What are Soap Nuts?
Soap Nuts are the dried fruit of the Chinese Soapberry tree (Sapindus
mukorrosi), similar to the lychee. A long time ago, local folks in the
South East Asia figured out that when the nuts get wet, they release
saponin, a natural cleaner, making them great for washing clothes!
Maggie's Soap Nuts are the only household cleaner made exclusively
from Nature, by Nature. A single soapberry tree produces hundreds of kilos of nuts per year!
Maggie's Soap Nuts fall to the ground in Indian and Indonesian forests
where they are collected by folks who have used the nuts for centuries.
Click here for frequently asked questions about soap nuts.
How to Use
Put Maggie’s Soap Nuts into the included, reusable
cotton sack. Tie it closed. Add the sack to your
washing machine and follow clothing manufacturer
instructions. Return Soap Nuts to the earth by
adding them to your compost! It’s that simple!
Warm/Hot Water
Use 2 Maggie’s Soap Nuts in the cotton sack.
Cold Water
Use 4 Soap Nuts and re-use them 2-3 times. OR pre-soak 2 Soap Nuts in the
cotton sack in hot water for a few minutes. Add the “tea” and sack to your cold
wash load.
Heavy Soils
Pre-soak 4 Soap Nuts in the cotton sack in hot water for a few minutes. Add the “tea”
and sack to your wash load. Add fewer clothes to your machine so the fabric has lots
of room to agitate.
For Sparkling Whites
Always separate your colors. For extra stain removal, add a scoop of oxygen
bleach.
Fabric Softener
Maggie’s Soap Nuts naturally soften and add
body to your clothes. You’ll love how your
clothes feel after washing with Maggie’s Soap
Nuts.
Hand Washables
Soak 2 Soap Nuts in hot water for a few minutes. Add the “tea” to your cool
water basin. Alternatively, add a squirt of your homemade Maggie’s Soap Nuts
liquid cleaner to the cool basin.
History of Soap Nuts
The fruit of the Soapberry tree (Sapindus spp.) is a model
offering from the ancient healing modalities to our modern lifestyles in
the realms of cleanliness, aesthetics and medicine. Although Soap
Nuts have been used in India for generations and in Europe for
decades, it's uses are as new to the United States as MP3s.
 Prized for its handsomeness, the leaves of the Chinese Soapberry tree
are paripinnate and crowd at the end of the branches. On the branch
ends, the "drupes" or berries hang in pairs or triplets. The fruits are
green and smooth when fresh, and when dried become a light brown
with silky wrinkles.
The trunk is straight and cylindrical; the bark is
dark to pale yellow with vertical fissures spanning the length. They
can rise to as tall as 25 meters and as wide as 5 meters, the leaves
forming a thick umbrella shaped canopy embedded with green
flowers. For this reason, they are often planted along boulevards in
the way we plant magnolias in the United States.
The fruits of this special soapy tree, when peeled from their inner
seed, are primarily used as a cleanser. The leathery fruit skins
release saponin and become a magnificent detergent when immersed
in water. In ancient India these fruits were
used for soap and hair wash powders, used by jewelers for shining
ornaments of gold and silver, and used in the laundering of fine silks
and wools.
Today, you can easily purify yourself by using Soap Nuts in your
washing machine. Just close 2-4 Soap Nuts into a small cloth bag and
add it to the clothes in your wash. Soap Nuts naturally soften and add
body to your fabrics, are safe for wool and silk, and keep your colors
looking bright. You can also make a concentrated liquid soap by
boiling or soaking the fruits.
Soap Nuts have been
traditionally used to support the skin, scalp and hair. In modern India, Soap Nuts are an essential ingredient in
hair care products to increase luster and softness of hair. Soap Nuts are safe for people with sensitive skin, even
people who suffer allergic reactions to store bought "sensitive skin"
cleansers. The Soapberry is among the most important trees for beautification in tropical Asia.
Soap Nuts are even safe enough to use as toothpaste and as a fruit
and vegetable wash. A ten-minute soak in a solution of Soap Nuts
removes 95% of the surface pesticides and chemical residues on fresh
produce. Soap Nuts are also useful in the kitchen as a food-safe
cleaner for countertops, appliances, and sinks.
You can even use a solution of Soap Nuts in the garden to repel pests as persistent as aphids.
Environmental Impact
In suffering rural economies Soapberry
trees are cut down and sold as lumber
and firewood to feed hungry families.
Maggie’s Pure Land reserves the
Soapberry harvest years in advance,
providing families with guaranteed income
from living Soapberry trees.
By using Maggie’s Soap Nuts you are preserving tropical forests!
You are supporting real people in their
local economies, cultures and communities!
You are using the safest, most natural product
available!
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