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Soap nuts not so soapy? (Jacks1st)
Posted: 4:49:09 pm on 11/14/2009 Modified: Never

I bought soap nuts last weekend after reading about them here and being tired of the lingering funk in my diapers. I bought Maggies Soap Nuts from a store in my home town, and the store owner (who uses them for her diapers too) said to put 3 in the little fabric bag provided, and to put them in with my hot wash and leave them in through the rinse.

For the first load, I was thrilled! The funk had diminished SIGNIFICANTLY, almost totally gone. I was told I can use the same three nuts for about 5 loads. The second load I did with them though, turned out to be a total disaster, as all the diapers smelled strongly of poo when I took them out of the washer. I put three new nuts in the bag and washed them again to great success.

So can I only use the nuts for one load each? Is 3 not enough? Could it be that the batch I bought are old/defective? Any thoughts would be great, as I don't want to go back to soap after having such great results when I use new nuts...

Re: Soap nuts not so soapy? (ontariangirl)
Posted: 9:08:11 pm on 11/14/2009 Modified: Never

Have you considered making the soapnut liquid? That works best for me because I can see and measure exactly how much soap I put in each load.

julie

Re: Soap nuts not so soapy? (Jacks1st)
Posted: 9:14:15 am on 11/15/2009 Modified: Never

How do you make the liquid? Does it really not work to just use the whole nuts?

Re: Soap nuts not so soapy? (ontariangirl)
Posted: 3:14:43 pm on 11/15/2009 Modified: Never

I have a front loader washer and when I would put in the bag of nuts, I never was sure of how much I needed. When I make the liquid (boil about 1.25 liters of water with a handful of nut pieces for 20 minutes and then strain out the nuts), I can adjust how much I want to put in to different loads. It also allows you to use nuts on cold washes.

That's just how I do it.... others may do it differently!

Julie

Re: Soap nuts not so soapy? (Mexmarr)
Posted: 1:06:31 pm on 11/16/2009 Modified: Never

I used 4-5 nuts, and I used them 3 times. They first two were good, the 3rd not quite. But after my 1st set of nuts, I would save all the old ones. after they dried, I'd put them in a thin sock. I would throw the soak in with the 3rd load. Gradually, that sock bag got fuller and fuller, but they did have a bit of soap left in them, so it did help out with every 3rd load.Mama to Rosy-5, Gracie-4, Lizzie-2, Andy-1, and one one the way. My dream is to replace my whole diaper stash with Mother-Ease Diapers!

Re: Soap nuts not so soapy? (KarenC)
Posted: 4:55:34 pm on 11/16/2009 Modified: Never

I'd say that using the same 3 nuts for 5 loads would probably be pushing it. Maybe if you used them only in warm (not hot) water, then maybe... I've always read more like 2-3 hot loads or 3-4 warm/cold loads.

That said, I doubt this is the problem since your issues showed up after only two loads. It is possible that they're just not quite fresh enough for use on diapers. I know that someone else on the board uses only new nuts for her diapers and then used ones for clothing. If you don't feel like using them on clothing you could always use them once for diapers and then save them up for making a liquid. You could also perhaps boost their power a little by adding a little washing soda.

Are you using a front loader by any chance? I know that some say that their front loaders don't use enough water to really get those nuts soaking and releasing the saponin (soap). Makes sense to me, now that I have a front loader I can totally understand that. I used the actual nuts with great success when I had my top loader but now with my HE machine I'm rather leary of trying that...

You wouldn't necessarily have to make a liquid though. You could always just soak the nuts in hot water prior to the wash (maybe 3-4 minutes, something like that) and then throw the water and nuts into the washer. That way you're sure they've been soaking long enough to release enough saponin.

Karen.

Re: Soap nuts not so soapy? (Jacks1st)
Posted: 10:20:44 pm on 11/16/2009 Modified: Never

I do have a top loader. That's disappointing that the lady in the store would tell me they work for 5 loads, but in others experiences they don't. I will save them and use them to make liquid. How do I know if the liquid is soapy enough? Does it bubble?

Re: Soap nuts not so soapy? (ontariangirl)
Posted: 8:44:36 am on 11/17/2009 Modified: Never

You can tell by its colour. It should be the colour of tea... I like mine really dark!

good luck!

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