I have recently discovered a unique, and super-cool way to wash clothes.. SOAP NUTS! I had read about them a few times, but I just could not conceive of them actually working. Well I was wrong, they DO! I had been reading about them again on Debra's List and decided to give it a whirl. I ordered my Soap Nuts from Milkweed Mercantile, and they arrived at my door 3 days later. It made me giggle when I read that the Nuts were distributed by a business only 20 miles from my house!
Soap nuts are the shells from the fruit of Sapindus mukorossi, "The Soap Tree", grown in Northern India and Nepal. When the shells are added to water, the natural saponins (that's the stuff in soap) are released.
So GO NUTS! Try them for yourself!
Edited to add: There are several trees out there in the big old world that have berries with saponins. As such, there are other brands that will clean your laundry. This blog is my own personal experience. Please don't comment on my blog with an advertisement.
More technical information can be found here: Soap Nuts Information Page
