Nature's WashThe Greenest Clean You've Ever Seen.

Nature’s Wash Berries are a bit different from the liquid and powder chemical detergents you may be used to. The soap is embedded in the dried shells, so should be thrown directly in with your dirty laundry for maximum effect. This is the simple process:

1. Put 3-4 Nature’s Wash Berries in one of the cotton wash bags (or any sock/stocking) provided. Tie the bag or sock off so they don’t come loose. (Our old instructions said 5-6. But the current batch of soap nuts are both bigger and soapier than the previous, so 3-4 should do the trick.)
2. If you have hard water or a particularly soiled load and are running a cold wash, soak the bag of soap nuts in a cup or two of hot water, like you are making tea. You’ll notice the water turning a light tan/gold color: this is the natural soap infusing the water. After about a few minutes, pour the water and bag directly into your washer with your dirty clothes. This process will help prime the soap to come off the shells.
3. If you are running a warm wash or your clothes are lightly soiled (everyday wear and use), 6 soap nuts in the bag should be enough, even with a cold wash. Just throw the bag directly in with your dirty laundry in the washer. Do NOT put Nature’s Wash Berries in the detergent dispenser.
4. After the wash and rinse cycle, remove the bag of Nature’s Wash Berries and dry your clothes like normal. The soap nuts naturally wash and soften your clothes and linens.
5. Nature’s Wash Berries can be reused about 4-6 times. Once they look thin, soft, and gray, throw the now mushy shells in your compost or garden, add 5-6 more into your wash bag, and keep going!

Here are some factors that affect the usage. Since heat makes the soap on the shells softer, less soap comes off during a cold wash. As we mentioned, this is fine if you are washing clothes that are everyday, common wear. Soiled clothing may need the priming soak we described. If you regularly use hot wash, then you only need to use 3 or 4 soap nuts, as the soap will come off much more quickly and will only last about 3 washes.

Nature’s Wash Berries clean and soften, but do not whiten or leave a scent. This is how we like to do our laundry:

After sorting and pre-treating any heavy or set stains we put one wash bag of 5 Nature’s Wash Berries in the washer.

We also add about 1/2 a cup of baking soda. Baking soda will soften hard water, deodorize smells, and also acts as a mild bleach and naturally gives whiter whites. Just be sure to add it to the bottom of your washer, before throwing your laundry inside. If it is a particularly dirty load, we also add a tablespoon or two of oxygen bleach.

We wash all loads on cold, except for towels, sheets, and very dirty loads, which get a warm wash.

If needed, we add a half cup of white distilled vinegar to the final rinse. For front-loading HE washers, simply put 1/2 cup of vinegar in the fabric softener tray. White vinegar not only kills bacteria, but it also keeps your colors bright, breaks apart built-up chemical detergent residue on your clothes and in your washer, and prevents lint and static cling.

If possible, hang drying is the best bet. But if we have to use our dryer, then we toss in a bag of our Nature’s Wash Sachets to give a natural scent.

We find that this is process is not only effective but cost and environmentally friendly. We get a full 5-6 loads out of our Nature’s Wash Berries since we use cold washes, and baking soda and vinegar are inexpensive when purchased in bulk and are harmless to the environment. Not only that, but our clothes stay soft, fresh, and vibrant (you should see our black shirts!) far longer.