Naturally Clean Laundry

If you’re like me and you have extra sensitive skin you already know how hard it is to find a good laundry detergent that doesn’t leave you feeling irritated for hours on end.

I often find myself questioning the use of chemically loaded detergents found in stores.  It didn’t feel right to clean items that I’m in close contact with all day long with products that contained so many toxic ingredients.  I’m happy to say there is an alternative.

Yet again, Mother Nature has provided us with all that we need.  Yes, even laundry detergent!

Soap nuts are technically a fruit that grows on the soapberry tree found in India and Nepal.  These little “nuts” have a high concentration of foaming “saponin” and have been used throughout the world as an alternative cleaning agent for many decades.  The active ingredient, saponin, is a compound within the nut that produces a foam-like substance when in water.

These are perfect for anyone who has overly sensitive skin and is easily irritated by normal detergents.  Soap nuts are especially helpful for people suffering from eczema and psoriasis.  Beyond being used as a detergent, solution made by boiling the soap nuts can be used topically on the affected areas of skin and helps to reduce irritation and improves healing of the skin.

Additional benefits from using Soap Nuts instead of your regular laundry detergent:

1. Eco-friendly detergent: 1 kg bag would replace 9 of the 32 load plastic bottles of detergent. Naturally harvested means there is no manufacturing done in the process. The ink on the exterior bag is sun dried and not machine dried.

2. Economical: 1kg bag of soap nuts will do 300-400 loads of laundry at the regular retail price of $30.00 that is .08-.10 per load.  Also, if you were to do one load of laundry per day it would essentially last you almost 1 year.

3.Naturally occurring saponin in the Earth’s Berries soap nuts lifts and removes dirt from fabrics cleaning as well as many name brand detergents without all of the harsh chemicals.

4. Saponin naturally softens fabrics, therefore the added benefit to using Earth’s Berries soap nuts is that you no longer need to use fabric softener therefore further reducing the amount of toxics you are exposed to.

5. No residue: Earth’s Berries soap nuts have no residue therefore they don’t clog natural fabric pores like other detergents and there is no soap residue, therefore the fabrics are protected from colour loss and fibre breakdown due to harsh chemicals.

6. Odour neutralizer: working very similar to vinegar Earth’s Berries soap nuts neutralize the the odour of clothes especially on organic odours such as sweat and urine. Remarkable and removing the odour of musty towels. Leave the cloths smelling fresh and clean.

7. Ease of use: Just make up one small cotton sac of 4-5 Earth’s Berries soap nuts and that will 4-5 loads of laundry, what could be easier. They also stay in through the rinse cycle so no need for a second product. Because there is no residue the rinse cycle isn’t necessary, except to rinse off the dirty wash water.  Hand washing is actually enjoyable because there is no need to keep rinsing to get the detergent out of the clothes.

8. Liquid: In 30 minutes it can be turned into liquid and it can be used for general cleaning around the home or as a laundry pre-treat spot remover, amazing as a window and mirror cleaner.

For more information about soap nuts visit www.earthberriesoapnuts.com

Written by Jennifer Kaster ND
“Here to help you achieve wellness…the natural way.”