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| At Children's park Guindy. Sapindus species |
Lately, I have soapnuts on my mind. It's a bit strange and ironic, this whole human "progress" thing.
There was my ajji, quite happy with her shikakai and soapnuts for the family's washing and shamppoing needs. And then there is amma who is yes, shikakai, but detergent, thank you. And here is me who post-marriage moved to shampoo and did not think of anything else but detergent for my family's clothes.
Until recently.
I sceptically and tentatively tried the
Krya Natural Detergent Powder this last month. My good friend Gangapriya was the early trier, and recommended it! Into our front-loading washing machine it went, as I followed the pack instructions, and awaited the results. Hmmm, not bad, not bad at all! (Part of the trying-to reduce-the-chemicals-from-my-household-into-the-environment programme.)
I was intrigued and read some more about soapnuts and their surfactant qualities.
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| Sapindus emarginatuus. This variety has notched leaves. |
Krya uses Sapindus trifoliatus, and their blog explains the surfactant action rather interestingly!
1. Reduce surface tension
The surfactant molecules have a water-loving head that attaches to
water molecules and a water-hating tail that attaches to the dirt
molecules. This creates a force that detaches the dirt from the clothes
& suspends the dirt in the water. The agitation of the washing
machine or scrubbing by hand further helps detach the dirt from the
clothes. As a result of the dirt getting detached the water now starts
looking murky.
2. Emulsification
Now that the dirt has been removed, it is critical that they don’t
re-deposit on the clothes. This is the done by the second action of the
surfactant i.e emulsification. Emulsification is the process by which
the dirt and the water form a mixture. This keeps the dirt suspended in
the water till it is washed down the drain
Heads and tails, now that is rather vivid!
I have continued using this natural detergent, and I do feel that the clothes are softer. My ajji will sure be pleased!
But next up, I am going to try
108 Soapynuts from Daily Dump. Why? Becuase their Sapindus is the Himalayan variety Sapindus mukorossi, which has more saponin! Also, they are selling them as full fruits, so they are to be reused until they vanish. So, even though they may have a longer journey to me, it also means that they will last longer.
Interesting, I can even be finicky with my choice of these natural detergents!!
Can I go back to shikakai though? The pods of Acacia concinna. Memories of my youth, Sunday oil baths. Contrasted with the convenience of that blasted shampoo bottle. No, not this summer definitely. Shall be reviewed when the cool season comes again!
Is there anough soapnut for 6 billion people though? Most likely we
won't have enough food to eat if we all wanted soapnut detergent, so is the answer then moving to some other naturally derived kind of surfactants?
