Soap Nuts Natural Laundry Detergent for Clean and Fresh Clothes

Soap Nuts as a Natural Laundry Detergent to

Wash Your Clothes

No matter how much care you take in washing your clothes and personal items, you will often see your garments fade in color and fall apart much before you expect them to. They are still young and new but something is taking away life from them. You go to the store you bought them from and complain of bad quality, you curse your washing machine but the real culprit is hidden safely in your house. The harmful synthetic detergents and fabric softeners are the actual cause behind the loss of shine from your clothes.

They take away the softness, the color and reduce the life of your garments. And while all this is happening, you are unaware and keep using the detergent again and again. The deadly ingredients in these detergents are not just harmful for your clothing but also act harshly on your skin. That mysterious rash, allergy, itch, pimple or even sinus problems can well be a result of your sensitive skin coming in contact with some harmful chemical that you are literally wearing on your sleeve.

This is the time to look for alternatives and increase the life of your precious clothes. This is where natural laundry detergents come in the picture. Yes they are natural, easy to find, and soft on your clothes as well as your skin. They protect your clothes and give them the gentle treatment that they deserve which any of the synthetic detergents are unable to provide. By choosing natural detergents you will not just protect your clothes, but you will also be lending a hand in protecting the environment. These environment friendly detergents are increasingly becoming the favorite of people the world over.

Another advantage is their ability of protecting your skin. While washing clothes you are directly exposing yourself to chemicals that are harsh and harmful in a number of ways. Natural laundry detergents are great for your skin as they will not harm it in any way.

Due to the increasing demand of these natural products companies are looking to tap this market and coming up with new products. You will find bio-degradable detergents, detergents containing the extracts of eucalyptus, enzymes and many other ingredients naturally available. You will also find these detergents in various smells like lavender and rose. However you may want to double check to see if what you are buying is actually “natural” or just a synthetic product in the guise of a natural one.

Another natural detergent that has given new meaning to washing your clothes safely is the “Soap nut”. Soap nuts are a revolutionary and interesting natural detergent and the best part is they grow literally on trees. A soap nut tree to be precise. In the Asian countries of India and Indonesia they have been used for centuries with great results. They are good for both your clothes and you and are a gift of nature. They grow on a tree called sapindus mukorrosi or the Chinese Soapberry Tree. Their outer shell is dried and can be used as soap by combining 2-3 of these nuts in a small bag.

Imagine buying something that has no harsh chemicals in it. Something that was made in a 100% natural way and gives you no anxiety or fear of disease. Along with all this something that comes from the bounty of the nature and helps us restore and preserve. When you buy soap nuts you are giving back to the environment by not polluting it via synthetic detergents. So go green, go natural and go the soap nuts way.

Soap Nuts as a Natural Laundry Detergent

Ever since the inception of the industrial revolution, life for all of us has become fast, and developments in the fields of science and technology have made human life both simpler and more convenient. All the hassles of day to day activities have been taken care by the complex dynamics of technology. Every night we sleep with a dream and the next morning we are out in the market to buy the dream that has already been converted to reality.

But, in spite of this we are bothered, the cause being the technology itself. With all its goods kept on one side, technology also has a cruel face on the other side of the fence. With all its developments if, technology is giving us a hassle free life, it is also giving us a polluted environment to live in. Water, air and even sound are not being spared. The chemicals coming out as the byproducts are harming our environment and are directly and indirectly harming us. It is just that we are not able to realize until we are in danger.

Keeping aside the macro level alerts like global warming, increase in the sea level etc, let us peep into our daily life and see at micro level, the impact of technical developments. Covering every aspect in the discussion to follow may be outside the scope of this article and hence we will try to limit our discussion only to a simple chemical product- the laundry detergent.

A combination of different chemical substances to clean our clothes is what we call laundry detergent. When mixed with water this detergent creates lather and the chemicals penetrate deep inside the clothes to clean the dirt and the harmful microbes present in them. But studies show that long term usage of these detergents can lead to skin troubles, not to mention about the water pollution which disturbs the balance of the aquatic life!

A question arises, is there something to make the earth greener and pollution free? Yes, there is. Most of us are unaware of a natural substance which can substitute this laundry detergent and is 100% natural. The substance is known as Soap Nut and is a fruit of the soap nut tree called Sapindus. Native to Nepal, India and some other South Asian countries, this tree requires a warm and tropical environment to grow. The harvesting process of this soap nut is completely natural and does not call for any toxin or chemical involvement.

The Soap Nut consists of a solid and hard outer shell and a small fruit inside it. This outer shell is used for making cleaning products. After the fruit ripens, it falls to the ground from tree. It is then picked up and then dried under the sun and is ready to use. Saponin, a natural substance, is present in the Soap Nut. When the Soap Nut is soaked in water, the Saponins are released. This helps the water to penetrate the fabric and clean it. The Soap Nut is a good replacement of the commercial detergents also because of the fact that it has a natural anti-microbial property which kills the harmful microbes present in the dirt. Because Soap Nuts do not contain any added dyes or chemicals, they do not create very many bubbles or lather but are capable of cleaning clothes as effectively as the commercial laundry detergents without side effects such as eczema and psoriasis.

Natural and harmless, these Soap Nuts can actually help us to take a step ahead in a greener and more natural world. Soap Nuts do not disrespect technology but rather attempt to save the world from a chemical holocaust. Using soap nuts as a natural laundry detergent is a tribute to nature and the solutions it gives us.