What do tree's and soap have in common?

Soap Nus is the answer. Soap Nuts (Sapindus species) are a native to tropical regions, and peole have been using the saponin-rich dried fruits of these tree's for cleaning purposes for centuries.  Saponins are sugar derivatives that produce a soapy lather when mixed with water.  Most nut plantations are found in India and Napal.  Do not try to go buy yourself a tree because these tree's take nine years to bear any fruit.  Good thing is that they continue to bear fruit for 100 years. Good investment if you ask me! 

How do I use soap nuts?  There are 3 methods of using soap nuts. The first way is to put three to four soap nuts into a cloth bag or tied of sock. Throw into your washer and the agitation of the wash cycle will release saponins from the soap nuts. Hot water is recommended because the saponins extract more efficiently than warm or cold water. 

Second way of using soap nuts is to buy soap nut powder. This is the easiest way to use it but the powder may clog filters of a washing machine. I think this method I will pass on.  

Third option is to make soap nut tea out of powdered soap nuts.  Boil four tablespoons of soap nut powder in about one cup of water. Turn off the heat and allow the tea to cool. Once cooled you may strain out the solids and store the soap  nut tea in plastic (or glass) squeeze bottle.  Front loaders use one teaspoon and standard washers use one tablespoon full.  The great thing about making soap nut tea is you can use hot, warm or cold water to wash your clothing. Many people have sworn by soap nut tea because they have extremely sensitive skin and have never had any trouble with the soap nut tea.

You can find soap nuts and soap nut powder online. Amazon has a wide selection of them and you can easily get free shipping if you buy $25 worth. Other great places to find the soap nuts/powder is from Neemresource , Nature with Love or Maggie's Pure Land.  

I myself have not used soap nuts before but will in the future. Currently I make my own laundry soap but when I do this it requires me to keep a 5 gallon bucket in my laundry room sink.  Which is kinda annoying when I am trying to scrub out a stain in a shirt but have no room to do so. When I decide to try out the soap nuts I will also be looking into how budget friendly this option is along with time consuming considering I have to make soap nut tea. 

What are your thoughts on this? Have you used soap nuts before? Have a great place to buy it thats cheap? Share your thoughts!