Cradle to Cradle Dishwashing

This method of dish-washing saves energy by minimizing the amount of hot water running right down the sink and away, which can be a fair amount. It also saves water via the same simple action of plugging the sink -- two birds with one stone, always good.

The added use of soap-nut detergent makes it even more efficient by being biodegradable and can be used to water your plants with.

Washing dishes this way won't save as much energy as the amazing Satellite CD Solar Oven, but it makes the daily ritual of cleaning your plate sacred by actively respecting Water and Earth.

First hand account of using soapnuts.

More practical information about using soapnuts and links to several online soapnut retailers from North America, UK, New Zealand and Australia: soapnuts.

Step 1 Prepare Soapnut Detergent

Materials Needed:

100g soapnuts
3 quarts (litres) water
pot

Comments

[harborg]

not cleaning the dishes with clean water to wash away any soap ? :) I do the same, with a neutral soap though.. uses the nuts for washing the clothes, but didnt think about using it for dishes ! But when washing up, I fill the sink barely with water and then i rinse the dishes with clean water to clean for soap ! :)

[seedsca]

My friend here in California makes this with acorns. They also contain saponins.

[blodefood]

Can you find out the quantities of water to acorns?  I am quite curious.  Also, I wonder, as HellaD says that the tannins turn clothes brownish.  Might there be some other natural ingredient that would prevent the browning?

[HellaDelicious]

That is great to know! I have some acorns at the moment, I will have to try it out.

[megmaine]

As I understand, Soapnuts grow in hot climates, but amazingly, berries that saponify naturally, grow in about every region of the world! Soap-berries grow in Texas and similar climates, the Canadian Buffaloberry is also high in saponins, and whereas these may not have as a high a saponin content as the soapnuts from India, they are local to the USA and don't come at the price of either introducing an exotic plant to this ecosystem, or else long-distance shipping. Nearly everyone everywhere can grow a berry that saponifies! Nice instructable!

[porcupinemamma]

I'm really intreaged. Can you suggest what kind of berrie I could find in Ontario Canada? ((my spelling is Way off tonight sorry)

[blodefood]

The Big Carrot on the Danforth in Toronto stocks these.  You can do mail order.
thebigcarrot.ca/

[porcupinemamma]

"I N T R I G U E D" (I knew I had spelt that word wrong-lol.)  "The Big Carrot" haven't thought of that place for ages (I grew up in T.O)  Thanks :0)

[blodefood]

Oops, should have said "soap nuts."  They come in a cotton bag.

[megmaine]

I am not sure if Canadian Buffaloberries, also called Soopolallie, grow in Ontario, but they definitely grow in parts of Canada, and in Maine as well. http://www.mountainnature.com/Plants/PlantsLatinNameResult.asp?ID=69
Here's a link to info about them!
 

[porcupinemamma]

Thanks for the link :0)

[HellaDelicious]

Hey thanks for this info, great to hear about buffaloberry, I will have to look it up, I used to use the roots of the plant that is called bouncing bet, it also produces saponins and the hummingbird hawkmoth really loves the flowers of this plant which is an extra bonus.

[HellaDelicious]

I also just wanted to mention here that I have tried a couple other natural plants that have been used for laundry etc, for example bouncing bet (soapwort). The roots make a pretty good detergent.  I also tried using acorns, just boil them and use the liquid same as the soapnuts. The acorn detergent cleaned really well and kind of even had a starch effect, but also turned things a brown color because of all the tannins...

So far I have found soapnuts to be really easy to use and very good at cleaning all kinds of stuff. I like to use it to wash my fruit and veggies with as I am less afraid of the saponins than I am of some unknown industrial chemicals that are in commercial detergent.

[blodefood]

Acorns, eh?  Sounds like these would be better than soap nuts as they are native to my "neck of the woods."  Wouldn't have to worry about carbon footprint in shipping.

[terribug]

Maybe I'm missing something, but I rinse my dishes to avoid the intestinal consequences of ingesting soap products.  Is there something in here about rinsing?  I guess if you had two basins, you could put clear water in the other one to rinse with, and just pour it all in your organic garden.  BTW, pouring soapy water in the garden or on the plants will also make the water more absorbable, since it's a surfactant, which makes water wetter.

[HellaDelicious]

Oh yes, rinsing is fine, but it isn't as dangerous to consume a bit of soapnut detergent as it is to get some of that nasty commercial dishwashing detergent into your intestines. I find that commercial soap is a big problem for me, even the smell of the perfumes and whatnot in them can make me feel sick!

[rodriguezalba]

Where do you find these "soapnuts" i never heard of them before either. I live in Florida. I would love to try this.

[HellaDelicious]

I have found them in Indian spice stores, but they are hard to find. You can also get them online.

I sell them for laundry in hemp bags on ArtFire but that is not enough to make the detergent with.

If you can't find any let me know.

[Pazzerz]

Sounds like washing without a dishwasher... what a concept! ;-) The conservation of the water is a main issue here, but for those who don't have the plants, etc. to recycle the water on, I'm wondering if the 'detergent' (being very low suds) would be a good alternative in a dishwasher??

[HellaDelicious]

To be honest, I don't know much about dishwashers...

[Pazzerz]

If you smell it, they contain a lot of bleach, with a very low/no suds detergent.

[alishka]

These soapnuts are used in a traditional shampoo in Myanmar.

[r-philp]

Soapnuts info
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sapindus
]

[rimar2000]

I just know that exists "soapnuts". I guess that in Argentina should not be possible to find them. I wash the dishes as follows, and I find it very effective: I leave the tableware submerged in water with a dash of detergent, at least half an hour (sometimes all night). Then, a simple rinse remove any dirt. The method saves detergent, water and natural gas.

[mothflavour2]

after I read this, I instantly switched over too google to find out about soapnuts. I'd never heard of them before.