Soap Nuts FAQ

Soap Nuts Frequently Asked Questions PageGreen Virgin Products Logo

Q: How do I use soap nuts to wash my clothes?

A: Put about 5 whole soap nuts into the drawstring wash bag and tie it closed. Two half soap nuts equal a whole nut. We recommend you break any whole nuts in half before putting them into the wash bag as this makes it easier for the water to circulate around the whole surface of the shell and release the saponin. Throw the wash bag containing the nuts into the washer and wash as normal. Do not use any detergent, fabric softener or dryer sheets. Your clothes will come out clean, fresh smelling and softer than ever before. Soap nuts are effective in any temperature water and have cleaning abilities equal to toxic chemical detergents. Continue to use prespotters and for the whitest whites, we recommend, for health reasons, hydrogen peroxide. You can use bleach with soap nuts. 

Q: How do I know when soap nuts are used up?

You can reuse the same soap nuts for between 4 and 7 wash loads for a top loader and even more for an HE machine. The best way to tell if the soap nuts are used up is to put the drawstring wash bag with the used soap nuts in them into a jar with a lid with some water shake the jar and if you get suds then they are still good for another load. Pour the soapy water and the washbag into the washer and you're ready for the next load. 
 

Q: How do I make a liquid soap with soap nuts?

A: Boil 2 soap nuts per cup of water for 30 minutes to an hour. Strain the liquid after cooling. This brown liquid soap has no preservatives and can go bad in about 2 to 3 weeks so don't make a lot of it or freeze it in ice cube trays and use as needed. dilute as needed. It can be used for almost any light cleaning jobs like counter tops, cabinets, floors, hand washing dishes, appliances, toys, hand washable delicates etc. 

 

Q: What is a Soap Nut?

A: Soap Nuts are actually not nuts. They are berries from the Chinese Soap Berry Tree (Sapindus Mukorossi). These berries are harvested, and then are dried in the sun. There are no chemicals added. Soap nuts are then added to your laundry to be used instead of chemical laundry detergents.

Ingredients statement: ORGANIC Sapindus Mukorossi soap nuts.

 

Q: How do they clean my clothes?

A: Soap Nuts contain a chemical called Saponin. Saponin is a natural soap (surfactant). It is hypoallergenic and totally eco-friendly.

 

Q: Is every soap nut the same?

A: No, just like apples have different varieties like Granny Smith, Delicious, etc, soap nuts also have different varieties. Green Virgin Products only sells Sapindus Mukorossi Soap Nuts. These are the largest of all varieties of Soap Nuts and also have the highest saponin content. Not only do we sell the best variety of Soap Nuts but we searched the world over for the best quality Sapindus Mukorossi Soap Nuts available. Green Virgin Soap Nuts are the finest Soap Nuts money can buy, period.

 

Q: Do Green Virgin Soap Nut products work in hot, warm & cold water?

A: Despite what you may have read elsewhere, Green Virgin Soap Nuts work in hot, warm or cold temperatures. We recommend washing in cold water with our soap nuts, as cold water saves money and lowers your carbon footprint which helps our planet. Note: Some washers have a temperature setting called Temp Plus, which means the temperature is far hotter than the normal hot water setting. Using this very high heat setting will cause the nuts to be pulverized during the high-speed spin cycle.

 

Q: Do I still use fabric softener to get my clothes soft?

A: No, you never use fabric softener or dryer sheets with soap nuts. Chemical detergents such as Tide leave a residue in your clothes that makes your clothes feel stiff or hard. Soap nuts rinse clean and leave your clothes softer than ever without using toxic fabric softeners or dryer sheets. Your clothes will come out softer than ever. They will also be more absorbent than before because fabric softeners and dryer sheets leave a waxy coating on your clothes.

 

Q: Do I have to remove the soap nuts from the washer before the rinse cycle?

A: No, Soap nuts don’t leave any soapy residue behind. So the rinse cycle is actually a second wash cycle. 

 

Q: Can I still use bleach and pre-spotters for tough stains?

A: Yes. There is no detergent that can get out every stain, so continue to use bleach, or we recommend hydrogen peroxide for bright whites and our exclusive GVP Formula 433 pre-spotter for tough stains.

 

Q: Do Soap Nuts clean as well as Tide and other chemical detergents?

A: Absolutely, they clean every bit as well as whatever brand you were using before. You will save money and not risk your health or the environment.

 

Q: Are soap nuts safe for new-born babies clothes’, diapers, and blankets etc?

A: Yes, soap nuts are safe for babies—you should never expose a baby to toxic chemical laundry detergents, fabric softeners or dryer sheets. You should never use chemical detergents to wash anything that will even come near a baby. Soap Nut products can even be used by people with very sensitive skin. Even those who are allergic to products that are designed for people with allergies should be fine with Soap Nuts. In fact, chemical laundry detergents, fabric softeners, and dryer sheets are highly toxic and can cause all kinds of illnesses including cancer and sudden infant death syndrome. To verify this just Google “laundry detergent health hazards”.

 

Q: I am allergic to nuts—can I still use Soap Nut products?

A: Yes you can. Soap nuts are actually not nuts; they are more like berries. They grow on the Chinese Soap Berry Tree and are sometimes called Soap Berries. Soap Nuts is just a nickname. People that have severe nut allergies will have no reaction to soap nuts.

 

Q: I have very sensitive skin and most detergents give me a rash. Can I use Soap Nut detergent?

A: You should have no problem. Soap Nuts are hypoallergenic and reported allergies are extremely rare. Many people with skin problems have reported that after using only Soap Nuts their skin conditions have cleared up. Even people with psoriasis and eczema have reported improvements after using Soap Nuts for just a few months.

 

Q: What if after using Soap Nuts I am not happy with them?

A: All of our products come with a full 90-day money back guarantee.

 

Q: In today’s economy, I don’t want to spend extra out of my family budget, even if Soap Nuts are superior in every way to toxic chemical detergents. How expensive are they?

A: Soap nuts cost less than any of the national brands. The average price for Tide is over 20 cents per load. Plus when you use Tide and Procter & Gamble, it’s recommended that you use fabric softener or dryer sheets at an average cost of 5 cents a load for a total cost per load of over 25 cents. The cost of Green Virgin Soap nuts is about 10 cents a load even including delivery to your door. Since Procter & Gamble sells fabric softener and dryer sheets they would lose millions of dollars a year if they offered a detergent that didn’t make your clothes feel stiff. It is very easy to make chemical detergents that don’t require softeners or dryer sheets. We used to sell them back in the 1980s. Is it possible that Procter & Gamble is purposely adding ingredients to make your clothes feel stiff to force you to buy their fabric softener?

 

Q: You have mentioned toxic chemicals in chemical detergents, fabric softener or dryer sheets. What are some of the health hazards my family might incur if I continue to use them?

A: Fragranced consumer products are not required to disclose all chemicals on the label or even material safety sheets, not even those that are classified as toxic or hazardous under federal laws. All they have to list is the word fragrance and they can put anything in your products. The list of diseases that the chemicals in your laundry products are known to cause include cancer, liver damage, headaches, nausea, dizziness, abdominal pain, brain and lung edema, kidney failure, central nervous system depression, lung damage, diarrhea, severe irritation of the skin, eyes, mucous membranes and upper respiratory tract infections, damage to the immune system, sudden infant death syndrome and many more. Google “laundry detergent health hazards”. You will find many articles, including one by the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) that verifies all the above and much more.

 

Q: What health hazards do I face using Soap Nut products?

A: None, they grow on trees and are totally green. They have been used for thousands of years in Ayurvedic medicine. Some people use them to brush their teeth even though they don’t taste good. When used as a laundry detergent they are totally non-toxic.

 

Q: What are your shipping costs?

A: You can view the shipping costs by viewing your cart and entering your zip code before entering any personal information. We don’t make profit on shipping and we don’t have a handling charge or any hidden charges.

 

Wholesale Soap Nuts

We welcome all wholesale inquiries for our Soap Nut products. Whether you want to buy 5 kilos or 500,000 kilos we will beat any price and supply you with the highest quality Soap Nut products available in the world. Just contact us at info@greenvirginproducts.com or call 813-833-3248