Next Time You Do Laundry, Try Soap Nuts!

Are you looking for a more environmentally-friendly way of doing laundry? Give Soap Nuts a try.

Soap Nuts are actually not nuts at all. They are berries (also known as Soap Berries) that grow on trees in India and Nepal. They contain large quantities of saponin in their shells. It acts as a natural, gentle detergent when it comes into contact with water. Without any chemicals, fragrances, or dyes, they are safe and gentle for hand-washing delicates and are also tough enough for regular laundry. They are 100% non-allergenic and will leave your clothes soft, clean, and fragrance free with no need to use fabric softeners.




How do you use Soap Nuts?
For laundry soap, you can use them in one of two ways:

1. Toss 4-5 Soap Nuts in a muslin (cloth) bag and put it in with your laundry. Make sure that you take them out before putting your clothes in the dryer. The nuts will do 4 to 5 loads.

2. Boil 15-18 whole Soap Nuts in 6 cups (1.5 quarts) of water for 30 minutes. The liquid you have is now a concentrated, chemical-free detergent. The leftover shells can be placed in your compost. Use 3 Tbsp (45 ml) of this detergent with each load of laundry. This allows you to do approximately 60 loads of laundry. Keep the liquid in the fridge, or add preservative (approximately 2 tsp of Germall or Liquipar to cooled soap).


Soap Nuts can also be used, in the liquid form, to clean just about anything; from dishwasher detergent to window and glass cleaner. They are a great multi-purpose cleaner.

With great cleaning power and no harmful chemicals, Soap Nuts are one of the best cleaners you can buy!

New Fragrances!

Suds N' Scents has two new fragrances that we are excited to tell you about! They are both body and candle safe. If you send us an email letting us know that you saw them on the blog, we'll send you a free sample!

Ginger Tea Fragrance

This fragrance is just beautiful, one of our new favourites! It's a fresh, clean, happy scent; one that would make a great body mist. It has notes of Earl Grey tea, ginger, yuzu, bergamot, geranium, and base notes of light musk and berries.  

Chai Spice Fragrance

This fragrance is just the right blend of spicy cinnamon, star anise, fennel, cassia, and nutmeg, with slight woodsy herbal notes. 

Insect Bite Treatment - Recipe

This Insect Bite Treatment is a must have for anyone who spends time outdoors. It also works really well as a zit zapper!

RECIPE:

45 ml (3 tbsp) Witch Hazel

45 ml (3 tbsp) Alcohol (can use denatured alcohol, rubbing alcohol, or vodka)

2 ml (1/2 tsp) Calendula Oil
10 ml (2 tsp) Polysorbate 20
5 ml (1 tsp) Skin Therapy Essential Oil Blend

METHOD: Mix the Calendula Oil, the Polysorbate 20, and the Skin Therapy Essential Oil Blend together in a glass measuring cup. Let them sit together for a few minutes. Then add the Alcohol and the Witch Hazel. Stir well and pour into glass rollerball containers. Shake well before use. (You could also store your mixture in a glass bottle until ready to put in the rollerball containers).