Soap Nuts

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 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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