Soap Nuts

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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Soap nuts powder, as I’ve written before, is a tremendous chemical free cleanser and natural scouring powder. The last few weeks I’ve found some other great ways to use soap nuts powder for scrubbing and had excellent results.

A few weeks ago I had mobile mechanics at my house to do some maintenance on one of the cars. When the mechanics finished they needed to scrub the grime and engine grease from their hands. Since I knew how great soap nuts powder was for scrubbing the grime out of my toilets, bath tubs, and sinks I invited them into the house to wash up. I figured worse case I’d just scrub the bathroom sink with soap nuts powder when they were done. However, they quickly realized their industrial size container of Goop was empty.

Never one to be afraid to experiment I offered a sprinkling of soap nuts powder as an alternative. Wow, what great results from a tiny sprinkling on their very greasy hands.

One of the greatest things is that not only were they happy and impressed but I got a chance to explain what soap nuts were to them as they stood there scrubbing their hands in amazement at how well this stuff worked and how gentle it was on their skin.

Once they were both done I sprinkled a bit more soap nuts powder into the damp sink and swooshed it around with my hands and had a sparkling sink once again.

Anyone who has done any work on cars or any kind of fuel burning engine knows how hard it can be to get the grease and carbon off your hands. So many of the hand cleaners have pumice as the scouring agent and although it is a natural substance it is not soluble (it is a ground lava) so you end up with a bunch of it clogging up your sink drains along with all that grease and the various toxic fluids like antifreeze you may come in contact with. Additionally if you have the misfortune to scrape some skin or your knuckles while working on the engine those pumice based hand scrubs burn like crazy. After all they have solvents in them to dissolve the oily fluids. Skin irritating and often dangerous solvents are the last thing you want to put on roughed up skin.

Because soap nuts powder has that great natural surfactant (saponin) in it, the grime is released from the skin instead of dissolved and soap nuts (especially in powder form) is a natural exfoliant that does the scrubbing part. Whatever powder isn’t dissolved is biodegradable and also helps to remediate the chemicals in the grey water as it goes down the drain and into the waste water system.

Now in my next post I’ll share with you how I’ve used soap nuts powder as a natural hand scrub after doing some very “hands on” gardening as well as some other really great things I’ve done with the powder related to personal hygeine, skin care, and even garden pest control.

Every time I try one of these little experiments I am impressed with not only how well and safely soap nuts clean but how easy it is to use them and to replace chemicals while saving money and the environment. The benefits and uses of soap nuts truly are limitless, and when you use soap nuts in place of chemicals you help the environment and you save money.

More on soap nuts powders many uses coming your way soon.

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Well, just when you think there’s nothing else new in soap nuts NaturOli finds yet another way to add soap nuts to your life while replacing harmful chemicals with natural alternatives.

The lastest is a handmade soap nuts soap bar. Now how cool a thing is that?

I have already ordered a few for myself, because I know how amazing soap nuts are in regular form, as soap nuts liquid, soap nuts powder, and of course the new soap nuts liquid laundry soap Extreme 18X from Naturoli. I’m sure I will love this soap nuts soap bar just as much.

What NaturOli has done is incorporate their proprietary soap nuts liquid concentrate and finely ground soap nuts powder into a natural hand made soap bar.

Now of course a company that started with all things olive as the foundation for their natural skin care has to combine their roots with their newest mission of telling the world about the benefits of soap nuts.

As they say on their site “This limited edition, handmade, cold-pressed bar is for those who wish to explore both the wonderful worlds of soap nuts and olive oil soaps in one very unique blend. Pure Sapindus Mukorossi soap nuts powder allows for mild exfoliation. Enhanced with rich, healthy oils and natural ingredients to cleanse and nourish your skin.”

Their soap nut soap bar is both rich in antioxidants and anti-bacterial. There are no synthetic fragrances or dyes. They’ve added rich natural oils for the skin, and rosemary oil for enhanced natural anti-bacterial protection.

Pretty cool looking too, don’t you think? Those little flecks you see are the soap nuts powder.

Go get some handmade natural soap nuts soap bars for yourself, these are limited edition and I expect they will go fast.

If you want to try a sample of several different soap nuts products from NaturOli, be sure to check out their new soap nuts special trial size package which includes all of these different soap nuts products:

• Traditional usage raw soap nuts sampler
• a state-of the-art Soap Nuts liquid laundry soap concentrate trial bottle,

plus

• A new, luxurious, limited-edition Soap Nuts and Olive Natural Soap Bar.
  
  

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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 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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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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Soap nuts are completely additive free, unlike so many other so-called natural detergents on the market today.

If you are at all concerned about the potential dangers and skin irritations caused by packaged laundry soap and detergents, then soap nuts should move to the top of your must have list.

Besides the lack of disclosure on most cleaning product labels, often even the ingredients that are disclosed are couched in terminology that few can decipher.  Naturally derived is one of my favorite terms to avoid in packaged products. The reason I avoid products with that terminology is that although it may be derived from a natural source, how they extract the natural properties is left to be guessed at.

The buying public are a trusting bunch, and manufacturers know it. They word things in such a way that we feel safe to use their products. The EPA is even in on this now, giving certain products a “stamp of approval” as being safer. Well now don’t we all feel better that they are safer than others in their class.

If you’re interested in reading about the DfE logo and program here’s the link http://www.epa.gov/dfe/pubs/projects/formulat/label.htm

If you’ve never noticed the DfE logo this is what it looks like.

U.S. EPA Design for the Environment logo

I personally will continue to use soap nuts as my choice for laundry and cleaning because I’d rather have an additive free detergent than one that has additives that are simply safer than the additives used by other companies. Let’s remember that there are no regulations on listing in ingredients for cleaning products, they are protected by various governmental agencies to hide behind proprietary formulas and never disclose one single ingredient to us.

Soap nuts are the only truly additive free detergent, because used in their traditional form they are just as nature grew them.

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Soap nuts are the mildest additive free laundry detergent I have ever found, especially for washing delicates, lingerie, silks, cashmere, sweaters, and wool.

I work at home so I rarely drag out the fancy dress up clothes. However, this past weekend a group of our friends went to Ft. Lauderdale for a boxing event and a weekend away.

Boy did I miss my super soft soap nuts laundered bed linens and towels. That’s another story though.

The point of this post is that since we did the dress up thing I wore several of my silk suits and since they had not been “dry cleaned” in months (or longer) I felt they needed a little freshening up. Soap nuts to the rescue once again.

I had not actually washed any of my silk clothes in the washing machine previously, usually resorting to expensive and stinky dry cleaning to keep the silk looking good. Sometimes my silk came back from the cleaners stiff as a board, which really made me mad. But since I started using soap nuts I wash most of our dry clean only clothes in the washing machine on either gentle or hand wash cycles, in cold water and then dry them on low heat. Soap nuts are a perfect chemical free alternative to dry cleaning, and much less expensive.

Truth is I had a big pile of “dry cleaning” sitting on a shelf in my closet because I just couldn’t bring myself to pay someone to put toxic chemicals on my clothes. I’d rather not wear them, than add to the chemical pollution on the planet. A few days before we left for our weekend I took the plunge and machine washed  several pairs of lined silk slacks and jackets, as well as some cashmere sweater sets for the evenings.

Let me tell you, my silk looked gorgeous, was super soft (the only reason I wear it) and needed virtually no pressing because there were only light wrinkles in it from the suit bag being folded.

One common problem with washing cashmere, wool, cotton, and even synthetic fiber sweaters is stretching (sagging). Another common problem is sweater pilling. You know those fuzzy lumps stuck all over the sweater that you have to comb to get rid of.

Well, since it’s been cool in Central Florida our sweaters got dragged out of the space bags and even after several washing and wearing not a single pill, no shrinking or sagging, and soft as they can be.

Funny that the big detergent manufacturers are now marketing special products for fading and sagging problems with bright colored clothes and sweaters. Funny because their own products are the cause of the problems in the first place. Soap nuts preserve the life and looks of  your clothes naturally.

Man I love my soap nuts.

So if you often take clothes to the dry cleaners, consider machine washing in cold using soap nuts. Using soap nuts as a chemical free alternative to dry cleaning  will save the planet, save you lots of money, and extend the life of your clothes.

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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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Soap nuts uses are varied. Although many people use soap nuts as green cleaning products for laundry and personal care, some soap nuts users have gotten very creative. Soap nuts liquid makes for even more creative possibilities. For instance using soap nuts liquid to repel insects without any chemicals.

Here’s a story of one, my sister, who decided to make use of the natural chemical free insect repellent properties of soap nuts.

I heard this story a few months ago when the weather in Oklahoma was still warm and insects assaulting gardens and people was common place.

After discussing all of the wonderful ways to use soap nuts with my sister over the course of several months, Leslie decided to put them to the test as a chemical free insect repellent for people and vegetation.

If you’ve ever spent any time in a warm climate you know that mosquitoes can be the bain of a nature lover. Especially if you have neighbors who leave water standing in pots and buckets in their yard. Mosquitoes just love to make a happy home in standing water.

My sister has a half acre lot in Oklahoma. Their house sits on 1/4 of the acre and she and her husband leave the other 1/4 acre wild to enjoy what nature offers. Because of that, mosquitoes are happy to cohabit with them. Les is not so happy about it, nor are her dogs, but we believe in living in harmony with nature when possible.

Every morning part of Leslie’s ritual is to go out her back door and walk around to breath in a bit of fresh air and commune with nature. Since it’s so very warm in Oklahoma in the summer and fall, she is often in short sleeve shirts and short pants. That offers a mosquito, or several hundred of them, plenty of tasty flesh. So her outdoor strolls in the morning are often cut short by an air assault.

One day she decided to just give that soap nuts liquid she used on her counter tops a try and see if it really did repel insects. So she went outside and stood still for a few minutes. That few minutes brought about 20 mosquitoes in for a landing on her arms and legs. She chased them off, went into the kitchen and got her always handy bottle of soap nuts liquid and sprayed herself lightly with it. She topped off her cup of tea and went back outside and stood in the same spot where the mosquitoes were often seen and felt.

After more than five minutes of just standing admiring the surroundings only one mosquito came in for a landing on her thigh. That landing lasted all of 5 seconds and off it flew without even a nibble. Not another of those annoying creatures wanted anything to do with her soap nuts protected flesh. It seems that hopping, crawling, and flying insects simply loathe the smell of soap nuts, specifically the saponin, and are naturally repelled.

In another post I’ll share the true story of how soap nuts saved a basil plant from being annihilated by a grasshopper, but if you are an outdoor lover consider protecting yourself, your family, and your pets with a light coating of soap nuts liquid to repel the insects. Chemical free insect repellent, fast, easy, and affordable. No need to expose the ones you love to insect bites or chemicals!

Oh you can also use soap nuts liquid as a chemical free pet shampoo for fleas and lice, but again I’ll share more of that in another post.

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