I never thought I’d ever make a statement like that, but here I am doing weird things with nuts again.
I’ve seen soap nuts for sale, and thought it seemed a little excessive — buying something that had to be transported all the way from India as a natural alternative to soap made in New Zealand.
Soap nuts, in case you don’t know, are an alternative to laundry soap and contain enough saponin (a natural soapy substance) to put directly in your washing machine and clean a load of laundry.
Soapwort is another saponin-containing plant that has been used by humans for thousands of years as a soap substitute — it can be used instead of shampoo.
I have not tried this, but it sounded interesting ... But then I found out that horse chestnuts can be used in place of soap nuts to do laundry.
Horse chestnuts are very commonly planted in public parks (much to my annoyance, as I wish people would plant edible sweet chestnuts instead), and there is zero competition for picking up the nuts to take home as they are inedible and even the rats and possums will leave them alone.
Horse chestnuts have large multi-fingered leaves (unlike sweet chestnuts, which have single long serrated leaves) and the nut is covered with a spiked case, not a case resembling a hedgehog as found on sweet chestnuts.
Each case contains one large, very beautiful shiny chestnut-brown nut.
To get enough detergent for a load of washing from horse chestnuts, just collect a good-sized handful of nuts, say five or six, wrap them in an old t-shirt and smash them with a hammer until broken up a bit.
You can also use a blender to give them a quick whizz and break the nuts into pieces. The smaller the pieces, the shorter the soaking time; but you don’t want to make a slurry, so not too small.
Pour one cup of boiling water over your chestnut bits, and leave to soak for half an hour for fine bits, up to overnight for chunky bits.
The water turns milky — this is the soap being extracted.
Strain off the liquid and use it to do a load of washing.
If the liquid is too much for the liquid detergent dispenser in your front loader just throw it in on top of your clothes.
If you want anything other than a natural scent on your washing, add a few drops of essential oil such as lemon or lavender.
It is possible to re-use the same nut fragments at least once more, but the soaking time will increase to extract enough soap.
If you want to collect a year’s supply you need only about 10kg of nuts.
I would chop them while they are still relatively soft and fresh, then dry and store them.
The waste can be thrown in the compost.
There is no plastic or cardboard, no advertising, nothing but something that actually makes a good job of washing your clothes and it costs nothing at all. Nuts.
