Eco Nuts Soap Nuts Review

I've been tossing the idea of trying out soap nuts for a few months now. I've heard from many people who use them for their cloth diapers and have amazing results, so I finally broke down and bought a box of Eco Nuts on sale from Bippy Diapers. I couldn't wait to try them out! What are soap nuts?

 Eco Nuts™ are completely sustainable dried fruit shells that come from the Sapindus mukorossi tree (also called the Soap Berry or Soap Nut Tree) in Nepal, India and Indonesia. The ones we harvest come from high up in the Himalayas and are the highest quality "soap nut" on the market. These fruit shells have been used in India and China for centuries, and are now gaining popularity in America and Europe as a renewable, biodegradable and organic alternative to chemical  detergents and expensive “Green” laundry soaps.

 Eco Nuts™  contain saponin, a natural cleaner that works as a surfactant, breaking the surface tension of the water to penetrate the fibers of your clothing, lifting stains from the fabric and leaving dirt suspended in the water that is rinsed away.

Eco Nuts™ are gentle on both clothes and skin, making them ideal for those with sensitive skin, eczema, allergies and psoriasis. Because they are so mild, they are perfect for baby clothes and cloth diapers. All-Natural Eco Nuts™ are also great for septic and grey water systems. But don’t expect these shells to foam up like commercial soaps, which have artificial foaming agents. Foam simply does not represent cleaning power.

Shipping was pretty fast, I had them in 2 or 3 days. I looked over the instructions and added 5 soap nuts (which are actually dried berries) to a bag and washed a load of burp rags, bibs and towels. I washed on hot, took the "soap baggie" out of the washer and put everything in the dryer. I smelled every - last - piece of laundry that came out of the dryer, and while everything smelled clean...

 

...I was sad to see that many things didn't look clean. I'm not diligent with my laundry. I don't pre-treat stains, I just throw things in the hamper and when it's full I wash.  However, I still don't have stains on anything. I've used the cheapest commercial detergents, Tide, and most recently, for the past 6 months, Rockin Green, on everything. No stains. I shrugged it off. Eco Nuts recommended I buy a stain pre-treater and try that. So I purchased an additional laundry tool that I've never used before, sprayed what was extra dirty, and washed a load of Buggie's clothes. This time I checked everything that came out of the washer, and still saw streaks of formula on his shirts. 

Needless to say, I'm pretty disappointed in this purchase. Kudos to those of you out there who can use such an eco-friendly laundry detergent, but I'll be sticking with my Rockin' Green!

If you'd like to try them yourself, you too can buy them from Bippy Diapers using the link above in this post, or you can also purchase them directly from Eco Nuts! A trial size box for an average of 10 loads is $4.50, and  a medium box (which I purchased) which lasts for an average of 100 loads is $12.

FTC Disclaimer: I purchased this product with my own money and was not in any way obligated to provide a review.