked in perspiration after only a few minutes, let alone more than eight hours each day.

I have used soap nuts for just over a year now and although you would expect I would no longer be amazed by what a phenomenal natural laundry detergent they are. I just can’t help but smile every time I remove another load of laundry from the washing machine.

Summer clothing and laundry demands present greater challenges than most seasonal clothing. Most people spend more time outdoors, perspire more heavily, and for those with oil skin their bodies produce even more oil. All of that means major laundry challenges, especially related to odors in your clothing.

Let’s talk about the wonders of soap nuts as a natural laundry detergent in bit more depth. With heat and perspiration the pores of the skin dilate which means that those who are sensitive to synthetic chemicals and fragrances are even more prone to skin irritation. That means an additive free natural detergent has even more value and benefit to them during the summer months.

So what else is important to know about the natural laundry detergent benefits of soap nuts? Well their ability to cause the release of soil, perspiration, and odors in particular. If you have a sensitive nose you may have noticed that your linen closet or dresser drawers have a faint smell of rancid oil to them over time. That is caused by the oils from your skin coupled with the natural skin bacteria becoming embedded in your linens and shirts in particular. Regular synthetic laundry detergent does not significantly change the surface tension of either the water or the fabric enough to cause a full release of those oils and bacteria. Soap nuts do though, which is why soap nuts leave your clothes clean, soft (no built up residue embedded in the fabric) and also cause natural fibers to become more absorbent. Soap nuts actually unclog the fibers and the longer you use them as a natural laundry detergent the more you will notice that your clothes get softer with each wash.

Hard to believe I know, but it’s true. I know this not only from personal experience but from other long terms soap nuts users. One man in particular has mentioned to me how with each wash in soap nuts his under garments become more soft.

Now let’s discuss what soap nuts, when used as a natural laundry detergent, do for absorbency of fabrics.

Summer means more natural fibers clothing and there is nothing worse than having your shirt drenched in perspiration and stuck to your body. However because soap nuts do not leave a residue and in fact cause built up detergent and fabric softener residue to release clothes, towels, and undergarments become more absorbent. So fabrics washed in soap nuts will absorb the perspiration and then allow the fabric to dry easily and quickly.

Now the last thing I want to point out about the benefits of soap nuts as a natural laundry detergent is that many people spend more time at the swimming pool and beach during the summer. Whether is is play time or exercise that means wet towels that do not always get washed and dried right away.

We have all forgotten laundry over night in the washing machine or had someone in our house dump their wet towels in the laundry hamper. What happens when damp clothes are left in a closed environment especially in the heat is that bacteria grows in that lovely damp warm environment. And then what? Stinking sour smelling clothes. But here’s a really interesting thing I know about the difference when you use soap nuts as your natural laundry detergent. Not only do they remove that nasty sour smell from wet towels and laundry, but even if someone does leave damp laundry in the washing machine overnight most people find that their is no sour smell. Now how great is that, no more having to rewash a perfectly clean load of laundry just because you forgot it in the washing machine overnight, or your kids pulled damp clothes out of the dryer and dumped them in a basket and forgot to mention it.

In the year that I have used soap nuts as a natural laundry detergent I have noticed many things. One thing in particular is that I have a great deal less dryer lint. So what’s the big deal there you may wonder. Well many of us who tout the benefits of soap nuts point out that because the surfactant (saponin) is natural and not chemically derived your clothes will not only keep their color longer, stay white without bleach but also last longer because there are no harsh chemicals to break down or abrade the fibers. How do I know this is true … my lint filter tells me so. Less dryer lint means that less fiber filaments are being worn away on my clothing. Soap nuts are responsible for that.

All in all you cannot ask for a better natural laundry detergent than soap nuts. They are anti-fungal, antimicrobial, additive free, hypoallergenic, biodegradable, and sustainable. Sounds like a home run to me.

Summer’s here … go get some soap nuts and find out for yourself the natural laundry detergent benefits they have to offer.

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Today I want to share with you how to make and use soap nuts shampoo. Yes you can replace many toxic, unsafe, skin irritating skin care and personal care products with soap nuts too, even shampoo.

Many people share that soap nuts can be used as a shampoo, but if I were to hazard a guess few if any of them actually use soap nuts shampoo because their descriptions are so identical and obviously from one central source. I have also concluded that people want more detailed instructions about using soap nuts shampoo because I see a lot of searches for it in my analytics reports.

Before I share with you my recipe for soap nuts shampoo I want to tell you upfront that there is a learning curve to using soap nuts as a shampoo, and that some trial and error is to be expected. Why? Well the most common reason for people having inconsistent results from soap nuts shampoo is our modern programming that encourages us to gauge clean against suds (lather) and also because everyone’s hair texture and water quality is different.

Now that soap nuts shampoo recipes and usage instructions I mentioned before.

I prefer to make my homemade soap nuts liquid the same way some people make sun tea. You’ll find that process in this previous post about making soap nuts liquid greener. (or you can use the soap nuts liquid stove top method)

Once you have your soap nuts liquid prepared according to the recipe of your choice pour approximately 1 cup into either a spray bottle or a foaming pump dispenser, or an old shampoo bottle with a pump top (or pour top). The point here is to put the soap nuts liquid in the type of container that’s most comfortable for you. I personally add approximately 3 tsp of vegetable glycerin because my hair tends towards dry (it’s really more coarse than dry but it likes extra moisturizing). If you choose to add the vegetable glycerin shake the bottle well.

You may add a few drops of your favorite essential oil if you wanted scented shampoo.

So now applying the soap nuts liquid for shampooing. Obviously you need to wet your hair. Start with a very small amount of the liquid if you are pumping or pouring it into your hand. A very small amount of it goes a very long way because it is highly concentrated. There is virtually zero suds so you will feel like you want to put more on your hair looking for suds. I strongly suggest you don’t because you will end up with your hair plastered to your head unless you rinse for a LONG time. You are better off to get your hair a bit wetter and use the extra water for better hair “agitation”.

Now just as a hair stylist would, massage the liquid into your scalp since that’s where healthy hair starts and work it through the rest of your hair. Do you best not to get it in your eyes. Now wet your hair a bit more and rub the liquid through your hair again and then allow it to sit in/on your hair for about 3 minutes.

Rinse WELL preferably with cool water until you see no bubbles in your hair or the water that is running off your head. If your hair feels a bit sticky you need to keep rinsing.

Alternatively if you have one of those foaming pump bottles you will need to dilute the soap nuts liquid approximately 3 to 1 with water and be sure the liquid is very well strained before you put it in the pump because those foamers clog easily.  The process of applying the foamy soap nuts liquid shampoo for this is the same as if you use the straight liquid.

If you choose to try the soap nuts liquid shampoo method using the spray bottle you will want to dilute the soap nuts liquid 2 to 1 to keep your spray nozzle from getting clogged. Mist your wet hair lightly from scalp to hair tips and massage the liquid through your hair.

Some people who wash their hair with soap nuts rinse with white vinegar. I don’t but I do squeeze a small amount of vegetable glycerin into my palm and work it through my damp hair before I comb it.

I wrote above that using soap nuts shampoo has a learning curve to it in part because we are so ill equipped to think of washing hair without that luxuriant suds you get from traditional shampoos.  I cannot emphasize this enough. The suds, as most of you should know, come from chemical foaming agents like sodium laureth sulfate and have no cleansing but potentially very irritating effects.

If you are a real trouper you can try shampooing your hair with soap nuts powder. You’ll need it to be VERY finely ground like you would use it for soap nuts laundry detergent. When I have used soap nuts powder for a shampoo I put it in a shaker with very tiny holes (adding dry rice to the container to keep it from clumping). With the soap nuts powder you will get suds because the saponin is more freely available from the powder. Shake a small dusting of the powder into your damp palms and rub your hands together until you get some suds and then massage it into your hair. Work your way up to more with future washes because again if you use too much you will get plastered hair unless you rinse WELL.

The benefits of using soap nuts shampoo are not limited to just protecting yourself and the planet from irritating and harmful chemical exposure. Let’s not forget that given the antifungal properties of soap nuts this is a perfect anti-fungal shampoo that is also ALL natural.

So if all of this is a bit too much effort for you and you really want to use soap nuts for shampoo you have two other great choices. One you can get right away and one you will need to wait about 4-6 weeks to get your hands on.

This is your first alternative to trying to make your own soap nuts shampoo. Because I love everything NaturOli makes so much, I tried their fabulous soap nuts soap bar to wash my hair several times. I was very happy with the results, you get great lather and all the benefits of soap nuts. There is much less effort and you have more control over how much you use and can clearly see and feel when you’ve rinsed enough.

But here’s the best of all … earlier this week I got the privilege of trying out a new soap nuts shampoo bar that NaturOli created. It was part of a trial batch and word has it a full batch will be available in approximately 4-6 weeks. So come back and check in with me to see when it’s ready to hit the market. Of course like everything NaturOli formulates their soap bars are natural and have 100 percent full ingredient disclosure.

My next post will have before and after pictures of my hair using both the soap nuts soap bar and the soap nuts shampoo bar along with more details about why I am raving about this new soap nuts shampoo bar, and I’ll  also be sharing soap nuts uses for gentle natural skin care and personal care in place of packaged chemical based products.

So go hit the showers (or tubs) and protect yourself and the planet from chemicals by using soap nuts as a chemical free shampoo!

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Soap nuts are a gardener’s dream come true for more reasons than just using them ground into coarse soap nuts powder for a chemical free hand scrub.

With the beautiful weather months at hand more and more people are out digging in the dirt planting for beautification or planting vegetable gardens. With all of that outdoor work comes the need to deal with dirty hands, dirty clothes, lots of perspiration odor in your clothes, grimy faces, and more than a few preditory insects trying to have a snack at your expense.

Soap nuts in their various common use forms answer every one of those challenges, and do so chemically free and without exposing your body or clothes to harmful irritating detergents or cleansers.

Before heading out to the garden mist yourself with some soap nuts liquid as a green chemical free insect repellent. The saponin is a natural insect repellent but will not harm you or your skin like many of the traditional insect or mosquito repellents.

After using soap nuts powder as a chemical free hand scrub for my mobile mechanics it seemed sensible that if soap nuts worked that well on oily greasy hands they’d work equally well on dirt on the hands and under the finger nails after gardening. So a few weeks ago after clearing an area for a ginger garden I had filthy gardener’s hands. Okay some people wear gloves but I’m am very hands on in everything I do and gardening is no exception. My nails are fairly short but even so I had plenty of sandy black grit under them and anyone who has ever gardened with their bare hands knows getting the dirt out from under your nails is a challenge and requires serious scrubbing.

I was amazed at how great my nails looked after a short scrub with soap nuts powder. I was equally pleased that scrubbing my hands with soap nuts did not dry them out.

Once I finished the gardening for that day my next challenge was the dirt that was all over me and my clothes, not to mention the eau de armpit I’d acquired from working in the afternoon sun.

I dropped the clothes into the laundry and popped my soap nuts in their wash bag into the washer and headed for the bath tub for a soak and a some serious scrubbing (or so I thought).

A few months ago I started sprinkling soap nuts powder into my bath water and the tub filled knowing that there would be a lot less scrubbing required because the same way soap nuts change the water tension in the washing machine they do the same in water used for any kind of washing.

Once the tub was filled I slid in, and took a spoon of the soap nuts powder I keep on the side of the tub for and started on my feet. I should mention at this point I also usually garden bare foot so there was serious dirt caked on my feet after watering in the new garden. I make it a habit to scrub my toe nails with soap nuts powder at least once a week to deter fungal growth and keep my nails white naturally. I have some scientific documentation on how well the saponin from soap nuts works as an antifungal treatment so if you need a good anti-fungal detergent try soap nuts. I’ll share that data in one of my next posts.

Back to soap nuts and gardening.

I sprinkled a bit of soap nuts powder onto my damp skin and lathered it up all the way from toes to top and then took the bottle of soap nuts liquid I keep on the side of the tub and washed my hair with it. Yes soap nuts shampoo too. Hey if I’m going to keep my house and body free of chemicals then my hair deserves the same treatment.

Keep in mind I have very coarse full hair below my waste so there is a lot of it to wash. I have had to learn to adjust to using soap nuts shampoo because since there is not real lather guaging how much can be challenging. Once in awhile I get brave and use the soap nuts powder mixed with some vegetable glycerin for shampooing also. I have found that you really need to have your hair very wet to shampoo with soap nuts and you need to use as little as possible and rinse really well. I always squirt a dab of vegetable glycerin into my damp hands after I shampoo with soap nuts because my hair tends to be coarse and when I do that the comb glides through my hair with no resistance. I can’t even say that was true when I used to use regular sulfate sudsy shampoo and hair conditioner. I’ll dedicate an entire post to soap nuts shampoo in the coming weeks because I know many people want to try it but don’t know where to start of who to use soap nuts for a shampoo.

On a side note since I started washing my hair with soap nuts shampoo I have notice a great deal less breakage and my hair seems to be growing faster. I suspect this is due in part to how healthy my scalp is because of using soap nuts.

But back to soap nuts being a dream come true for a gardener.

The last item that needed scrubbing was my face (and then of course the bath tub). I sprinkle a little soap nuts powder (finely ground) onto my hands work up a nice lather and clean and exfoliate my face all in one action.

The bath tub took a sprinkling of soap nuts powder on the grimy bath tub ring and some swooshing with my bare hand and my bath tub was spotless again.

Now think about this if I had used one product for each of the things I described above I would have purchased at least 7 products to do what I did with soap nuts; one item which I get packaged in muslin bags from NaturOli.

Seven products packaged in plastic:
Laundry detergent
Hand soap
Body Wash
Shampoo (and Conditioner)
Face Wash
Face Scrub (for exfoliating)
Bath Tub cleanser or soft scrub (read my post on soap nuts as a scouring powder)

Not only did I get my body, hair, hands and feet, face, clothes, and bath tub clean I did so with no negative impact on my person or the environment.

Oh and after I make soap nuts liquid (soap nuts tea) I take the spent soap berries and sprinkle them around in my flower beds to deter insects, especially ants. They break down over time right into the soil and while they are breaking down the soap nuts act as a natural insectide and insect repellent but with no harm to either my plants or the ground water.

Wahooo … now who could not like soap nuts. Whether you are looking for ways to cut household expenses, have sensitivity to chemicals or fragrances, or want to reduce the waste you produce soap nuts offers a solution. Oh and they are so much less expensive to use than all those packaged chemical cleaners and personal care products.

I can make a 3 liter bottle of soap nuts liquid at home for approximately $2.23 cents using 1 1/2 ounces of soap nuts. That’s if you buy the NaturOli soap nuts in a one pound bag. I buy the 4 pound bag of NaturOli Nuts Soap Nuts so in point of fact my cost for the 3 liter bottle of soap nuts liquid is actually $1.35. Since I harness solar power to make my soap nuts liquid I have zero energy cost for it too.
Read the post on making soap nuts liquid greener http://www.soap-nuts.info/2009/04/01/making-soap-nuts-liquid-greener

I use that 3 liter bottle for laundry, counter tops, insect repellent, dishwasher detergent, dishwashing liquid, liquid hand soap, for mopping the floors, washing the cars, and shampoo.

Costing out the soap nuts powder is a bit different since I do both a fine grind and a coarse grind depending on what I am using it for. If I use the fine grind to wash my face or as a hand or foot scrub I use about 1/8 of a tsp yes only that tiny bit does the job.

The coarsely ground soap nuts powder I use for scouring sinks, bath tubs, toilets I use about 1 tsp for each sink, bath tub, and toilet.

In my next post I’ll give you the numbers on how much using soap nuts powder for personal care and as a chemical free scouring powder costs.

The next time you head out for time in the garden be sure you have your soap nuts ready!

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Making soap nuts liquid at home is very easy. It’s simply a matter of putting some approximate 15 soap nuts in 6 cups of water in a pot of water and boiling the water, then reducing it to a simmer for about 30 minutes.

But yesterday I started to think about ways that I could make soap nuts liquid just as concentrated without using the electric to boil the water. In essence making soap nuts liquid greener by not using any fossil fuels to create it if possible. After all one of the main reasons I use soap nuts is to reduce my carbon footprint and remove chemicals from my cleaning and personal care environment.

Here are some ideas about ways to make soap nuts liquid at home but to make the whole process greener and more efficient.

Soap Nuts Tea – Solar Power – Sun Tea Versions

Take the equivalent of 20 whole soap nuts and drop them into an empty clear plastic (or glass) container like a 2 liter soda bottle. I used an empty limeade bottle that holds 50 ounces of liquid, which is about 1 1/2 liters. Fill the bottle to just below the neck and place it outside in the sun for approximately 8  hours. Remember to shake the bottle around every couple of hours so that as the soap nuts soften from being in the water the saponin will release in greater concentration. Another helpful note is if you have pieces your soap nuts liquid will be ready faster because the broken pieces have more ready access to the saponin in the soap berry pulp. Alternatively you can crunch the soap nuts up in your hand or mash them up into pieces by any other means you devise.

I decided to be a bit scientific about this to see if there would be an advantage to using soap nuts powder to make the liquid. I have read that many people do this, and I thought as long as I was at it why not give that a try.

Here’s what I did to make soap nuts liquid using soap nuts powder and the power of the sun to get the saponin to release. For this version I used an empty water bottle that holds 3 liters of water.

Take a container similar to the above instructions and pour approximately 5 tablespoons of soap nuts powder into the empty container. Now add the water to just below the neck of the bottle, cap and shake. You will see the color change immediately to a kind of golden to carmel color. I left mine outside overnight right next to the bottle of soap nuts tea I was making using the whole soap berries.

My theory was that since they were side by side and started at approximately the same time I’d be able to see which green soap nuts liquid method was most efficient and concentrated. The 5 tablespoons of soap nuts powder is basically equivalent to 25 soap nuts. So my portions were pretty close especially since I used a slightly larger empty water bottle for the soap nuts powder version.

Now let’s discuss affordability of this method. If you use soap nuts in the laundry 20 soap berries will produce about 20 medium size loads of laundry in a standard washing machine. That’s if you use the generally accepted 4-5 soap nuts in a wash bag for each load and approximately 3-5 loads of laundry from each fresh wash bag.

I just did my first load of laundry using the soap nuts powder based soap nuts liquid. I used 1/8 of a cup of the liquid in a medium load using cold water. That’s approximately 1 fluid ounce. So in theory the 3 liter bottle of soap nuts liquid I made using this greener soap nuts powder method should yield me 101 loads of laundry.

So the same amount of soap nuts powder would only do about 5 loads of laundry because basically you use 2-3 teaspoons (1 tablespoon) of soap nuts powder for a standard load, but by putting the powder into a bottle and setting it in the sun I extracted more saponin from the powder and will get 20 times as many loads.

I’ll let you do the cost analysis on the whole soap berry method of making soap nuts sun tea yourself.

Play with the concentration yourself to if this is a viable green alternative to making soap nuts liquid for yourself without using any electricity. Yes I realize that electric is used to grind the soap nuts powder, but compare less than 2 minutes of grinding soap nuts in a coffee grinder with heating a pot of water to boiling and then simmering it for 30 minutes. Soap nuts are about as green as you can get when it comes to both laundry and cleaning, but if we can find ways to make them even greener, why the heck not.

If you want a great bargain on soap nuts pieces you won’t find a better price than this
NaturOli Soap Nuts PIECES! – 5 lb. bag! (Appox. 800 Loads!) – All Sapindus Mukorossi. 100% Natural Laundry Detergent! (Less than 8 cents PER LOAD!!) – New, Fresh 2009 Harvest NOW SHIPPING!

Once you’ve got your soap nuts sun tea to the concentrate you want, be adventurous and use it as a soap nuts shampoo, chemical free glass cleaner, natural dishwashing soap, chemical free hand soap, or chemical free jewelry cleaner. You’ll be amazed how affordable and naturally you can clean your home and all the green cleaning products you can make using soap nuts tea as the basis.

Also reusing a bottle you already have further reduces recycling making this an even greener way to use soap nuts.

The first load of laundry I did with the soap nuts powder based soap nuts liquid just finished. When I removed the clothes from the washer everything smelled good and clean, even the laundry bag of socks. So this method passed the sniff test.

Since it took me awhile to finish this post the first load is now dry and the results seem great. Lots of soft clean laundry just like I get from soap nuts in a wash bag or stove top soap nuts liquid.

Go ahead … experiment … worst case the soap nuts liquid is less concentrated than you want and you either add more powder or soap berries to it and put it back out in the sun.

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Soap nuts are a perfect solution for almost every laundry challenge. One of the reasons soap nuts are so perfect for washing stuffed animals is that they leave no residue on the fabric, while still removing dirt, bacteria, and odors.

I have a personal stuffed animal collection that dates to my childhood some 40 plus years ago. Many of these critters have extreme sentimental attachments because of the people I received them from over the years. Despite my attachment to them whenever friends visit with small children I drag out a few of the stuffed animals and introduce the kids to them.

Now as anyone who has been around a few children knows, little people like to not only touch but often taste, smooch, and snuggle with furry things. More than a few times a little person has shared some bodily fluids with my stuffed animals. No harm done because the stuffed critters just get popped into the washing machine with some soap nuts, and exit the machine soft and fresh smelling.

There are many benefits to washing your kids (or your own) stuffed animals in soap nuts.

One benefit is the lack of residue left behind on the fabrics, so no  worries about the kids sucking on the paws and ears and getting anything dangerous into their little systems.

Another benefit especially for older stuffed animals is that when they get washed in soap nuts there are no concerns about the fabrics breaking down because soap nuts have no harsh chemical surfactants in them which erode fabrics causing the fabric to thin or become threadbare. That means less chance of the filling coming out through a weak place in the fabric.

Another benefit to washing stuffed animals in soap nuts is that soap nuts are naturally anti-bacterial and anti-fungal so even germs and viruses won’t linger in the fabrics.

Additionally if the stuffed animals get left out on a shelf while not in use they can get dust mites growing inside in the stuffing. Again soap nuts will take care of those nasty little critters making the stuffing less likely to irritate allergies in your children.

On a side note I make it a habit to wash our bed pillows in soap nuts about once every two weeks to kill off dust mites and remove body oil and odors. Keep that in mind if you have allergies and hate to sleep on a pillow encased in plastic to reduce the allergens. Soap nuts are also a natural hypoallergenic detergent so no concern about contact dermatitis for kids with sensitive skin snuggling with their stuffed pals.

Back to the stuffed animals though.  Odors from bodily fluids, food, and dirt can build up in the furriest of stuffed animals. Soap nuts are also great for that because in the same way that they remove odors from clothing and cloth diapers they also will remove odors that can build up on the fabric and in the stuffing.

A word of caution, before washing your stuffed animals be sure to check seams and stitch any that have come open from wear and tear. Your kids will not forgive you quickly if their favorite bear ends up missing his guts because he was bounced around in the washer or dryer.

Soap nuts are also an additive free laundry detergent so you don’t need to be concerned about chemical exposure like you would with regular laundry detergent. Since soap nuts are perfect for handwashing and safe for even the most delicate fabrics like silk, you can be sure your kids treasured stuffed animals will

Every time I toss my 22 year old Rodney The Reindeer and his pals Rhonda and Little Rodney into the washing machine I am thrilled with how soft, fluffy, and gently cleaned they come out.

Soap Nuts – Green Laundry has never been so soft, fluffy, easy, or affordable

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Soap nuts are evolving. The latest evolution is a brand new soap nuts liquid laundry soap (concentrate) offered by NaturOli Beautiful, LLC.

This new soap nuts product is simply amazing and so perfectly named Extreme 18X. Extreme soap nuts is exactly what it is, but I would expect nothing less from a company like NaturOli. They are after all a company that gets the entire value of soap nuts and makes sure that everything they formulate is as green as possible. True of Extreme 18X in a way unimagined by other sellers of soap nuts liquid laundry soaps.

What’s so special about Extreme 18X soap nuts liquid laundry soap concentrate?

Well, first and foremost it is the most concentrated liquid laundry soap on the market. That’s true of even when compared with the regular packaged liquid detergent concentrates from those big chemical companies.

The next thing that is so amazing about it is that NaturOli has created a product that has the tiniest carbon footprint they can manage. It’s formulated right here in the United States and packaged here as well, so no shipping from overseas. They’re packaging it in 8 oz PETE (recyclable) bottles to start and that little easy to handle 8 oz bottle will do at least 96 HE loads or 48 standard loads of laundry. Amazing is an understatement.

Although the instructions on the bottle recommend 1/2 tsp for a standard HE load and 1 tsp for a standard machine load you actually can use half that amount. Now the brain is a tricky thing so imagining that such a tiny amount will work is hard to wrap your brain around, especially after all the years of programming with those monsterous bottles of regular liquid detergent and their giant caps with the measure marks inside.

Truth is even I had a hard time believing so little could work that well, but I got to test it before it hit the market and I swear I used 1/2 tsp in my standard top-loading machine and got perfect clean, soft, unscented laundry. Of course everyone has different laundry needs, which is why the folks at NaturOli recommend you try half the suggested amount first and then up it if you feel you need to for your own washing needs. Now what company would encourage you to use less, exept a company that really wants you to get the most from every dollar you spend.

NaturOli is also ALL about 100 percent full disclosure on their labels so they list every single ingredient in their new soap nuts liquid concentrate.

Here are the ingredients:

– Pure Saponin Aqueous Extract from 100% Sapindus Mukorossi Soap Nuts
– Vegetable Glycerin
– Olive Leaf Extract (olea europea leaf extract)
– Potassium Sorbate and Sodium Benzoate

That’s it folks! They purposely don’t add essential oils (even though some other companies do) because they know that oils of any kind can cause problems with clogging up the fibers on things like cloth diapers. They found a better way to stabilize and “preserve” their soap nuts liquid laundry soap which gives it about a two year shelf life. These people put so much thought into their products and it shows in the response and the brand loyalty.

They also want to be sure that everyone who considers purchasing their new soap nuts liquid concentrate knows everything that is NOT in it. So they cover that on the label too.

What’s NOT in Extreme 18X:

• Dye and fragrance free
• SLS, NPE and phosphate free
• Formaldehyde free
• Petro-chemical free
• Chlorine free 
•Unscented – no essential oils added

Extreme 18X utilizes a safe, proprietary, water-based soap nut saponin extraction process. No chemical solvents used. Made in the USA, so you can feel safe about how well the formulation and packaging is supervised, not to mention keeping jobs in our country, while helping emerging nations by purchasing the soap nuts from which the saponin is extracted. Definitely a win for everyone.

Here are some other great things to know about Extreme 18X:

• Green eco-friendly proprietary formulation
• Hypoallergenic
• Biodegradable
• Antifungal
• Anti-microbial
• Enhanced with pure Olive Leaf Extract for additional protective properties (among the oldest known therapies for skin ailments)
• Odor removing
• Preserves integrity of fabric fibers - excellent for fine, delicate fabrics and wools
• Preserves fabric colors
• PH neutral (6)
• Vegan
• No animal testing
• Absolute minimum carbon footprint
• Minimizes shipping costs
• Lightweight and easy to handle bottle
• Free toggle cap provided for ease of pouring
• No optical brighteners or scents – excellent for military use and all scenarios where scents are to be avoided
• Recyclable PETE bottling
• Produced and bottled in the USA

So if you’ve found every excuse not to switch to a green laundry soap (detergent) because it’s too complicated, it doesn’t work, it’s confusing or anything else you may have come up with; you no longer have an excuse.

Extreme 18X - Soap Nuts Liquid Laundry Soap Concentrate

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