Greener Living Soap Nuts...

[skinartia]

As some of you may or may not know, I love "natural" products. That would explain my Lush obsession, why I use Lunapads and Diva Cup, why I like herbal teas (like this new PMS blend that just arrived in the mail today), etc, etc (I also like to support "natural" Canadian products whenever possible). And if those natural products also happen to be

Comments

[persifunctant]

I've heard mixed reviews about soapnuts. (obviously not this brand, but other brands) Some people really like them, some people find that their cleaning powers lack a bit, and they aren't as effective at getting out stains and whatnot... Another green alternative if the soapnuts don't work, would be Rockin' Green detergent. I bought some to use with my cloth diapers, and it's very gentle and totally organic etc etc. They have three formulas for regular, hard, and soft water. And you only need around 1-2 tbsps per load, so a bag of the detergent will last you aproximately 90 loads I think? (i recall 45/90 regular/he being on the bag) Mine is unscented, so my laundry comes out smelling like nothing. They do have refreshing fruity scents, BUT! The clothes don't come out smelling like fragrance. The detergent just smells nice when you're using it. :)

\Dryer wise, I use the Nellies pvc dryer balls. They're green nubbly balls that you just toss in the dryer. Compared to bounce sheets, the only difference I see is that there is more static in the load when it's dry, but that could partially be due to the winter weather. My clothes are all soft and comfortable, and I find that towels dont have that like, crunchy residue on them from bounce sheets. I got the dryer balls because they're cloth diaper safe, and so we just use them for all our laundry. You can buy scent sticks that can be stuck inside the balls, and they leave a very very light scent. I bought the citrus scented ones, as I really enjoy the smell of lemoney stuff, and its a very light scent when you pull your clothes out of the dryer, but it doesn't tend to linger for a lengthy period of time. They're sometimes a pain in the ass to find when you're pulling out your laundry and switching loads around, as they tend to get tangled up in clothes, but that's really a minor inconvenience.

Perhpas your dry patches and bumpies are eczema or weather or post-surgery related? do they go away with lotions and such?

[persifunctant]

•Dye free
•Comes in several yummy scents (and an unscented version for sensitive skin)
•No fillers
•No enzymes or optical brighteners
•100% Phosphate free
•Contains natural disinfectants
•Vegan
•Great for sensitive skin
•Easy rinsing formula
•Works wonders on microfiber stink!
•Perfect for cloth diapers
•HE compatible
•Reusable packaging
•Great for all water types
•Economical

(the rockin' green info)

[skinartia]

Sounds very interesting! If the Soap Nuts don't work out, I'll definitely look at that brand. Did you get it online or in store (which one)?

The Soap Nuts site admits to not being great at taking out stains and certain other things. They suggest to use a stain remover (like Buncha Farmers) beforehand and/or tossing in extras (like baking soda, hydrogen peroxide, borax, etc) to the wash to help with those.

I'm thinking some of it is probably eczema and probably from the weather as I do get terrible winter-dry skin (though being on the neck is new and unwelcome, haha). I've been putting lotion on with varying degrees of helpfulness so we'll see. Totally going to keep an eye on it.

[persifunctant]

I ordered it from the same place as my dryer balls :) I've also got some oxyclean to use as a booster if necessary if the diapers are particularily gross. One of the girls in my pregnancy forum soaked a baby carrier that was pissed on by a cat in 3 tbsps of the rockin' green overnight and washed it and all the cat pee stink was gone!

Poor Hollys sad skin :(

[skinartia]

I'll keep that site in mind. :) Thanks, dude! Some of the reviews I read about Soap Nuts is that it was particularly effective in getting rid of the urine smell in cloth diapers. That's what got the owners of the company interested as they tried it with the cloth diapers they used with their baby and were amazed that the pee smell was gone even though commercial detergents had left it behind.

Gah, tell me about it. Grrr!