Maggies Soap Nuts 100% Natural Laundry Soap (80 Loads)
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Kitchen and Housewares Reviews of Maggies Soap Nuts 100% Natural Laundry Soap (80 Loads)
Customer Review: Incredible!
Summary: 5 Stars
Let's see, the only thing I can compare a soap nut to is a date. It's wrinkly, sticky, and the same size of a date - and even kind of smells like one too. The scent is not very strong, it's a really mild fruity smell.
You can use soap nuts for a variety of things: laundry soap, shampoo, body soap, pesticide, glass cleaner, the list goes on. The informative flyer it came with even said it can cure athlete's foot - so I'm soaking my feet in soap nut water every day!
The second I received my soap nuts, I started making my own liquid soap. All you need is 1 part soap nuts, 4 parts water - you can boil the soap nuts or let them soak over night. Then you just run the liquid through cheese cloth and viola, you got liquid soap!
I used my liquid soap as a shampoo. It was a little difficult to tell if I was using enough since the liquid soap is well, liquidy. So I poured some on my head and rubbed it in to my scalp and through my hair. It almost felt sticky when I was rubbing it into my hair and I was a little disappointed since I was expecting it to make my hair soft. When I got out of the shower though, my hair and skin were really silky. I don't think my hair ever felt so smooth, even with the really expensive shampoo and conditioners I use. It made my hair more bouncy too, like it had a lot of volume.
I have used the soap nuts in the cotton sack for my laundry about two times so far, but I still haven't figured that one out yet. I think I need to put a little more soap nuts in the cotton sack because my fiance's clothes are really dirty since he works construction. But either way, the soap nuts seem to be doing their job!
These soap nuts are really incredible. They don't leave a strong scent, they're natural, they don't make my skin itchy (like some soaps do), and everything they touch gets clean and silky. I am thinking about buying these boxes in bulk (which are available through Amazon too!). I'm so happy to have this alternative to soap since I don't like the idea of chemicals (even if they're supposedly harmless) on or near my skin.
Thanks Maggie!!
Customer Review: Fragrant like a wet dog?
Summary: 3 Stars
My nuts came in a cellophane baggie that was not sealed, in a box where the glue must have been water soluble and had dissolved. Nothing was missing, but the packaging was surprising. I simply put my nuts in a ziploc baggie and am now almost done with my supply. I am concerned about the quality and consistency of this product, but cannot say that my experience has been at all bad. Yes, there is a slight vinegar smell when the nuts are fresh, and the smell goes away after a few loads, upon which I replace the nuts.
I have not noticed any particular "whiteness," but my dark clothes are DARKER (no white "sheen" from being washed). And my T-shirts that had acquired the white "sheen" are looking more bold (I guess that's the word). It could be my imagination I guess.
Well, I actually do not dislike this product. I only used the 50-pack, and have just put in an order for another competitor's product that I'd like to try out.
**AS FOR THE SMELL**
I used to hang dry my clothes to save energy. But when I moved into the rental house I recently vacated, I could not get the wet dog smell out of my clothes unless I put them through the dryer. At that time, I was using unscented Tide with Bleach.
My landlord later replaced the laundry units and guess what? The wet dog smell was gone! Hooray! I had assumed it was related to the water system or water source, but it was actually some disgusting goopy brown rusty stuff in the water line going to the machine.
Note that even consumer reports has concluded (surprisingly) that many big name detergents do not work any better than plain water--other than adding fragrance. So if fragrance is what you want, then soap nuts are just not for you.
Good luck if you try the product!
Customer Review: Horrible. Waste of money.
Summary: 1 Stars
I feel absolutely stupid for even trying these. I should have known they were a gimmick. Me and my husband have allergies to a lot of soaps, so I figured why not at least give them a try? After reading all of the wonderful reviews I figured they'd at least work on lightly soiled clothes. WRONG.
I'm convinced that most of the good reviews are either from people that don't mind their clothes smelling bad or trying to sell these things.
I used them with a small load of lightly soiled clothes. The clothes came out smelling WORSE than when they went in. They weren't any cleaner and the only way I can describe the smell is wet stinky dog. I've used all kinds of normal non-scented detergents, and while some of them didn't clean well I've never had any cause my clothes to smell really bad like these things did. I read on some other sites that you could use them to wash other stuff too. I broke a couple open and rubbed them on my hands under water just to see what they'd do. My hands did end up really soft afterward, but the smell was HORRIBLE (yet again, wet dog smell pretty much). I couldn't even get the smell off until I washed my hands a few times with soap.
Oh yeah, the ones I ordered were also supposed to come with a bag for the nuts; it didn't.
I must say, this is the weirdest least effective product I've ever ordered. I wouldn't recommend these to anyone. I ended up throwing the whole bag away.
Customer Review: I'm nuts for soap nuts!
Summary: 5 Stars
Now that I have been using Soap Nuts for about a year, I wanted to write a review of my experience so far. I am hooked and will never go back!
I have a family of four and we try and do what we can to stay as 'natural' and 'green' as possible. Switching to Maggies Soap Nuts made me want to do more. I have since cut out fabric softeners entirely and cut down on machine drying. I found that a cup of white vinegar in the rinse cycle gets rid of any static cling. For a nice and natural fragrance, I use essential oils from Amazon (Edens Garden) when I use the machine dryer and I am having a blast mixing my own fragrances! And of course, Mother Nature provides a clean fragrance when using my folding outdoor drying rack I purchased recently from Amazon (Household Essentials P1900 3-Arm Portable Umbrella Clothing Dryer).
I have tried another brand of soap nuts that seemed to be very popular and I have to say I was surprisingly disappointed. They seemed to have all the saponin sucked out of them before they were packaged, so I am back to Maggies Soap Nuts for good this time.
Customer Review: Terrible
Summary: 1 Stars
Entered a review the other day that was not acceptable, I guess. To reiterate this is a horrible product for two reasons. The cleaning action is marginal and more important the smell of cat (fluid waste) and/or wet dog fur. Watch as this probably too gets deleted, but if it does not please note my wife and I cloth diaper, wanted an all natural soap for our childrens' skin and bought a few bottles of this absolute garbage. I thought it was the fact that the main things being cleaned were diapers and thats why the smell persisted but a trip to the gym and a friendly consesus of the gym regulars diagnosed the above described smell. This was for a gym shirt washed with the soap nuts that I was wearing and double confimed by my request for the same folks to smell my "clean" shirt I was going to put on after the gym. All in all I'm regretting this purchase and oddly respectful of a gym crowd willing to smell clothing, Save your dough and or buy a cat and a water bottle, same thing....