Soap Nuts

I've just started using these as a 'natural' alternative to detergents, on the basis that without hours of research and a degree in chemistry, I just don't know what most commercial products contain. I like to know for what I'm giving up my money. Soap nuts are also really cheap, compostable and don't come in a burdensome plastic bottle.

The 'nut' itself is actually the shell of a drupe fruit that grow on the sapindus shrub in tropical and warm temperate climates. I think I'm right in saying that the word saponification, which is the conversion of fat or oil into soap, has it's derivation in this botanical name. When the sticky shell is exposed to water it surprisingly produces a unscented lather, which works to lift dirt. Just place them in a cotton bag inside the drum and add a couple of drops of essential oil to the conditioner drawer for fragrance. Although I haven't yet tried to wash anything particularly soiled with the help of soap nuts, I doubt I'll be reverting to the usual dubious powders and liquids. You lose supermarket.



Recently I've been anxious that I may be falling victim to the trend of green marketing, but I am adamant that I make my purchasing decisions based on my own personal set of standards, they may or may not coincide with those advocated by environmentalists. One must take a dialectical approach to all situations.