HE Detergent
Soap Nuts – The Ideal High Efficiency, HE Detergent For Top and Front Loading HE Washing Machines.
By Christopher Sicurella
Soap nuts are essentially everything that all the major detergent producers are struggling to develop for HE washers via chemicals. Soap nuts simply accomplish it naturally and synthetic chemical-free. A low suds, effective surfactant is the primary objective of a great HE detergent. (Just in case: A surfactant is an agent or substance that reduces the surface tension of liquids so that the liquid spreads out, rather than collecting in droplets, hence allowing easy flow through out water and facilitating the removal or release of dirt, oils, grime, etc. from fabrics.) Soap nuts are exactly that.
Plus, soap nuts come with some major extra bonuses. They are naturally anti-fungal, antimicrobial, biodegradable and hypoallergenic. Geesh…what more can you ask for?
Virtually everything in this article applies to all front-loading washers. All front loading washers are essentially HE washers by design. They use tumbling as opposed to agitators to clean your laundry. Interestingly tumbling the laundry is perfect for soap nuts, for it further enhances the release of saponins (all all-important active natural ingredient in soap nuts that produce the “soaping” effect).
A very, very interesting point to be noted is that most HE washers have a maintenance cycle that should be run to keep the machine operating at peak efficiency. I very recently wrote an article (easily found on Ezine) specifically about purging and cleaning your machine using soap nuts. Soap nuts do not leave the residues and build ups that chemical detergents do (yes, even the so called “green” ones). Given that much less water is used in HE washers, a good “flushing” of the detergents, residues and additives out of your laundry and your machine is greatly reduced. Hence this new NEED for a maintenance cycle. Make sense?
Amazingly, chemists are struggling to keep up with the washing machine technologies. So far they are not keeping up. Most of those I speak with that own HE and front-loading machines are not happy at all with the commercial detergents. I routinely hear stories of the nasty odors and gross build-ups. And I speak to a lot of people on this issue every day!
So, if you have a new HE washer (top or front loader) simply try soap nuts. It’s my bet that you will be totally amazed. They simply seem to resolve all the problems people are complaining about.
In an effort to keep this short and sweet, I’m certainly not going to try to address every single machine out there. They don’t all operate exactly alike. Fundamentally they are the same, but there are differences. It is very important to realize that the machine manufacturers are working with the chemical detergent producers and writing their manuals accordingly. They are certainly not addressing soap nut usage. (It seems that the European manufacturer Electrolux has actually demonstrated their foresight and vision to start addressing soap nut usage. More on that in another article.)
Soap nuts are a natural alternative to the chemical detergents. In some ways they work similarly, and in other ways they work very differently. Some experimentation on your part is going to be needed for you to determine the best method of using soap nuts in your machine.
I recommend forgetting about the compartments, but again experimentation is the only way to know what works best for YOU. Since each machine functions differently the compartments and their dispersion method simply introduces more variables. I recommend simply putting the wash bag of soap nuts, the powder or liquid directly in with your laundry. You can forget about the fabric softener department completely since you don’t need fabric softeners at all when using soap nuts. If you are using soap nuts in the traditional method (soap nuts in a wash bag) definitely make a cup of soap nut tea and pour the tea and bag right in with your laundry. This is the exactly the same as you should do with all cold-water washes for best results. Heat is needed to activate the release of the saponins. The “tea” method works great. Alternately, just boil some soap nuts and make a liquid, or grind them to a dust-like ultra fine powder. How you use soap nuts is purely a matter of personal preference. All methods work.
Bottom line: Simply use good old-fashioned common sense. Know that heat and agitation are required to release saponin from raw soap nuts. Using powders and liquids are simply convenient alternative methods, and many people really enjoy producing their own concoctions.
What’s most important to know and understand is that you have available to you (right now) the very best HE detergent you will ever find – the soap nut. Soap nuts are the perfect HE detergent in every single way – and they are even more affordable than the commercial HE detergents! I guess Mother Nature is a little smarter than all those laboratory chemists, huh? I’m not surprised.
http://www.NaturOli.com/
http://www.NaturOli.com/soapnuts
Christopher Sicurella is the founder of NaturOli, a respected formulator of natural skin care products, soaps, detergents, and cleansers, plus distributor of soap nuts.
The NaturOli corporate mission: Setting New and Higher Standards – Today.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Christopher_Sicurella
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