You've probably heard about soap nuts, haven't you? But have you had a chance to try them?
Soap nuts have many great advantages over most conventional detergents.
Problems with conventional detergents
If you read the ingredient list on detergent packages, you'll find words like phosphonates, surfactants, zeolites, polycarboxylates, TAED, soap, enzymes, bleaching agents, and fragrance.
And most of us have little idea what these chemicals actually mean.
The main problem with conventional detergents is that they can contain allergenic, environmentally harmful, and other unwanted chemicals such as fragrances and preservatives.
One of Sweden's best-selling conventional detergents contains, for example, the preservative methylisothiazolinone, which is both allergenic and environmentally harmful.
Even in detergents with a clear environmental profile, you can sometimes find environmentally harmful substances such as methylisothiazolinone and the fragrance compound limonene – both harmful to aquatic organisms.
According to EU law, you must be able to find a complete ingredient list online, but unfortunately, this can be very difficult.
That's when labeling becomes important.
Products with the Asthma and Allergy Association's symbol are allergy-free and limit potential allergens.
The Swan is the Nordic environmental label, the EU Flower or EU Ecolabel is the European environmental label, and the Falcon is the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation's own environmental label.So besides having to become a bit of a detective if you want to avoid unwanted chemicals in detergents, they are also often expensive.
Many people also overdose on detergent, but this doesn't make clothes any cleaner. On the contrary, it causes unnecessary wear on textiles and is a waste of money.
![A small child with brown hair tied in a knot stands in front of a washing machine and turns the dial.]
Problems with conventional fabric softeners
Fabric softener, or softener, isn't necessary for clean clothes. Just as we use conditioner to protect our hair, fabric softener is used to protect clothes because it reduces friction during washing, prevents static electricity, and makes them smell good after washing.
It works by having polymers in the fabric softener bind moisture to the fabric surface. Clothes are kept soft because they remain slightly damp.
Fabric softeners also contain emulsifiers that dissolve mineral oil in water, as well as preservatives and fragrance.
Fabric softener is therefore directly harmful to certain materials and is not environmentally friendly.
It's better to iron and wear garments to soften them up. Or use vinegar.
Washing ecologically with soap nuts
Instead of the strong surfactants in conventional detergents, we can wash naturally with saponins found in various plants.
Soap nuts are especially rich in saponins. Plus, you don't need to keep track of complicated ingredient lists.
Saponins work just like surfactants by making water softer so that dirt loosens from textiles.
The saponins dissolve from the soap nut shells when they come into contact with water warmer than 30 degrees. You can learn more about saponins and their natural cleaning properties.
The warmer the water, the more saponins dissolve. Therefore, it can be tactical to use slightly higher temperatures when washing with milder agents like soap nuts.
![A hand holds a handful of dried soap nuts.]
![A paper bag filled with dried soap nuts.]
Washing clothes in machine
When you wash clothes with soap nuts, here's what you do:
Place 4-8 soap nuts in a small cotton wash bag or an old, thin sock that you tie shut and put in the washing machine together with the clothes. Let them stay in during the entire wash cycle.
The soap nuts can handle multiple washes, but when they've lost their shine, it's time to put them in the compost and take new ones. The higher the temperature, the fewer washes they last for.
For white laundry, you can add ½ dl of sodium percarbonate in the detergent compartment.
Soap nuts are naturally softening, so there's yet another reason to skip the fabric softener with its unnecessary chemicals.
You can find soap nuts at various retailers.
![A hand holds a bag with soap nuts. Next to it lies a bottle of essential oil and more soap nuts.]
Scented clothes
It can feel a bit strange at first when textiles don't smell of anything after washing.
If you want them to be scented, you can add 2-5 drops of essential oil of lemon, lavender, or another favorite scent in the fabric softener compartment.
You can find essential oils at various retailers.
If you have stains, you can treat them before washing with baking soda, sodium percarbonate (stronger), olive soap, or gall soap.
If clothes smell bad, you can add vinegar to the fabric softener compartment.
Vinegar is also softening. For really smelly clothes, you can let the garment soak in vinegar water before washing.If you want to learn more about how you can reduce your expenses by starting with eco-cleaning, I recommend taking a web course on the topic.
Do you have any great tips on how to make laundry feel soft and smell good using natural methods?
Please share in a comment so others can learn from us!
![A bag of dried soap nuts and a bottle of essential lavender oil.]
