These dried berry kernels can replace not only your laundry
detergent, but also your dish washing liquid, floor cleaner, body and
facial cleanser, pet shampoo, jewellery cleaner, glass cleaner, insect
repellent … the list goes on.
“It is basically a multi-purpose cleaner,” says Yvonne Ho, who chanced
upon soapnuts while searching for a natural, non-chemical cleaner. “I
tried it and found it good, and I want to let people know about it.”
Eager to share this wonder eco-cleaner with others, she teamed up with
a similarly green-minded friend, Lee Kean Yuen, to form Gaia Connexion
to sell soapnuts to Malaysians.
“With so much environmental degradation around us, and kids suffering
from various allergies, we should all do out bit to make Earth a better
place. Each time I use a chemical soap, I feel that I’m doing harm to
Mother Nature. And since all of us do a lot of cleaning, we should try
and use a safer, natural cleaner,” says Ho.
Ho, who worked in risk management for eight years before quitting late
last year to take a break, says literature in the Internet also claimed
soapnut as having anti-bacterial properties and so is suitable for
those with sensitive skin or suffer from eczema. It is also an
ingredient in Ayurvedic treatments.
Chemical-free
alternative: Yvonne Ho and Lee Kean Yuen want people to rethink the way
they wash and replace commercial chemical-based cleaners and soaps with
all-natural soapnuts.
While soapnuts might come across as one of those new-age eco products,
in reality they have been used for centuries for cleaning purposes,
before the advent of commercial detergents and soaps.
“It is a traditional detergent in India and Indonesia. In India, they
use it to clean everything and in Indonesia, it is also used for
rinsing in batik-making,” says Lee. “The benefits of soapnuts are quite
extensive. Basically, whatever items that we now clean using commercial
detergent, we can wash with soapnuts. In view of today’s polluted
environment and global warming, we need to rethink the way we live and
treat the environment, which is why we should go back to nature. In
soapnuts, Mother Nature has given us an alternative to chemical
cleaners.”
Soapnuts, also called soap berries, are from the Sapindus genus. The 12
species of this shrub of the lychee family, Sapindaceae, are
distributed over India, Pakistan, Nepal, southern China, South-East
Asia, south-western United States, Mexico and South America. Its yellow
berries turn blackish and leathery when dried. Their shells contain
saponin, a natural surfactant, which gives it its cleansing and foaming
properties.
To do your laundry with soapnuts, you just need to put between six and
eight kernels into a small cotton bag and dump that into the washing
machine together with your soiled clothing. The bag of kernels can be
used twice. On the Internet, soapnuts have generally received good
reviews from users, but some say they do not work as well with whites.
“Soapnuts are good for general washing but for the more heavy stains,
you will need some other eco-friendly stain removers,” says Lee, who
quit his job in IT last year to focus on promoting the green product.
For the dishes, soak some soapnuts in a bottle of water overnight to
yield a soapy liquid. This liquid can double up as shampoo. You can
also rub a soapnut kernel between your hands to work up a lather for a
body and facial cleanser.
In some places, the soapnuts are first ground into powder but Lee says
that is not suitable here; our high humidity will cause the power to
clump and make it difficult to use.
“Some people cannot get used to the vinegary smell of soapnuts. It
might need a bit of getting use to but it does not stay in your
laundry,” says Ho.
Lee chips in: “Some people dislike the fact that there is no fragrance
but then the fragrance of commercial detergents comes from chemicals
which are not good for you.”
Unlike commercial detergents, soapnuts do not produce a lot of suds.
Unfortunately, people equate suds with cleanliness although that is not
the case.
“We need to change that mindset,” asserts Lee. “In fact, because there
is less suds to remove, you can cut down on the rinse cycle in your
washing machine, thereby saving water.”
Unlike the manufacture of commercial detergents which produces
polluting wastewater, Lee points out that soapnuts require little
processing, aside from removing the seeds and drying the shells under
the sun. “And the soap water that results from the wash is
biodegradable,” adds Lee.
If you think that this all-natural detergent will cost a bomb, like
most eco-friendly products, you couldn’t be more wrong. It works out to
about 35 sen per wash (if you purchase the 1kg bag at RM40).
“People talk about going green but they need to have decent
alternatives. If you want to try something green, why not this. It will
not burn a hole in your pocket. Using soapnuts is a simple way to
maintain a green lifestyle and reduce the use of chemical agents in our
environment,” says Lee.
The soapnuts go for RM12 for a 200g pack, RM25 for 500g and RM40 for
1kg. To purchase online and for more information, go to
gaiaconnexion.com. The soapnuts will be sold at the flea market at
Amcorp Mall, Petaling Jaya, this Saturday and Sunday. They are also
sold at The Violet Flame, 67-2, Jalan Bangkung, Bukit Bandaraya,
Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur (03-2095 9868) and Eco-Oasis, 7, Jalan Riong,Off
Jalan Maarof, Bangsar Baru, Kuala Lumpur (03-22842393)
Written by TAN CHENG LI, The Star, Tuesday March 2, 2010
IF YOU’VE been worried about the health and environmental hazards associated with the use of chemical cleaners, there is now an alternative that is kinder to the planet – soapnuts.
