Soap nuts questions

[lily28]

I'm in the process of prepping my cloth (organic cotton) diapers. Today it was the 2nd time I washed my muslin flats with soap nuts. I know that it takes at least 6-8 washes to make the cotton absorbent enough, however I was expecting that the soap nuts would perform better in terms of stripping the natural oils from the cloth. I will continue this for a total of 6 washes before I come to a conclusion.

My questions are: soap nuts are better or worse compared to other detergents for my organic cotton system?
Do I need to wash with really hot water or 40-60 degrees celsius are ok?
Is it ok to add a few drops (2-3) of neroli essential oil in the wash to have a nice fresh fragrance or does it take me steps back in terms of stripping the cotton from the natural oils?

Also I read somewhere to use a teaspoon of salt for better results. On one hand I know salt helps the fibers "open" because I have dyed cotton and it is standard procedure to add salt. On the other hand I think baking soda and vinegar would work better and leave the muslins softer. What would you do?

 

[Rachel_C]

Soap nuts are fine for any fabrics. You should find they wash as well as standard detergents but they don't have the same stain removing or brightening power so some people add washing soda to give them a boost, especially for whites. 40 degrees is fine. If you want to wash cooler, you could just soak them in a cup of hot water from the tap before using them, to start them off or you could make soap nut liquid instead.

It is fine to add essential oils if you want but adding scent could mask the smell of the nappies not being clean enough (if that happened!) so I only add it to non-nappy loads. I personally don't find that a few drops is enough to scent the washing anyway and that much wouldn't affect the nappies.

I don't think a teaspoon of salt would be enough to do much and I don't agree that baking soda is much good either - it's not strong enough to do anything once it's diluted in a machine full of water unless you're using a lot. I'd go with washing soda instead. You shouldn't need vinegar to soften the nappies as soap nuts keep them softer than normal washing powder without fabric softener. Washing soda is good for softening though, if you do want to use something.

 

[lily28]

Rachel I just lined my wash, 2-3 drops of neroli made the wash smell really nice, in a few words it made a difference, not vinegary from the nuts or the raw smell from the cotton. Very faint fresh smell, love it.

I will not be adding anything else, I find the nuts are softening enough, all I care is to make the cotton absorbent