Dianna (Austin, Tx) on 03/14/2009:

soap nuts are actually berries, you can use them for laundry (yay! no perfumes, dyes, soap, etc.) and they work great for this. i even get good results from using them in cold water. also if you make the liquid you can use it for many uses around the house: dishwashing, counters and surfaces, spot treatments of very dirty clothes before washing with the whole soap nuts, carpet cleaning AND hair washing!

also if you use the liquid for washing your pets - fleas don't like it!

it makes your hair very shiny and soft and thick.

if you are interested - google soapnuts - there is a LOT of info out there.

btw - the 'brand' i have is maggies - which is sold at my food co-op. although they may seem expensive upon first inspection - $17.99 for about 50 berries - you can re-use them in the laundry up to 5 times! and then 20 of them will make 32 ounces of cleaning liquid - and you can even do this 2 or 3 times if you save the berries after cooking them.

so a box could work for like 50 loads of laundry! and we wash in cold water - if you use hot or warm water it takes even less of the soapnuts.

this is a wonderful find for anyone who is allergic to conventional detergents. they even clean my boyfriend's very dirty and greasy car working on clothes!