Are you looking for ways to transition to chemical free cleaning in your home? Soap nuts could be just what you are looking for! At a very literal level, ‘chemical-free’ is not possible, as water is a chemical substance, but the term is generally used to describe the absence of toxic, dangerous, irritating or even carcinogenic chemicals which are typically found in mainstream cleaning products.
Soap nuts can be used to clean your entire house! Yes, seriously! You can use soap nuts to replace:
- toilet cleaner
- floor cleaner
- kitchen and bench cleaner
- shower cleaner
- laundry detergent
- window and mirror cleaner
- car cleaner
- pet wash
- dishwasher detergent
- and more! (let us know how you have used them!)
Soap nuts have traditionally been used in Indian cultures to wash hair and clothes. As soap nuts release saponin, a natural surfactant, they can be used in countless ways around your house to assist with chemical free cleaning. Why not try replacing some of your regular cleaning products with soap nuts?
The easiest way to use soap nuts for chemical free cleaning around your home is to make a liquid. This is a matter of placing ten soap nuts and 6 cups of water into a large pot bringing it to the boil. Once the liquid has reached boiling point, simmer for 40 minutes before cooling and dispensing into a container or a spray bottle. The container or spray bottle can then be kept in a cool, dark place and used as you would regular cleaning products. Adding fragrance is absolutely not necessary, as clean smells like nothing! We have been conditioned to think that clean should smell something like lemon or lavender or even that made up ‘clean smell’ of chemical detergents. You can always add a few drops of your favourite essential oil to soap nut liquid, but this is personal preference. When you buy soap nuts, you are not paying for any synthetic fragrances, fillers, bulking agents or unnecessary ingredients.
Soap nut liquid can be used for chemical free cleaning in every part of your home. Let’s look at some of the main rooms and how soap nuts can help.
Kitchen
Chemical free cleaning in the kitchen is possible with soap nuts. You can buy soap nuts to be used in your dishwasher instead of regular detergent. Keep a bottle of soap nut liquid in the fridge and pour 40mL either directly into the dirty dish rack or into the detergent dispenser. Some people use three or four soap nuts in a little calico bag and put this in the cutlery basket inside the dishwasher, instead of making a liquid. This can be used for 3 – 4 wash cycles before removing the soap nuts and replacing with fresh ones.
Soap nut liquid can be used to hand wash dishes, also. This can seem strange as the bubbles dissipate quite quickly due to having no sodium lauryl sulfate. It doesn’t mean that it isn’t working! Pour 20mL of soap nut liquid into the sink while it is filling.
Cleaning benches and other kitchen surfaces is a breeze with soap nuts, if you keep a spray bottle of the liquid handy. As soap nuts are naturally antibacterial and antimicrobial, you can be assured that your kitchen is being kept hygienic and safe, and most importantly you are not exposing your family to toxic cleaning chemicals and their fumes.
Laundry
One of the most popular uses of soap nuts is for chemical free cleaning in the laundry, to replace regular washing detergent. Buy soap nuts to use whole or make a liquid. When using whole, instead of scooping or pouring regular detergent into the washing machine dispenser, you place four soap nuts into the small calico bag they come with. This bag gets put into the machine along with the dirty washing. The water along with the agitation of the washing machine, will cause the soap nuts to froth up as the saponin is released. If you have a front-loading washing machine, you can even watch this happening! When the load is finished washing, the soap nuts are put aside and then re-used up to a total of four times. When using the liquid option, you pour 20mL into the detergent dispenser of the washing machine and wash as usual. There is absolutely no need to add fabric softener or anything else.
General house cleaning
Soap nut liquid can be used as a floor cleaner for tiles, floorboards and laminate surfaces. Add 40mL to a bucket of warm water and mop your floors as you usually would. Soap nut liquid is also useful for removing spot marks and stains. We received a testimonial from a customer stating that they used the liquid to get biro out of a grey leather car seat. You can safely replace your regular toilet cleaner with soap nut liquid, also. Pour some around the rims of the toilet bowl and allow it to drip down into the base of the bowl and use a toilet brush to clean as usual. What about chemical free cleaning of mirrors and windows with soap nuts? Keep a spray bottle handy and use newspaper instead of paper towel to ensure no streaks are left. We have customers who buy soap nuts to wash their pet dogs with, and others who use them for washing their car. Chemical free cleaning is possible in all aspects of your home with soap nuts.
If you would like to buy soap nuts, we make it easy for you with our online store. We have free shipping Australia-wide. Our soap nuts come with all instructions written on the bag, so you will always remember how to use them! When you buy our soap nuts, we include a small calico bag to use in the washing machine. We are a family-run business and always happy to answer any questions you have about using soap nuts – just click here.
