Are you looking for a totally natural laundry detergent with zero impact on the environment? I’ll show you how to make your own laundry detergent from conkers.
I’m on a journey to live a more sustainable life, and recently I have turned my attention to my laundry routine.
Through my research I discovered that conventional washing powders and liquids contain harmful chemicals that impact on us as well as on the environment.
While you can buy eco-friendly laundry detergents, if you want to go 100% natural, there is a very simple and budget friendly way.
Let me show you how to make your own laundry detergent from conkers and prepare to be amazed.
Laundry Detergent From Conkers, Really?
That was my reaction, when I stumbled across this information. Could it really be true?
Well it is. You see, the humble horse chestnut or conker most children love to play with, contains a natural surfactant called saponin.
Studies have shown that it is a natural surfactant that could be used to replace the synthetic ones currently used in many cleaning products.
It’s the same substance as in soap nuts. You may have heard of them. They have been used for centuries in Asia and have become quite popular over here as well.
However, because the plants the soap nuts come from are only grown in East Asia, they need to be shipped around the world, which isn’t sustainable.
Much better to use conkers. You find them in abundance in the UK, so they have a very low carbon footprint.
Saponin is a gentle natural detergent that you can use to wash clothes. Because it’s 100% natural it won’t irritate sensitive skin.
And the best thing is that it is so simple to use it to make your own DIY laundry detergent, practically for free.
Making Conkers Laundry Detergent Step-By-Step
Now that we know why horse chestnuts can be used, let’s find out how to make laundry detergents with conkers.
I have experimented a bit to find out what works best, so I can share with you my results to help you make your own.
It’s a very simple process. Here is what you need:
- Conkers – I picked up a handful on one of my runs but ideally you want loads so you can use it all year round.
- Jug – I just used a normal glass measuring jug
- Sharp knife – I didn’t want to use my kitchen knives, so used my husband’s Swiss army knife.
- Sieve – I used my kitchen sieve I use for noodles
- Glass Jar or Bottle – I used a cleaned mayo jar, but any jar or glass bottle will do
- Something To Stir – I just used the handle of a knife, but anything will do really
- Kettle – You will need boiling water, so a kettle is very handy
- Essential Oil (Optional) – If you want to add some scent, you can add some essential oil
- Baking Soda (Optional) – For extra stain removal power you can add baking soda
Step 1 – Pick Up Some Conkers
For this experiment (and because there weren’t that many horse chestnuts on the ground yet) I picked up 6 conkers. They weighed 64g.
But why not have a nice afternoon out on a lovely autumnal day and pick a good amount. I would say several kilos.
Don’t pick all you can find though. Leave some for wildlife. The foraging rule is to pick 40% and leave the rest. This means you might have to visit several different horse chestnut trees. But just combine it with a lovely walk.
It will be good for your health as well as your mental wellbeing. And if you have kids, take them with you.
There are no better conkers hunters than children and they will love it. Especially if they are allowed to keep some to play with. I made animals with conkers and tooth picks as a kid, and it was one of my favourite things to do.
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Step 2 – Chop The Conkers
The saponin is in the horse chestnut seed. Because the skin is fairly thick, the only way to get the saponin out is by chopping the chestnuts.
I quartered them with a sharp knife. Be careful though: you don’t want to cut yourself. Some people also remove the skin, but I didn’t (too lazy for that) and they didn’t stain my clothes.
You can also put them in a bag and use a hammer to break them into pieces; although in my experience the bag will split and there will be a mess. That might just be me though, you might not be so clumsy.
A food processor could also be used, especially if you have a lot to chop. However, make sure you only blitz it for a few seconds, as you don’t want to chop the chestnuts too finely.
Step 3 – Soak The Conker Pieces
That’s where the magic happens and how you get your laundry detergent from conkers.
Put the pieces in a glass jug and add about 500ml of boiling water from the kettle. Let them sit for 30 minutes. The hot water will draw out the saponin.
Fairly quickly you see the water become cloudy. I found that the saponin will stay at the bottom of the jug, so give it a stir. You will find that the water is now yellowish. After 30 minutes it’s done.
You can use the same chestnut pieces a second and a third time. However, when you soak them the second time, you need to let them sit for about 3 hours. The third time, you best let them soak for 8 hours or overnight.
What I noticed was that after the first soak, the chestnuts still looked quite yellow inside. After the second time, they were paler, and the laundry liquid was also thinner.
After letting the conkers sit in the water overnight, they were beige, almost white. The liquid looked the same as after the second time though.
Step 4 – Strain Laundry Liquid
The next step is to strain the liquid into a glass jar or bottle using a sieve.
One thing I noticed is that it’s much thinner than conventional laundry liquid. The ones you buy contain filler substances to make them more gel-like. But it will work fine without all this.
And that’s it: your homemade laundry detergent from horse chestnut is finished. Simple, isn’t it? I used half of this in a wash. However, I guess if you have a particularly dirty load you could use all of it.
It will keep in the fridge for about a week. Make sure you label it though, because saponin is toxic, so you don’t want anyone to drink it by mistake. And make sure you keep it out of reach and sight of children and pets.
Step 5 – Add Essential Oil (Optional)
Your homemade conkers detergent won’t give your laundry any scent. At the most you get a slight woody smell, I have read.
I have to admit, I couldn’t smell it. My laundry just didn’t smell of anything. This is normal, because the conkers don’t contain any fragrance chemicals.
If you want your clothes to smell nice, you have to add some scent. The easiest way to do this is by adding some essential oil.
However, you should be aware that essential oils aren’t necessarily eco-friendly. Most of the ones I looked at had a warning on the label saying it’s toxic to aquatic life.
That’s because the actual natural compounds are toxic. Plants produce them mostly for self-defence, hence why they are toxic.
Producing essential oils needs a lot of energy and water and only a fraction of the plants are used. Some oils also use plants that are endangered, which is anything but eco-friendly.
But if you can’t live without scented laundry, then use high quality essential oils that only use oils produced using sustainable practices. And use only a small amount to minimise any negative effects on the environment. They tend to be more expensive, but if you use them sparingly, you can make them last longer.
I would recommend essential oils from The Nature Of Things. They are based in Ireland, and they only work with suppliers who use sustainable practices and don’t use endangered plants.
The oils they produce are high quality, so will only need a small amount, maybe a drop or two. This will greatly minimise the impact on the environment.
You can find these essential oils at Green Tulip, an online store that only sells ethical products, which means they are all eco-friendly.
Step 6 – Add Baking Soda (Optional)
While saponin is a surfactant that will remove stains, it’s much milder than the synthetic chemicals used in conventional laundry detergents.
This means that it might not manage to get tougher stains out of your clothes. So you can add baking soda to your conkers laundry detergent.
Backing soda, also called bicarbonate of soda, is a great natural stain remover. I use it to spot clean tough stains. Just mix some with a bit of water to make a paste.
Rub it on the stain and leave for about 10 minutes, then wash in your washing machine as normal.
When added to the detergent, baking soda will increase the stain removal power. Baking soda is also a deodoriser, so will help to remove odours too.
I put in 1 tablespoon to the detergent I made. You want to give it a good stir, so the bicarbonate of soda gets mixed in well.
When you use it from the fridge, remember to stir or shake it before use, otherwise the baking soda will stick to the bottom and not reach your laundry.
Step 7 – Dry The Chopped Conkers Pieces
In my experiment I have used the conkers I gathered fresh. But if you want to use homemade laundry detergent from conkers all year round, you need to dry them.
This is quite simple: just chop all the chestnuts you could get and lay them in one layer on a backing tray. Then pop them in the oven on a low heat. I wouldn’t go any hotter than 90°C to avoid burning the conker pieces.
Leave them in the oven until they have fully dried out. This can take several hours. The smaller you chop the pieces, the quicker it will be.
I would recommend doing it in smaller batches. Get a big bag, chop and dry them. Then a few weeks later, go out again and get another big bag and do the same.
If you start at the beginning of chestnut season, you should be able to get enough to last you until the following year. But remember the 40% rule: don’t take more than that from any one chestnut tree.
Once the pieces are completely dry, put them in an airtight container. They will last for at least a year, as long as they have fully dried out.
When you want to use them, just put about 25g of the dried pieces in a jug and add about 250ml of boiling water.
Let them sit overnight, strain and it’s ready. This will be enough for one washing machine load. As it will keep in the fridge for up to a week, you can make enough for a week.
If you often wash clothes with tougher stains, you could use 50g of conker pieces with 250ml. This will increase the amount of saponin and therefore cleaning power.
You can also use the dried chestnut pieces again. However, I would only use them once more.
Using Your Homemade Laundry Liquid
Now that you know how to make your homemade laundry detergent from conkers, you might wonder how to use it.
Well, like any other liquid laundry product. Pour it into the main drawer of your washing machine. Then wash your clothes in the normal cycle. And that’s it.
You can dose it according to how full your machine is and how dirty the clothes are. I found that 250ml of the conker detergent is perfect for a full load with moderately dirty clothes.
If you have a very dirty load, then I would recommend to double the dose. Or you could pre-treat the stains with a baking soda and water paste.
Does Conker Laundry Detergent Work?
To conclude my guide I want to talk about the results I got. I bet this will interest you. After all, why go through all this effort, if it then doesn’t work.
I tried my homemade detergent on various types of washing. First our gym clothes. While they don’t normally get stains, they are quite sweaty.
To my delight, they came out clean and didn’t smell of sweat. Because I wasn’t using any essential oils, they didn’t smell of anything.
For me that’s a great result. Because I don’t like wearing gym clothes that smell of sweat.
Then I tried it on our everyday clothes, which might have lighter stains, like food stains. Everything came out clean and without bad smells.
The final test was a load of our gardening clothes. These tend to be covered in mud stains and green stains from a variety of plants.
I doubled up the dose of conker detergent and while not all the stains came out, most did. It does mean though that if you have tough stains, you might want to pre-treat them.
As I have a sustainable laundry routine, I only wash at low temperatures. And I am pleased to say that the chestnut laundry liquid works perfectly at these temperatures.
So there you have it, it’s very easy to make laundry detergent from conkers. It does a great job and it’s basically free.
So why not try it out for yourself?
