We are all stretching our paychecks (if we are still getting one) as far as possible these days. We are also very concerned about all possible health hazards, and living greener lives. Unfortunately, usually what goes along with the supposedly "greener", better products are higher prices. A walk down any aisle in any store, and this is immediately apparent. I recently read numerous articles on the green profiteering that is occurring in virtually all industries.
I also read erroneous articles that referred to soap nuts as an expensive green laundry detergent alternative. Nothing could be SO far from the truth. I received more than one apology (of sorts) from writers that simply did not do their research very well. Any conclusions from a study that begins with faulty premises and improper testing techniques will result in incorrect data. A big problem with soap nuts is that there are large data gaps and some poor quality information floating around. One writer claimed that the cost of using soap nuts was around 50 cents per load. That was utter nonsense. I promptly set her straight. Properly used, soap nuts can be one of the MOST affordable ways possible to do laundry! It is VERY easy to calculate. You just need the correct data to calculate with.
NOTE: It is important to realize that it is cost prohibitive to buy soap nuts samplers or just a few ounces. The purpose of "samplers" is only to TRY them. Period. If you like how they work, then you will certainly buy them in much larger quantities to reduce your cost per ounce and associated cost per load. Right?
Let's just compare the cost of using soap nuts to using many commercial detergents that we see all the time. Let's crunch the numbers: (You'll certainly notice that I avoid metrics and am referring to USD. I believe differing methods of weights and measures, plus different currencies have added to some confusion. I'm a US citizen, and am writing in large part for a US audience to easily understand. I sincerely apologize to anyone not accustomed to my use of the weights and currency common to the US.)
You can purchase around two pounds (32-ounces) of good soap nuts for around $30. That would be a very common amount a knowledgeable soap nut user would buy. Used in the traditional manner, you will use approx. one-half ounce in a wash bag and that will yield an average of about 5 loads. That yields approx. 320 loads for the $30 dollars spent. Personally, I can usually get many more loads than that, but that is because of some tricks I use to extend their life and maximize the saponin extraction. BUT, to be conservative, let's just go with only FOUR loads per half-ounce.
A note worth mentioning: I've seen sellers claim numbers of loads that seem to be all over the place. I've also heard of people claiming to use half the amount I suggest using. I can't explain that. Let's simply bare in mind the many, many variables in how people do their laundry, plus the variables in the quality and types of soap nuts - and leave it at that. My approach is very "middle-of-the-road". I'm dealing with norms not extremes so that this is meaningful for the vast majority of scenarios.
By Christopher Sicurella
Title: The Most Affordable And Green Laundry Detergent
Rating: 88% out of 100% based on 25 ratings
Written By Unknown
Rating: 88% out of 100% based on 25 ratings
Written By Unknown
