Soap-nuts

I had read about soap-nuts some time ago in a couple of different places. At the time they were only available through the US. I went to the website and emailed them to ask if soap-nuts were technically a tree nut - if so, we wouldn't be able to use them due to Cooper's peanut allergy. I didn't receive a response, so I had just assumed that they must be a nut and therefore inappropriate for us. Well, just a couple of weeks ago I came across a Canadian website. In the FAQs they explained that soap-nuts were actually a fruit, like a lychee, and therefore posed no threat to allergy sufferers. I was delighted to hear this and promptly ordered a pack and some extra bags because I couldn't tell from the website if they were included in the pack or not. There was one bag included, so I didn't need the extras after all. I have to say that I am not too impressed with them. I usually do my laundry in cold water, so that is how I tried them first. I followed the directions for a cold water wash and soaked the nuts in hot water before adding them (and the water) to the wash. It wasn't horrible - the clothes didn't smell at all, but they weren't exactly super-clean either. I would imagine that they would have been just as clean after washing with just water. I next tried the soap-nuts in warm water with the same result. I tried them with the warm water a few times and each time had the same result, regardless of how many soap-nut shells I put in. I then made a decoction with the used shells and some fresh ones and I have used this to wash dishes. It works fine, but again, I am not too sure how different it is from plain hot water and elbow grease! The dishes weren't greasy at all though, so it obviously helped cut the grease. I also tried it as a shampoo and it didn't really do anything - my hair was pretty gross after. So all around, I am quite disappointed. I think to be effective as a laundry detergent, you wold have to use a LOT of soap-nuts and that would be pretty expensive. For the time being I am going to stick with my soap flakes and borax.