Soap nuts advice please?

tracey3596

I will TRY to keep this brief. :cool:

If you REALLY want the quick "can you tell me?" stuff, scroll to the end please.

Family of 2 + 2, washing done (almost ) daily - i.e. at least one load per day average.
Nearly-new Beko A++ washer; line-dried wherever possible (i.e. mostly.)
Very hard water area.
Sceptic tank; not mains drains.

Currently using whichever wash (liquid, powder etc) is on best offer & works out cheapest; I rarely pay over 10p per wash/load for whichever I purchase. (At recommended dosage. )
Also use (small ammount) softener in each wash. If I don't, I end up with loads of cardboard-type clean laundry!
Am currently experimenting with either Borax or soda crystals to see if these improve wash results (It's subjective I know, BUT they DO seem to make a difference esp. with whites.)

ANYWAY ......

I am debating whether or not to try soap nuts.
Not only to reduce cost ( Lidl or Aldi products as an example may work out almost as cheap if that were my SOLE aim ) but also in an ettempt to improve the .... ummm .... efficiency (?) of my sceptic tank.
(Yeah okay, maybe not efficiency BUT just being a bit "greener" and helping tank do it's stuff. )


So: some advice from users would be appreciated. Along the lines of:

Do these really work?
Can you really use each (um) set for between 3 & 8 washes?
Do you use these in a hard-water area?
Can I - or will I need to - use softener still?
Can I - or will I need to - use Borax or soda crystals?
Do you find that you keep "regular" powder/liquid in "standby"?
Have you found any disadvantages to using soap nuts?
Anything I've not mentioned which might be useful?

I think that's it. :rotfl:
Any useful advice would be most appreciated.

tiny_courageous

I use them, they're great and work well for me for the most part but I do find some baby clothes need a bit of extra help. Generally a spoon full of soda crystals does the job.
Lovely fresh smell on the clothes and still soft even when line dried.

Linda32

I've used them and they do work. I'm in the East Midlands which does have hard water. I do not use fabric softener, I stopped using it way before MSE was invented and never noticed the difference. I do not use borax or soda crystals.


Eventually they do mush up in the machine but thats way after more than 8 washes.

At the moment I use Wash Balls which I was given from work. Lakeland sell them. I use these along with Aldi powder every 3rd or 4th wash.

[Deleted User]

I used soap nuts for quite a while (years) but eventually decided that they did not give good enough results and also I needed to change them and put them into fresh small bags every few washes. I gave up on them and threw them out.

I use ecozone eco balls for all the washes that are not dirty, sheets, towels, tea shirts etc I got dozens when in a sale at lakeland and have enough to last my lifetime, I also gave some to dd. They are great, really efficient, no shedding bits in the wash and non allergic. If I have a wash that needs a bit more oomph, then I just use a teeny amount of powder as well. I use rainwater for the washing machine and that needs half the powder anyway, I add maybe just half a tbs of powder and only rarely

I don`t use any other chemical or conditioner, except a washing machine cleaner on a v hot wash every so often, to clean the machine

islandhoppa

I tried switching to these due to eczema in the family, they are economical and easy to use if you put them in the little bag (tie it tight or they end up everywhere in the washer). You definitely don't need softener with them, I just found that they didn't work well enough on the whites and as the eczema didn't improve even after some time of using them I switched back to regular detergent, however I have still got them in the cupboard and will certainly use them up on dark or lightly soiled clothes. I used to get 3-4 washes from about 5 nuts in the bag

tracey3596

Thank you all so much. :T
If anyone else has advice, it would be appreciated ....... before I take the "plunge", as it were.