Comments on Kate's review of Maggie's Soap Nuts
5 star rating
May 30, 2007
Laundry is fun, I must be nuts! Or is it the nuts?
Wow. Laundry soap that is sustainable, grows on trees and does a great job. I have used Maggie's Soap Nuts for 3 months on everything. I reuse the nuts which makes it really economical too. .
Kate's keywords: natural soap soap nuts ayureveda soap baby health
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Jenn A. says:
Hi Kate - it's been almost a year since you reviewed this - do you have an update for us on this product?
Chris S. says:
Geesh... A LOT has happened in a year Kate!
NaturOli is taking proactive steps to make soap nuts even more affordable & even safer for laundry and many household cleansers. Right when we are all stretching our bucks as far as possible, while being concerned about all possible health hazards, NaturOli is taking very responsible CONSUMER oriented steps.
1) They're not promoting use of soap nut powder. It's becoming increasing popular by sellers, but BY FAR it is the least economical way to use soap nuts. The problem is that regardless of how finely powdered, the saponin (the important active ingredient) is not fully released before it ends up down the drain. Not good. Remember this is a fruit - not a synthetic chemical. The difference is huge. A 1/2 oz of nuts used in the traditional method (avg. wash bags of nuts shells) can do 3, 4, or 5 loads. A 1/2 oz of powder does ONE load. Period. That's it. To worsen the problem, sellers are charging a premium for powder. Ouch. If the powder is what you want, NaturOli recommends using a coffee grinder and grinding them yourself to the finest dust possible. Try reducing the suggested 1/2 oz to a 1/3 or 1/4 oz. Save pieces that don't grind to use traditionally. Their lab is working on out-of-the-box ways for using powder. Interesting.
2) Be EXTREMELY cautious of ALL soap nut liquids. My recent review & analysis of an official "Materials Data Safety Sheet" that was reluctantly provided by an Indian exporter was absolutely frightening. Apparently, in the rush to quickly get a liquid to market, the exporter ruined all of the saponin's inherent healthy, green characteristics. It read like it was arsenic!!! Incredible! BIG NOTE: This does NOT need to be disclosed to the consumer. There's no FDA requirement of full disclosure for detergents & cleansers. AND the cheaper liquids WILL be produced in India & Napal. You can bank on it. PLEASE don't expect the label to tell you all this. Buyer beware! Good luck!
Chris