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    Home » FAQ » FAQ: Conkers aka buckeyes as an all-natural laundry detergent

    FAQ: Conkers aka buckeyes as an all-natural laundry detergent

    Oct 3, 2020 + modified Jan 12, 2022 by shia

    Last year my friend Vany wrote this really cool guest post explaining how to use horse chestnuts as a laundry detergent, how to dry them in order to use them all year long, and also why soap nuts come with social problems and actually aren't very eco-friendly.

    Buckeyes in a cloth bag

    We, too, made the switch back then and after a year we still love it! This year we had a tough conkers competition going with the neighborhood kids who were also collecting some for totally boring reasons like playing with them 😝. I posted this on my Instagram and Facebook and got a lot of questions.

    Jump to:
    • Come again? How is that supposed to work?
    • How does the laundry smell afterwards?
    • Will using conkers break my washing machine?
    • How do u preserve the chestnuts? And how do you store them?
    • Can I freeze them instead of drying them?
    • Can I also use the edible sweet chestnuts?
    • How can I tell horse chestnuts and sweet chestnuts apart?
    • Can I also use the chestnut detergent for whites or will the brown shell stain everything?
    • I have very sensitive skin and break out from regular laundry detergent. Can I use horse chestnuts instead?
    • How do I convert from fresh to dried chestnuts?
    • You say you use 70 g per load. How big a load is that?
    • Can I prepare a big batch of liquid chestnut detergent at once or does it spoil?
    • What's the blender you use to shred the chestnuts?

    Come again? How is that supposed to work?

    It's actually very easy. Read all about it here.

    How does the laundry smell afterwards?

    Your laundry will be clean, but well, unscented unless you add a couple of drops (I'd say 5 drops max) of your favorite essential oil.

    Will using conkers break my washing machine?

    No, it definitely will not. The "chestnut detergent" is less aggressive compared to store-bought products, and you don't actually put in the chestnuts but the "tea" you make with the chestnuts. So technically, the chestnuts never even get into your washing machine 😉.

    How do u preserve the chestnuts? And how do you store them?

    Click here for the instructions. We store the shredded and dried chestnuts in big jars under the sink.

    Can I freeze them instead of drying them?

    Technically, yes. However, drying them is more eco-friendly because

    1. freezing and keeping them in the freezer takes a lot of energy
    2. if you pour hot water on the frozen chestnuts, the frozen chestnuts will cool the hot water down, which means you are wasting energy AND it takes longer to get your liquid chestnut laundry detergent.

    Can I also use the edible sweet chestnuts?

    No, the two nuts aren't actually related. Like the soap nut tree, the horse chestnut is a species from the soapberry tree, which is why it contains a high amount of saponine, which has soap-like properties. Sweet chestnuts do not, but are delicious instead.

    How can I tell horse chestnuts and sweet chestnuts apart?

    Horse chestnuts don’t have this little spiky tip like a little tail sweet chestnuts have. The shell of sweet chestnuts is full of long spikes while the shell of horse chestnuts has fewer, but very short and pointy spikes. Do check out Wikipedia pages I linked to to see photos.

    Can I also use the chestnut detergent for whites or will the brown shell stain everything?

    Personally, we don't even have enough whites to fill an entire machine. So we just wash them with our other, mostly black, laundry. So, our white bed linen has been grey-ish off-white for years. But no, the chestnuts have never left any visible braun-ish stains.

    To keep your whites shiny white you can:

    • peel the chestnuts (can take up quite a lot of time; a reader of mine has a great hack though: cut chestnut into quarters, let dry for a day until the inner part shrinks up, and this should make it a lot easier get the peel off)
    • you can even use common ivy (15-20 leaves) to wash your clothes, which works similar to chestnuts, but can irritate sensitive skin
    • use eco-friendly laundry detergent for whites every once in a while. It contains bleach to keep them ridiculously white.

    I have very sensitive skin and break out from regular laundry detergent. Can I use horse chestnuts instead?

    Yes, you most definitely can. In fact, it is perfect for sensitive skin because it doesn't contain any harsh chemicals. Do refrain from using common ivy as an all-natural laundry detergent though because unlike horse chestnuts, ivy does contain things that can irritate your skin.

    How do I convert from fresh to dried chestnuts?

    To be honest, I don't think you will have to get your calculators out. It's ok to just use roughly the same amount and to adjust according to how big or dirty the load is. When we feel like we have a lot of very dirty or smelly laundry, we add up to 2 tablespoon of washing soda. When we feel like the collars are greasy, we add up to 2 tablespoon of grated alep soap.

    We also collect more than what we might need for a year. Better safe than sorry, right?

    You say you use 70 g per load. How big a load is that?

    According to the manual of our washing machine, it's 6 kg (~13 lbs) max.

    Can I prepare a big batch of liquid chestnut detergent at once or does it spoil?

    You can keep the liquid chestnut detergent up to a week in the fridge, but after that it will spoil. And frankly, there just isn't any advantage in preparing a big batch. If you have dried the chestnuts they are already preserved. Pouring warm or hot water on it takes only a minute. If that's too time-consuming for you you can just put the dried chestnut in a sock and put it in with your laundry. Don't forget to tie a knot in the sock first though.

    What's the blender you use to shred the chestnuts?

    You should definitely use a decent blender if you plan to shred the chestnuts. If you don't have one, just take the old-fashioned road and cut them into quarters with a knife.

    Waschmittel aus Kastanien

    The blender I use is called Bianco Primo (it's a German brand) and is very similar to the small Blendtec. We bought this powerful baby a while back for green smoothies, and it does make me lazy – I shred FOUR cups of chestnuts at once. If you happen to have a Vitamix or a Blendtec I'm sure you, too, are good to go 😆.

    Related

    « How to Use Horse Chestnuts aka Conkers (Not Edible!) aka Buckeyes as an All-Natural Laundry Detergent
    Zero Waste Hand Cream »

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Nikhil says

      October 31, 2016 at 10:31 am

      Hi,

      Nice article on how to use horse chestnuts as a laundry detergent.

      Thanks.

      Reply
      • shia says

        November 22, 2016 at 4:56 pm

        ❤️

        Reply
    2. Lela says

      December 08, 2016 at 2:14 am

      When my dad was a child they lived close to a mountain and they would collect hundreds of kilos of chestnuts in the fall. They stored them in a large hole dug into the ground during the winter. Sweet chestnuts are not very popular in NZ (which is a shame) but I'm pretty sure I have seen horse chestnuts. Thank you for the article.

      Reply
    3. sha says

      January 05, 2017 at 10:42 pm

      My brother Mother auntie extremely organic will pass this on to them Thanks

      Reply
    4. Rebeca says

      September 23, 2017 at 2:52 am

      Hello,I have a queetion, do you absolutely need a dehydrator to dry the chestnuts? If no, then what would be another way?

      I found this really interesting and I would like to give it a try, but I don't know hoe to dry the chestnuts so I can store them.

      Reply
      • shia says

        September 26, 2017 at 7:12 pm

        Hey Rebeca,
        I have linked to the tutorial on how to make chestnut detergent in the first question, and I do not use a dehydrator (never used one in my life in fact).
        Cheers,
        Shia

        Reply
    5. zerowastecardiff says

      October 04, 2017 at 12:30 pm

      Hello, thanks for writing this article. I've done my first two washes with my conker-tea and have a few questions.
      1) did you notice soap while the wash was going on?
      2) Did your clothes dry quite stiffly afterwards?
      3) Is this mostly soap or a proper detergent? I just read an article that said that using soap on material only works if you're using proper agitation on the clothes, to remove soap from the micro pores in the material. Soap is good for smooth surfaces but not for rough (good on skin, not great on clothes). Soaps work best if you're using a wash board but can build up and wreck your machine. Have you noticed any adverse issues? Have you had to strip clean your clothes/sheets regularly?
      Sorry for the essay question, just want to be sure I'm doing it right 🙂

      Thanks,

      Aoife

      Reply
    6. Pooja says

      February 14, 2018 at 3:27 am

      Really genuine post you share about natural detergent without any chemical. Thanks for sharing...

      Reply
    7. James William says

      September 03, 2018 at 8:37 am

      nice artical thanx for sharing the natural detergent horse chase-nuts.

      Reply
    8. Laundry in Koramangala says

      July 02, 2019 at 8:18 pm

      Weird! Glad to know that we can use conkers also as Laundry Detergent.

      Reply
    9. Kelly says

      August 29, 2019 at 2:37 pm

      Washing soda is found in the laundry detergent aisle of your supermarket. Baking soda SHOULD NOT be used in place of washing soda. They are completely different products.

      Reply
    10. Laura says

      November 19, 2020 at 11:22 pm

      Great advices and useful ideas to improve our life while respecting the Planet.
      Thanks so much!!!
      Our family also tries to live by reducing waste. We all try to spread this way of thinking.
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKGulo2QaiY&t=51s

      Reply
    11. Barbara says

      July 06, 2021 at 7:27 pm

      How do I make or buy all natural soap/cleanser for the face and body? I've searched your website and don't find any (searched "body soap, body cleanser", and others).

      Thank you! I'll buy you a coffee for sure if you give me some leads.
      Just washed my hair for the first time this AM with light rye flour, looks good.

      An idea: could light rye flour also be used to wash face and entire body daily, for cleaning and also moisturizing, etc?

      Thank you!!

      Reply
    12. Kathryn Iseminger says

      October 01, 2021 at 3:52 am

      Hello! I am so happy to have found this as I was searching for a way to make your own natural laundry detergent for a long time, PLUS you get an excuse to pick up all those horse chestnuts that have been bouncing onto the sidewalks at this time of year! 🙂 I have one quick question: is there any concern about how horse chestnuts are toxic? I know we are not eating the horse chestnuts, but if you have any thoughts on this that would be lovely!

      Thank you super much! I have most enjoyed reading through your blog.

      Reply

    Trackbacks

    1. CLEANING YOUR HOME AND WASHING EVERYTHING! – Without The Nasty Stuff says:
      September 4, 2019 at 10:11 am

      […] WASTELAND REBEL has another article on using CONKERS for washing clothes. […]

      Reply
    2. WASHING YOUR CLOTHES MORE NATURALLY – Without The Nasty Stuff says:
      October 18, 2019 at 5:14 pm

      […] WASTELAND REBEL has another article on using CONKERS for washing clothes. […]

      Reply
    3. Horse Chestnut Laundry Detergent | Zero Waste Cleaning - Permacrafters says:
      June 29, 2020 at 9:58 pm

      […] Laundry Soap post on Zero Waste Chef’s website, and Shia Su from Wasteland Rebel for her helpful FAQ on horse chestnuts as an all-natural laundry detergent. (If you don’t follow these amazing women on Instagram, please […]

      Reply

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