Soap Nuts

Natural Laundry Detergent & Green Cleaning

  • Mar 7

    Soap nuts liquid is convenient for people who prefer a liquid detergent. It’s also a great liquid hand soap, although adjusting to low sudsing can take some time.

    One of the things most people who boil soap nuts liquid at home often wonder about is the shelf life.

    Anyone who has experience with water based botanicals knows that fermentation and bacterial growth can occur. However, there are ways to extend the shelf-life of your homemade soap nuts liquid.

    • Increase the concentration – use more soap nuts and less water or boil soap nuts powder to extract the maximum amount of saponin from the soap nuts
    • Strain your soap nuts liquid through a super fine strainer so you have almost no sediment
    • Refrigerate your soap nuts liquid as soon as it is cool.
    • Freeze the liquid in old ice cube trays – measure the amount of liquid first so you know how much you are using when you drop the cubes into the washer (or you can thaw them prior to using them)
    • Can the soap nuts liquid like you would homemade preserves.
    • Add sea salt to the liquid. It will help with fermentation (bread bakers know this trick) it will also help to whiten your whites when you use the liquid. It works by absorbing moisture from the cells of bacteria and mold through osmosis, which kills them or leaves them unable to reproduce.
    • Use a vacuum sealing system for packaging soap nuts liquid.

    Another alternative if you simply don’t have time to make soap nuts lqiuid frequently or are concerned about the shelf-life of your homemade liquid is to purchase Extreme 18X NaturOli’s new soap nuts liquid laundry concentrate.

    NaturOli has already taken the guess work out of soap nuts liquid shelf-life. Their new Extreme 18X soap nuts liquid concentrate has a two year shelf-life. Even though it is packaged as a liquid laundry detergent concentrate you can use it in all the ways you’d use homemade soap nuts liquid, by diluting as needed.

    I used it in my carpet cleaner and mopped my laminate floors with it. I put 1 tsp in carpet cleaner, and 1/2 tsp in the mop bucket with warm water and was very pleased with the results from both experiments.

    Soap Nuts Liquid Laundry Soap Concentrate

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  • Feb 3

    Soap nuts liquid is very easy to make and is a perfect homemade green cleaning product. Actually soap nuts lquid can be used to replace almost every chemical in your home with a green alternative.

    Soap nuts liquid recipe:

    Place 12 to 15 soap nuts (about 1.5 ounces) in about 6 cups of water. For best results, bring to a boil and simmer for approximately an hour. You will know that you have fully extracted from the soap nuts when they turn very light tan or gray and are mushy. Allow to cool and strain. Store the soap nuts liquid concentrate in an airtight glass jar. Like all botanicals, the infused soap nut liquid is best stored in a cool place away from direct sunlight. This 100% pure soap nut liquid solution has absolutely no preservatives of any kind; hence it has a limited shelf life of a few days, unless stabilized. Refrigeration will extend its shelf life. This is typical of virtually all water-based botanical solutions.

    The following is only a very short list of some homemade green cleaning products using soap nuts liquid.

    Green Multi-purpose Household Cleaner
    Pour soap nuts liquid into a spray bottle. Use full strength or dilute as desired. Use for sinks, counters, floors, and to wash your dishes by hand.

    Chemical Free Window and Glass Cleaner:
    Fill a spray bottle with about 8 oz of water. Add a half-ounce of soap nuts liquid and a half-ounce of vinegar. Spray and then wipe clean with dry cloth.

    Chemical Free Dishwashing Detergent:
    Fill the dishwasher soap dispenser with soap nuts liquid. Wash as usual. Tip: For extra sparkle, add a half-ounce of vinegar to the rinse dispenser or during the rinse cycle.

    Chemical Free Carpet Cleaning Liquid:
    Soap nuts liquid works exceptionally well in carpet cleaners because it is so low sudsing and odor reducing. Add about a quarter cup of soap nuts liquid to hot water in the portable cleaner. Great for urine stains.

    Chemical Free Jewelry Cleaner:
    Soak jewelry in soap nuts liquid for a few minutes. Use an old soft toothbrush to remove debris. Rinse with clean water and polish with a soft cloth. Soap nuts have been used as a fantastic jewelry cleaner for centuries.

    Chemical Free Pet Shampoo:
    Soap nuts also have a natural insect repellent property so not only will your pets be naturally cleaned they’ll be less likely to attract various pests such as fleas, ticks, and lice. The natural antifungal properties of soap nuts are perfect for pets with skin irritations, rashes, and hot spots. Soap nuts liquid is also perfect for washing pet bedding.

    Chemical Free Shampoo:
    Use soap nuts liquid to shampoo hair. Leave in for about 5 minutes.
    Rinse as usual with luke warm water, or diluted vinegar. If you prefer more suds, add a little your favorite shampoo.

    Next post all the wonderful ways to use soap nuts powder for green cleaning and chemical free scrubbing.

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