Here's How To Make Laundry With Chestnuts (Free And Easy To Do).
Are you looking for a natural and economical detergent?
Me too ! Fed up with these super expensive, chemical-packed commercial laundry detergents.
Even so-called ecological detergents are full of ingredients with unpronounceable names. Not to mention their price ...
Fortunately, I discovered that you can easily do super efficient laundry with horse chestnuts.
That's good ! With fall, you just have to stoop to find chestnuts everywhere.
So here is the super simple recipe for homemade liquid detergent with chestnuts. Don't worry, it's very easy to do. Look :
What you need
- 5 to 6 chestnuts
- 200 ml of water
- 1 mixer
- 1 jar
- 1 colander
How to do
1. Pick up some beautiful chestnuts from the ground near you.
2. Put them in the blender to grind them.
3. Put the crushed chestnuts in a pot and add 200 ml of water.
4. Wait about 30 minutes for the water to look like milk.
5. Filter the mixture with the colander.
6. Use your chestnut detergent like any other laundry.
Results
And there you have it, you have made your homemade liquid detergent with chestnuts :-)
Easy, fast and 100% free!
Like ash or ivy detergent, it is completely free!
You just have to bend down to pick up the chestnuts.
In addition, it is zero waste, 100% natural and very effective!
No more allergies! It is the ideal detergent for the sensitive skin of children.
My laundry is clean and odorless.
Additional advice
If you want to have scented laundry, you can add lavender essential oil or any other essential oil you like.
If you live in an area where the water is hard, don't hesitate to add a little white vinegar to your laundry as well.
Note that your laundry can easily be stored in the fridge for a week.
The rest of the crushed chestnuts can be composted without worry.
This detergent is really great for everyday laundry for the whole family.
If your laundry is heavily soiled with encrusted stains, it's best to treat the stains before washing with a homemade stain remover like this.
Why does it work?
Chestnuts, like soapnuts, contain saponins.
It is a chemical compound similar to what is found in soap (soap comes from sapo in Latin).
The properties of saponin are identical to those of soap when it is dissolved in water. Incredible, isn't it?
Note that you can use crushed chestnuts twice to do laundry.
As this chestnut lye won't keep for more than a week, it's best to make a small amount each time.
Extra tips
- If you don't have a blender, wrap 5 to 6 chestnuts in a tea towel. Take a hammer and let off steam to reduce them to pieces!
- You can also cut them into pieces with a good kitchen knife.
- The more you reduce the chestnuts into small pieces, the faster the saponins dissolve in water. So if you grind them in a blender and use boiling water, you will only have to wait 30 min. But if you cut them with a knife or crush them with a hammer, the chestnuts should be left to macerate in water for at least 1 whole night.
- If you are in a hurry and cannot use a blender, there is another quick method: cook the chestnuts cut into pieces in a little water and simmer for 15 minutes. Your laundry is ready. But don't forget to strain your mixture!
- You need 60 to 90 ml of detergent per machine. If you do 1 to 2 machines per week, you need to collect 11 kilos of chestnuts to have enough until next fall. I have already collected enough chestnuts to do laundry for a whole year! Even when dried, they are still effective.
- You can grind and dry the chestnuts (or dry them first and then grind them). Then store the chestnut powder in a dry place because chestnuts are very sensitive to humidity and mold.
- Crushed and dried chestnuts can be kept in a jar. And every time you want to do laundry, take about 60g of it to make your homemade liquid laundry.
- You can also put your crushed chestnuts in a small organza bag or in an old nylon pantyhose and put them directly in the machine with your laundry.
- This detergent is perfect for washing colored clothes. If you are washing white laundry, it is best to remove part of the shell of the chestnuts. This allows for very white chestnut powder and minimizes the risk of discoloration.
Why Avoid Soap Nuts?
I also tried soapnuts (from the Sapindus saponaria tree), a herbal laundry detergent.
Soap nuts have been used in India for generations for laundry or making personal care products.
In Europe, soapnuts are used more and more. To meet this growing demand, India is exporting more and more soapnuts, which has the effect of increasing the price of soapnuts locally.
As a result, they become too expensive for many Indians who then turn to chemical detergents which contribute to polluting the water. A shame!
Not to mention that these nuts are shipped all over the world, which generates a considerable carbon footprint ...
It is therefore not a super ecological solution in the long term when we have chestnuts in France.
Where to find horse chestnuts?
Chestnuts are found in many regions of France.
The chestnuts fall from the trees throughout the fall.
If you are in an area where you cannot find chestnuts, you can directly purchase ready-made chestnut granules for laundry.
Chestnuts and chestnuts: what's the difference?
To do this laundry, you must use horse chestnuts which are NOT EDIBLE.
It is for this reason that it is necessary to wash the blender or your knife well after having used them to cut the chestnuts.
Horse chestnut is the seed of the common horse chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum).
Edible chestnuts are the fruits of the chestnut tree. The chestnut is a small, slightly flattened, triangular fruit.
Edible chestnut is a round, shiny fruit. Both are in a bug.
When opening the bug, if there is only one fruit, it is a chestnut. If there are several separated by a brownish skin, they are chestnuts.
When walking, to easily differentiate horse chestnuts from chestnuts, just observe the bug in these fruits. It is their envelope bristling with spikes.
That of chestnuts looks like a sea urchin with spikes in the shape of needles that go in all directions.
The chestnut bug presents coarser tips and in smaller numbers.
Your turn...
Have you tried making homemade liquid laundry detergent with chestnuts? Let us know in the comments if it worked for you. We can't wait to hear from you!
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Also to discover:
Efficient and Easy to Make: The Laundry Recipe WITHOUT Chemicals.
The Ultra Easy Home Laundry Recipe Ready in 2 Min.
