Why haven't we heard of these before? Introduced to the U.S. market in 2004, Zamuta Soapnuts are nuts from India's Rithra tree. The nuts contain a natural detergent (saponin) and can be used in laundry, in allergy-free shampoos and in general-purpose household cleaners. A small amount of crushed nutshells in a cotton bag can be reused multiple times for laundry...










what about people with nut allergies?
view monika1's profile
My guess is the reason we haven't heard of them before is Procter and Gamble and the like. They make money when you buy Tide, not these little guys.
view kaanswfm's profile
this is hardly new. where else does the word "saponification" come from? :-)
view *heather leaf*'s profile
good question monika1!
view aaron's profile
I saw this product in the store but decided not to buy it because it cost something like $17! Seems a little extravagant for laundry.
view SFGail's profile
here's a less expensive resource!
http://www.maggiespureland.com/shop.html
view *heather leaf*'s profile
The soap nuts freak me out. I still love dropps laundry detergent - I recently saw them on one of the apartment therapy LA posts: www.dropps.com
view wbs531's profile
One of my guest bloggers tried them out. Here's what she had to say:
http://www.dominomag.com/daily/blogs/scrappy/2007/10/maggies-soap-nu.html
view scrappy girl's profile
I use powdered powdered soapnuts to wash my hair. It works beautifully!
view stinkycretingurl's profile
monika1, soapnuts aren't acutally nuts -- they're the dried fruit of the soapberry tree.
view Anna at D16's profile
I'm intrigued. I'm allergic to damn near every kind of soap out there, wonder how these would work....
view Melissa82's profile
I have used Zamuta soapnuts for a little over a year now, and they work great! They are the least expensive available (despite the Maggie comment above), and George at Zamuta seems really knowledgeable about the product.
My favorite is the 32oz bag ($29), because I can wash about 50 loads when I reuse the shells a couple of times. After reusing them, they get dumped on the compost pile to keep on givin'!
view netrarc's profile
There's also a liquid laundry detergent made of soap nutz & vegetable soaps derived from corn, potatoes & sugar cane instead of Petroleum-Derived Surfactants.--Which most laundry detergents use--It's called Cleanut by AlmaWin. I've no experience with it, but I'm excited about trying it. Anyone else used it?
view MoJonson's profile