Soap Nuts can be used with all types of washing machines. They are naturally low in suds and therefore are especially good for High Efficiency washers, which require low sud-sing detergents.

I use Soap Nuts for my laundry and I have been very pleased with the results. It leaves my clothes clean, fresh and soft. And I can save money on buying fabric softeners. Most importantly, it is synthetic chemical free.

Although Soap Nuts smell similar to red dates or vinegar to me, it does not leave any smell on the clothes after the wash. And I think adding essential oil like lemon and lavender for fragrance is not necessary.

How To Use Soap Nuts For Your Laundry

Alright, here are the steps to using soap nuts with your washers. It is simple and easy to use.

1. Put 6 to 8 whole Soap Nuts into a small cotton wash bag.
2. Soak it in a bowl of hot or warm water for at least 15 minutes.
3. Toss the bowl of liquid and soap nuts into your washing machine together with your clothes and start the wash cycle.
4. Remove the bag of Soap Nuts before the rinsing stage, or else the suds will keep on being released.
5. Once the cycle is complete, remove soap nuts and let it air-dry. You can re-use the soap nuts for your next 1 batch of laundry. Top up with new shells if desired.

Some things to note:

• Do not overload your washer with too much clothes. Allow space for the soap nuts to interact with water to release the saponin.
• Add more soap nut shells or reduce the load of clothes if they are dirtier than usual.
• It is not necessary to remove soap nuts from the rinse cycle.
• Once the soap nuts is used up, you can add them to the compost for your garden.
• For stubborn stains, pre-treat your clothes with a stain remover. Regular soap bar or liquid soap works well in removing stains.

Other Ways To Contain The Soap Nuts

If you do not have a cotton wash bag, you can use a small laundry net, stocking, old socks or handkerchief. Something to hold the Soap Nuts together so that it saves you trouble trying to find the loose pieces in the washer after all the tumbling.

 Stubborn Stains

There is one little drawback though. Soap Nut does not remove stubborn stain well. Just like how commercial washing powder fail to rid stains sometimes. In this case, you have to pre-treat your stains with a stain remover. Normal liquid soap, soap bar, washing soda, or oxygen bleach does the job well.