Soap Nuts

I had never heard of soap nuts until a few months ago but I am really glad someone mentioned them to me as I am now completely converted.  So what are they?  What are they for?  They are berries from the 'Sapindus Mukorossi' tree grown in Northern India and can be used instead of washing powder or laundry detergent.  The soap nuts are the shells of the berries and are very simple to use.  

I bought Ecozone soap nuts, they come with a little zipped cotton bag.  To use: you pop four of the nuts into the small bag and add them to the drum with your clothes.  I wash on a standard 30o wash.  The clothes come out clean but not smelling of fresh laundry detergent which takes a while to get used to as you reset your mind to the meaning of "clean and fresh".  But the clothes do come out clean and not smelling fusty and sweaty.   You use the four nuts in the little bag for four washes before putting them in your compost bin (as they are completely biodegradable).

I like them however other people I have spoken to are not 100% sure if they do anything: our washing machines are so good these days, if you were to just put the clothes in the machine with nothing added at all, would they still come out 'clean'?   For me so far they seem to be working and I will carry on using them.  I do still have a box of washing powder for the nappies as I am not sure how soap nuts would work them.  

Unfortunately and much to my disappointment the Ecozone soap nuts come in a lovely 'eco' looking cotton bag... but with a plastic bag inside.  In my mind one of these bags is surplus to requirements.  If the plastic bag is required for keeping the soap nuts dry and fresh, then the outer cotton bag is completely unnecessary; and while yes, it is not plastic, it still takes materials and energy to make, which seems wastetful.  Ecozone have not got back to me to confirm their thoughts on this.  I will let you know as soon as I hear anything but do not feel hopeful as its been a while.