All natural cleaners

what didn't you like about them?
Most people I talk to don't like them because they don't make your clothes smell pretty. but, thats the point of the nuts.

While I admit I do enjoy a good smelling softener , I just didn't feel like the clothes were all that clean...I found myself having to re-wash a lot of the kids stuff. Maybe I was using too few nuts for the size load I was running or something...

eta: I forgot the whole reason I came back to this thread How long does the essential oil last, how many bottles of cleaner or uses to you get out of a bottle? And does the scent linger about like other cleaning products?

This post has been edited by luvmykids on Feb 9 2009, 01:31 PM

I use a few different EO's so its not like I am going back to the one bottle over and over, but I am 1/2 way through my 2nd bottle of tea tree oil since going green, so about 6 months ish? my EO's go a loooooong ways, I bet you could get 6 mos to a year out of a single bottle depending on what you use it for.
I don't use it in my laundry, but my house still smells like it in the afternoon if I clean in the morning. I esp. notice it if I leave the house then come back.

as for the nuts, I use 3 in a large load on warm wash cold rinse 4 times. Then I save up the used ones. When I have a bunch I boil them down and make soap nut liquid with them for good measure before composting them.

This is going to be a reallllly stupid question, but - how do you know when you've used your soap nuts 4 times? Is there a way to tell they are 'done' so to speak, or do you just remember that it's time to change them? I could totally see myself forgetting and wondering 3 weeks later why my clothes aren't getting clean.

not a stupid question, and I have come up with a completely brilliant solution that only took me 6 months to figure out.
when I put new nuts in the bag I tie 4 knots in the draw string. each time I use the bag I untie one Knot. when I untie the last one, it can be opened, and I know to get new nuts.
I usually have at least 3 bags of nuts going because they get stuck in my clothes and end up in the dryer. I don't usually find the bag until I am folding laundry. You can tell the nuts are used up because they get kind of yellow/ greyish and mushy